Teacher Gives 4th Graders Anonymous 'Question Box'—Results Raise Eyebrows
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
A fourth grade teacher has gone viral for showcasing the questions she got from her students when she allowed them to ask "any question they like."
The teacher, who did not give her name but who posts to Reddit under the username u/goatsnsheeps, took to the r/pics sub on May 27, where she explained: "I have a question box where my 4th grade students can put in any question they like. Here are some."
She explained in the comment section that she usually takes 10 minutes at the end of each day to answer the questions, some of which require research on her end so she can study the subject herself and relay it to the students in a way they will understand.
Some of those questions were illustrated in the post, as she shared handwritten notes from her students asking things like "why do feet sweat," "how were languages made," "when did people discover colors," and "how does our body work? How does it bend easily?"
Other questions were more subjective, like "when did people discover beautiful art," while some were straightforward: "When was coffee invented?" and the elementary-school favorite: "Who invented homework?"
Among these questions were some more bizarre ponderings: "Why was brain rot made," and "What grass made out of," being a favorite among commenters in the post, which racked up more than 24,000 upvotes.
One commenter wrote under the post, racking up more than 14,000 upvoted of their own: "WHAT GRASS MADE OUT OF?" with one person replying simply: "Green," and another joking: "But what was it called before people discovered colors?"
One commenter advised the teacher: "Keep an eye on the 'who invented homework' kid. He seeks vengeance."
Another said: "When did people discover beautiful art' is such an endearing and innocent question that most likely has an equally beautiful answer."
One user suggested that the questions asked was a "very interesting display of the students' academic levels. Some seem way more advanced than their peers," with another pointing out that the students would have started kindergarten in 2020, and "a year or two of learning at home during a pandemic might be why there's such a range in abilities."
Pictured: Stock image of a group of schoolchildren and their teacher in an elementary school classroom.
Pictured: Stock image of a group of schoolchildren and their teacher in an elementary school classroom.
dolgachov/Getty Images
Studies have shown there is some merit to this concern: in January 2025, a report from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) found that the reading and math skills of fourth and eighth-grade students have declined in multiple states to below the national average.
Peggy Carr, commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, told reporters that they are "not seeing the progress we need to regain the ground our students lost during the pandemic," according to Education Week.
The Reddit user wrote in a comment that all of her students ask "big questions," but they often reflect their "own personal interests."
"For example, I have kids who ask a lot about cats and asked 'What is the world record for owning the most cats' and they have cats at home. Or I have students who play sports who submitted 'what was the first sport ever played?'" she said.
She added: "Since starting this, the students and I both find it extremely rewarding," and she tries to "answer every single [question] as best I can."
Newsweek has contacted u/goatsnsheeps via Reddit for comment on this story.
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