I'm Really Here for Class, Right?

I’m in the middle of my midterms week so naturally I’m choosing now to sit down and write about how my classes are going. That should be an indication of how classes are going—procrastination at it’s finest. Overall, classes are going really well. I think the best way to talk about them is individually so here’s a short breakdown of each class. 

The Medieval World - Dr. Hass 
I really love history but have found that I do much better when the history class is specific as opposed to general (The Medieval World vs. History of Civilization). Plus what better way to prepare myself for the places I’ll be traveling to and exploring on the weekends? Dr. Hass has set the class up English-style meaning that on Tuesdays he gives a lecture and by Thursday we are expected to do the assigned reading and prepare 3 discussion questions. On Thursdays we participate in a class discussion based on the questions we have prepared in advance. So far, I’ve really liked the class and it’s small enough that the discussion day works really well. Dr. Hass is incredible knowledgable and he’s great to listen to. There’s no such thing as a dry lecture in this class.

Christian Moral Principles - Prof. Schofield
This is probably my favorite class. Professor Schofield is really awesome—she’s absolutely brilliant. If I’m not mistaken, she has her Master’s in Bioethics so she’s the perfect person to be teaching Christian Moral Principles. I swear she has to teach the hardest class because she gets all the “What if” scenario questions. A lot of the answers she has to give are speculative but she’s very good and giving good reasons behind her maybe answer or why she can’t give an answer at all. I had this midterm this morning and it was incredibly challenging. We had to write out 10 definitions, answer 20 short answer questions, and write one formal essay. Looking back on the midterm, despite it being difficult, it was really neat to be able to bring everything we’ve learned in class together in one spot. 

Foundations of Ethics - Dr. Carreño
If I had to choose one word to describe this class it would be scary. Dr. Carreño expects a lot out of us which is a good thing because it challenges us to be the best we can possibly be but it’s also extremely intimidating. Every class he calls on two people (randomly) to give an analysis of whatever we read for homework. The presentation shouldn’t be a mere summary of what we read but rather, a true analysis. Because of this, all of us are always on top of our game when it comes to the reading and preparation for the class. The class is the first Monday/Wednesday class in the morning so it’s always amusing to watch everyone at breakfast scrambling to find someone to help them understand the reading. We read a lot of Plato’s Republic and are now on Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics. This midterm is tomorrow so what I really should be doing right now is studying for that and finishing the homework that’s also due tomorrow. (Blogs are more fun but perhaps not as beneficial). 

Lyric and Dramatic Voices - Prof. Svendsen
Finally I get to enjoy my love for all things literary in a classroom setting! At least that’s what I thought going into it. Unfortunately this is my least favorite class and I was hoping it would be my favorite. Prof. Svendsen is great; she has a lot of good things to say and I really want to sit down with her and drink hot chocolate or tea or coffee and talk about books and literature and writing but I’m not a big fan of her teaching style. It doesn’t help that I read all of the plays we’re reading this semester in high school (at least twice each). So far we’ve gone over the plays Antigone, Hamlet, and The Tempest. When we get back from our 10-day break we’ll be talking about Crime and Punishment so I’m really looking forward to that. 


This is the lightest load I’ve ever had so despite the excessive amount of reading I’ve already had to do I’ve found that I’m asking myself, “What do I do with all my free time?” a lot lately. At least until this past weekend and studying for all the midterms. My solution to this was to put in a 3pm Holy Hour on Mondays. I figured it would be a great way to thank God for the beautiful and adventure-filled weekend I just experienced and also a good way to start off my academic week (and pray for mercy). 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

On Missing My "Fox Room"

Image
There are days when my job is hard. Like really, really hard . Teaching is by far the most difficult, challenging, stressful, rage-inducing, and frustrating thing I've ever done in my life. At the same time, it is by far the most satisfying, fulfilling, fun, joyful, hilarious, and sometimes outright-ridiculous-in-the-best-way-possible thing I've ever done in my life. Today we officially received word that there will be no in-person school for the rest of the year. I expected that notice. By the time I heard that the second state had decided to close schools for the rest of the year, I expected that Denver and Colorado would make their way to that same decision. I expected that I would have emails and texts from worried students about what that means for them. I expected to be sad and disappointed, even angry. What I did not expect was how much that notice would break my heart. I did not expect to cry (again). I did not expect that March 12th would be the last time I
Read more

Home from Home

Image
"If you give love and live long, you'll never be alone. If you give love and live long, you'll always have a home." -Roo Panes- Ralph and I aren't the type to share a lot on social media--not necessarily on purpose, it's just not something we think of doing. I often write about him--I just don't share it.  For those of you who don't know here's a little bit of our story: We have known each other our whole lives; my uncle and his dad have been friends for close to 40 years. That same uncle is Ralph's godfather. I don't remember nor can I imagine my life without Ralph's family being a part of it (and I wouldn't have it any other way). We went to the same high school but we didn't talk much. Mostly because my huge  and life-long crush on him caused me to turn the other way every time I saw him lest I embarrass myself. We really lost touch in college; I went to Franciscan University in Ohio and he went to the Univ
Read more

I Learned from You

Image
"Enjoy your happiness" - Mark Leonard - When I was in school my dad used to tell me, “Be good. Be nice. Have fun”. He felt that those three pieces of advice were enough to ensure that I would be successful and happy. He was right. They were broad enough to encompass every little thing he may have wanted to say to me: “Don’t drink too much.” Have fun/Be good. “Work hard in school.” Be good. “Treat others the way you want to be treated.” Be nice. “Follow your [big] dreams. Even the crazy ones.” Have fun.  I still often think of those three small pieces of advice. They get me through the moments when I want to say something mean to someone else, the moments when I’m afraid of doing something new, and the moments when I’m faced with a tough decision. When I graduated from Franciscan University in May he gave me a book called The Last Lecture written by former professor at Carnegie Mellon, Randy Paush. Paush wrote the book in the last months of his life while h
Read more