Subscription Lists

It is easy for educators to assume that the way they frame questions for their students during the learning process is of little importance. After all, one question is about as good as another if the student or students truly know the lesson material, right? Wrong! One of the surest ways for teachers to discourage young scholars is by presenting them with vague questions that can have any number of possible answers. Even parent educators are not immune from this potential problem, and in fact may be more prone to pose frustrating questions to their children, out of a belief that their students know them so well that they should naturally pick up on the intent of every question put before them.

At a foundational level, it is vital that teachers know the precise answer that they want to obtain from students before they frame a specific question, and then be sure that their question naturally leads each student to the proper answer. It should go without saying that if teachers do not know what answer they are seeking, it is rather foolish for them to expect students to figure this out on their own. The only exception to this principle involves cases in which an instructor is merely questioning students about their personal opinion or perhaps about a matter that is beyond the knowledge of the teacher. In ordinary teaching situations, however, instructors must be sure to keep the desired answer in clear view as they construct each of their lesson questions.

If a teacher falls into a situation in which an answer is given by a student which accurately addresses the question that they posed, such an answer must be initially accepted even when the answer is not the one that was originally sought. In order for instructors in these situations to bring their students to the point of comprehending the actual answer that they were originally seeking, they must re-state their question in a more precise manner. Sadly, it is all too common for teachers who pose vague or misleading questions, to discourage their students by refusing to accept their answers even though they were technically accurate.

A story is told of a home school instructor who was questioning three of his teenage students during a lesson on biblical history. The day’s lesson was “Jesus before the Governor.” “What was Pilate?” asked the parent teacher, clearly pleased that he had asked such a natural and logical question. After several moments of silence, the bewildered scholars began to look slowly in each other’s direction. “What could be the problem,” thought the teacher, as the silence became deafening. Finally, one of the students summoned the courage to answer, “A Roman.” That was a correct answer, but it proved not to be the one that the instructor was seeking. Instead of accepting the answer as correct, and asking a follow-up question to help clarify his inquiry, he replied in a frustrated tone, “No, no. What was Pilate?”

The boy who had done his best, and had given a correct answer only to be told he was wrong, was in no mood to try again. Why should he? Another of the pupils answered, "A foreigner.” Once again a correct answer, but the parent’s sharp response was, “No, no. What was Pilate? After some deeper thinking, it seemed to strike one of the young men that perhaps the teacher wanted to classify Pilate in the order of beings, and he answered, “A man.” This was also a fair answer to the question, but the instructor received it as though it were the height of stupidity.

Although by this stage the progress of the lesson was clearly stalled, the parent teacher could not seem to muster enough wisdom of his own to do anything more than repeat his original question. As simple answers did not seem to satisfy the teacher, the boys set their busy brains to work, and one of them decided that perhaps it was the moral character of Pilate that the teacher had in view. For this reason, the young man gave the answer of “A coward.” Not satisfied with this answer, the instructor believed that his only reasonable option was to regard his scholars as hopeless and give them the answer. It was of no use trying to make his students learn anything at this point, for their minds seemed to be in a state of confusion. “Stop, stop!” the parent replied, “Pilate was the governor.”

The tone in which the teacher gave this declaration revealed the extent to which he was ashamed of his pupils. Not surprisingly, the defeated students quickly came to the conclusion that something must be very wrong with them. How was it that they could try so hard, and yet only manage to bring themselves shame and frustration? “Oh well,” the boys thought to themselves, “perhaps the safest and best policy the next time a question is asked, is not to answer at all.” I wonder if the parent teacher in this story realized that the key lesson that he transmitted to his students that day had nothing to do with biblical history; but had everything to do with the old adage, silence is golden?

What was the true source of trouble in this case? It certainly was not the young men. They clearly did their best. In fact, it may safely be said that they did a great deal more thinking than their teacher! The root problem was simply that the instructor’s initial question was too vague. This problem, however, was made significantly worse by virtue of the fact that the parent teacher insisted upon putting the blame on his students instead of merely re-stating his question. When he asked, “What was Pilate?” and they answered, “A Roman,” he should have replied, “Yes,” and then have added, “And what office did he hold?” The real lesson that this teacher should have learned from his students’ responses, was that if his initial question did not hit its intended mark, then another form was needed to solicit the information he desired.

Whenever a teacher in any school receives an undesired but technically correct answer to a question he has posed, he should cordially acknowledge the response and begin to consider how best to re-phrase his question so as to obtain the desired answer. More often than not, the average students’ answers are better and more thoughtful than the average teacher’s questions. When a diligent teacher experiences problems in communicating with his students, he will be ready and willing to assume that the trouble likely stems more from his line of questioning than from the students themselves. Teachers who are humble enough to recognize that they do not always frame every question perfectly, and make the effort to re-phrase questions, will often discover that their students are smarter than they may have originally supposed.

It is not only the quality of a teacher’s questions that determine the level of successful communication and comprehension between instructor and pupil, but also the questions that spontaneously flow from student to teacher. A question from a student who is earnestly seeking knowledge, will often disclose more of his thoughts and needs than would ordinarily surface through a host of teacher-directed questions. A good teacher will train his pupils to imitate Jesus in the days of His youth; for the Scriptures tell us that when Christ was twelve He visited the temple and reasoned with the teachers there, “both hearing them and asking them questions.”

Most children, when properly encouraged, will love to ask their teachers questions. Good teachers will not be too proud to learn from their students, and will, consequently, be highly successful in communicating the points of their lessons. A sure sign of trouble, is when students become increasingly passive and refuse to ask questions from their teacher. Any instructor, therefore, who finds himself isolated from his students, must go back to the drawing board, and make the effort to re-open the lines of communication that have been broken down. To do anything less would be a recipe for disaster, for without open and accurate interaction between a teacher and his students, the learning process becomes quickly derailed. Make no mistake, good teachers are willing to do what it takes to foster an atmosphere in which questions flow freely and meaningfully between themselves and those who are under their instruction.

Copyright 2007 Michael J. McHugh

"'Winging It" from Stan Smith

Washed by the Water of the Word