BI

By Harold Klassen

An article on the uncertainty of statistics is a thing of beauty to read especially when people seem so focused on finding numbers that will support their personal perspective on any subject. Susan Hamersma wrote "Uncertainty: the beauty and bedrock of statistics" for Cardus in Comment magazine, October 22, 2020. Her economic knowledge and experience of how economics shapes public policy give her the authority to speak about the limitations of mathematics and statistics in particular.

Dr. Kathy Koch has some great material that is part of Summit Talks from Summit. When I began to see that God had called me to teach students, rather than chemistry and physics, I started to see the significance of learning all I could about multiple intelligences and different learning—and teaching—styles.

I met Kathy years ago at a conference in Germany. Although she wasn't talking about intelligences there, I still remember her challenge to create My personal board of directors.

Take out a clean sheet of paper, and write the following at the top: My Personal Board of Directors. 

In the middle of the page, draw an oval to represent a large conference room table. Print your own name at one end of the table. Around this table, print the names of six or seven others who currently influence you the most—in a positive way. They may be living or deceased. They may be people you have not met, such as authors, media personalities, sports figures, or musicians. They may be people you've known for decades. These are the voices you turn to, listen to, and learn the most from. These are the voices you take seriously when you want counsel, ideas, motivation, companionship, guidance, or a boost of confidence. 

Essential questions (EQ) are an important topic. The Global Digital Citizen Foundation has all kinds of resources to help teachers create and use essential questions that lead “us to explore the background of a problem and choose from various plans, strategies, or possible courses of action to generate a complex applicable solution.” "A Quick 3-Point Reference Guide for Making Any Question Essential" in their April 3, 2017 newsletter, included some helpful suggestions, but what was not included was even more essential.