The August Term officially began last week, and the students' first classes started Friday. The new Juniors are taking biblical Hebrew or biblical Greek. The classes meet every day for the duration of the term in an attempt to give students a very basic grasp of the language before they begin the introductory classes in the Hebrew or Christian Scriptures. Since students often take the Scripture classes together, they really only have the language for one or the other. So while having the appropriate language is helpful, it is not required.
I will be taking the New Testament Interpretation class beginning this fall. However, as a part-time student with a full-time job, I cannot three weeks of mornings off to enroll in the introductory Greek class during August term. I really want to have some rudimentary grasp of the language before classes start in September. I was able to find an introductory class available on iTunes, and I was able to purchase the textbook for the course. I managed to learn enough that while doing some research for a paper for my summer class I was able to pick out a couple of words and parts of words. Enough that I could look them up in a lexicon, if I needed to.
It's still a bit of a struggle. Today one of the Seniors who is taking a second biblical language this term mentioned Quizlet, a site with all sorts of study aids and quizzes covering a wide variety of subjects. They also offer an app for cell phones. I used it this evening to review some of the basics I've been studying and found it helpful in reinforcing and (hopefully) with retention. I guess I'll find out once I start doing exegesis for the class this fall.
Things have changed a lot since I last took graduate level classes nearly 30 years ago. I typed my papers on an electric typewriter. I did all of my research using books and periodicals. Paper and pen/pencil were my study tools. And I sat in a classroom to take a class. Now papers are not only composed and edited on a computer, but they are often submitted to the professor electronically, either via email or through the institution's intranet page for the course. I do not have to go to the library to use periodical indexes and order articles through inter-library loan. Now that entire process can be done online. Vocabulary flashcards can be done on a cell phone app. And you don't even have to be in a classroom to take a class--my summer class was taught online. Not to mention that I'm able to study Greek using video from a seminary course made available online.
Keeping the brain cells active. This is a good thing!
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
Monday, August 10, 2015
The Yankee Begins Another Academic Year
I moved down here a little over three years ago, and it still surprises me to see Virginia plates on my car. This August marks the beginning of the fourth academic year since I started the job, my second as a student. After the years it took to get out of the mindset of an academic year, it did not take me long to get back into the rhythm of it.
We spent the last month preparing for them, and yesterday the dorms officially opened for the students. Most of the arrivals are new students, as are those who have been moving into the off-campus apartments for the past 10 days. A small group of us helped move folks into their dorm rooms as they arrived. I logged 30 flights of stairs by 2:00 p.m. The new students should all be here by Thursday, when the August term officially begins, and the returning students will trickle in between now and Labor Day Weekend. The residential section of campus is no longer deathly quiet.
Each class develops its own personality, so we will watch to see how the class of 2018 shapes up over the coming year.
As the number of students increases, campus services and activities begin to ramp up. Food service began with lunch today. We'll have lunch only until Wednesday, when they start serving dinner, and full meal service begins on Thursday. Cooking for one often seems like a waste of energy, when for the same amount of time and effort I can prepare a meal for four or more, so it's nice to have the Refectory open again. August term classes begin on Friday, which means we'll be seeing a lot of Greek and Hebrew flashcards. And so the new folks from have something besides studying to do, orientation meetings and activities are scheduled throughout the coming weeks.
As with every new year, a lot of familiar faces will not be returning. This year it will be particularly noticeable for me. The class of 2015 was the class that started the same year I did. The were the first class I saw all the way through their three year Seminary career. Now they are scattered throughout the church exercising their ministries. I miss them, and I hope they are all doing well. The only other class I will probably have as close an affinity with will be the one that I will finish my MA with, if all goes according to plan. And they won't arrive until NEXT August!
And so begins another year.
We spent the last month preparing for them, and yesterday the dorms officially opened for the students. Most of the arrivals are new students, as are those who have been moving into the off-campus apartments for the past 10 days. A small group of us helped move folks into their dorm rooms as they arrived. I logged 30 flights of stairs by 2:00 p.m. The new students should all be here by Thursday, when the August term officially begins, and the returning students will trickle in between now and Labor Day Weekend. The residential section of campus is no longer deathly quiet.
Each class develops its own personality, so we will watch to see how the class of 2018 shapes up over the coming year.
As the number of students increases, campus services and activities begin to ramp up. Food service began with lunch today. We'll have lunch only until Wednesday, when they start serving dinner, and full meal service begins on Thursday. Cooking for one often seems like a waste of energy, when for the same amount of time and effort I can prepare a meal for four or more, so it's nice to have the Refectory open again. August term classes begin on Friday, which means we'll be seeing a lot of Greek and Hebrew flashcards. And so the new folks from have something besides studying to do, orientation meetings and activities are scheduled throughout the coming weeks.
As with every new year, a lot of familiar faces will not be returning. This year it will be particularly noticeable for me. The class of 2015 was the class that started the same year I did. The were the first class I saw all the way through their three year Seminary career. Now they are scattered throughout the church exercising their ministries. I miss them, and I hope they are all doing well. The only other class I will probably have as close an affinity with will be the one that I will finish my MA with, if all goes according to plan. And they won't arrive until NEXT August!
And so begins another year.
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