Reflections on the Semester Past

Another four months, another semester.

Sometimes I feel like my life is just rushing past. Unlike students, who can look to a graduation for a segment of their life accomplished, I feel sometimes like I am in an endless cycle of rush. Rush to teach, rush to keep up with all the things I require students to do... I'm sure the students would be happy for me not to make the assignments. :) But then they wouldn't learn nothin'.

As I waded through the three foot high pile of paper to record and evaluate, I felt "above average" about the semester. I would have liked to talk to many about their thoughts represented by this pile, but it didn't happen this time. But I believe just doing the assignments had to be a learning experience of some sort, hopefully a significant one. Now I have two weeks to evaluate myself, my androgogy, my philosophy of each course.

There was some disappointment in the pile--papers that imply that I either didn't communicate or failed to convince on some of my strongest views and thoughts. That's part of the re-evaluation process-how can I communicate better what I want them to know.

For philosophy, I feel that I mostly gave them names and labels, with a few deep thoughts thrown in here and there. What if I were to spend the whole semester working out my own philosophy in front of them, in dialog with them, the "great thinkers" and the "great questions." Selfish, perhaps better learning--but it would mean completely revising the course and a lot more work throughout the semester. Hardly a priority and it would be unwise. Who knows, two weeks till the syllabus...

For NT Survey, I took my discussion of hermeneutics away from the front. The result: position papers largely unaware of some of my signature ideas. This time I think I'll devote a whole day to chapter 2 of the textbook again, but I'll put it in the middle of the course when we're doing 1 Corinthians. I also noticed that my extensive questions on the New Testament itself didn't work. I need to boil them down and make sure we get to the chapters of the textbook on Women, Revelation, etc...

Upper level Bible courses continue to vex me. The papers I received were "without form and void." Actually, they weren't void--they represented really good work. But without a model for them to look at and with the tension between Lennox's verse by verse model and the more Asbury answer a question approach, they just wandered. I somehow need to clarify what I want them to do.

Other than that, I feel really good about what I've been doing with having them learn the content, particularly the now standard exam questions on explaining the situation of each book and being able to give a chapter by chapter run through.

So the game goes on... projects for break later...