Quizzes, Trick Questions, and Answers that Aren’t
I read some posts recently related to a quiz that was given (just for fun) on a songwriting board I visit occasionally ( www.christiansongwriters.org ). Most of the posts were in the vein of “my answer was counted wrong, but it’s correct because…” .
Having worked for quite a few years in technical training, I can tell you that writing questions that cannot be miscontrued is one of the hardest things you can do. If you’re successful at it, you are a very good test writer.How you define something makes all the difference in how a question will be interpreted. Most of the time, instead of “what’s the answer?”, it comes down to ‘what answer are they looking for?’. That’s why many times I found my students wanting to know the ‘answers’ instead of trying to understand the concepts. I used to tell my students ‘if you cannot explain it, you don’t understand it’. They didn’t like that. They just wanted to know what answer to write down so they could make a good grade on the test.
(To be fair, I have to admit that when they asked me “Why do we have to know this?”, my answer was “Because it’s on the test!”)
Seeking understanding instead of answers requires a greater commitment. Understanding goes beyond simply finding the answer… way beyond. When a person can explain to you how their answer is correct according to their interpretation of the question, it reveals a higher understanding of the subject matter and reveals the fact that their definition may differ from yours. This is the dilemma Job faced with his three friends, Bildad, Eliphaz, and Zophar. They were all learned men; wise men. They had all the answers, having gleaned them from their tradition, their training, and their experience. Job was cut in the same cloth they were. He believed the same things they believed, which is what caused his dilemma. Somehow, though, their ‘answers’ did not line up with what Job was experiencing. Job wanted to understand. Job needed new answers, but all they had to offer were the same old answers that no longer rang true.
It reminds me of how many times Jesus’ teaching consisted of “You have heard it said… but I tell you…”.
It also reminds me how many times I have heard that being ‘christian’ means believing certain facts about God and Jesus, as if belief in those facts is what makes the difference, rather than having a real, vital relationship with the God who calls us to seek HIM and know HIM… not facts about him.
The complexity of a relationship cannot be boiled down to a set of facts.
- Posted in : Random Precision, The Book of Job
- Author : admin
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