I grew up in an academic culture where we did not ask questions. It was not encouraged and it was not considered to be appropriate. In fact, asking questions was often viewed as a challenge to authority. So, most students didn’t want to take that risk.
I do believe it was part of the day in which we lived. Students were staging “sit in’s” and carrying signs like “Question Authority.” The kick back from the older generation was to try and shut all that down. So, many of us went through high school, college, and graduate school without asking a lot of questions. We just listened to what we were told, did our work, and received our diplomas. We learned, but I am convinced we did not learn as much as we could have. I am not blaming anyone. That’s just the way it was.
I am finding more and more that the very best learning takes place when students ask questions. It makes even more of a difference when teachers ask questions. Learning is accelerated. Consider how Christ engaged his students, even the curious and critical. It was the way of His ministry, even from the beginning. “After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions” (Luke 2:46).
Lectures will always have their place, but the greatest learning will take place in what follows. Welcome questions. Start asking questions. You may be surprised at what you learn.
