I quickly learned after arriving at the University of Iowa for my undergrad that taking religious studies courses was a popular thing to do. One professor in particular, Jay Holstein, blazed a trail at Iowa that included religious studies courses having 500 students in them and being classes that students would sneak into in their free time. A documentary was filmed in 2008 focusing on his work and a short clip from the film can be viewed below to understand the type of educator that he was day in and day out.

This fall marked his 50th year anniversary of teaching at the University of Iowa and they celebrated him with a live streamed event including former students, his family, and his Golden Lecture. To hear him lecture again was an absolute gift. One quote he said stood out to me the most and that was:

“Education leads to uncertainty. Things that were simple are now complicated… Don’t be afraid of uncertainty. Be suspicious of certainty.”

Through innovation, social emotional learning, growth mindset, and effective teaching, we are introducing our students to the complicated and the uncertain and we are teaching them to not be afraid. That curiosity and that confidence in questioning anything and everything will be valuable to our students forever.