You ask us a lot of questions that we don't know the answers to. Why do you do this? I'm not going to answer if I don't know the answer!

Actually, this is true. I ask questions that I know you probably don't "know" the answer to. It's a hallmark of my teaching style!

I do this because I want you to be creative. I don't expect you to have the correct answer (although you might). Instead, I want you to take into account what I've already discussed in class, combine that information with your intuition, and propose a creative answer that you can defend. I don't really care if you're correct and I'm not grading you on your in-class answers, anyhow. In other words, I want you to learn how to think on your feet and justify your answer, even if it isn't what I'm specifically looking for.

I know, for some, this will be very, very difficult. Many people's egos are based on their ability to sound "correct" in a given instance. Mistakes are, to some, like a red badge of failure. However, given my observations, most are lucky if around 20% of the answers (decisions) they make in life are the "correct" answers (I'm being really generous, too), so don't worry about being "wrong" as you'll be "wrong" most of the time in life. I can almost always use any answer to build upon for the class. There are even times your answer will be one I haven't considered and will give me cause to re-evaluate a particular historical topic. 

I'm also concerned that having so much information on ready access is inhibiting creativity to some extent. Why be creative when "correct" answers are a click away? Why risk having the "wrong" answer when someone can quickly find the "right" one?

Take a chance on yourself--use college as a time to grow. It will cause discomfort, but it'll be worth it in the end...