Old Hat

So, one of the students pointed out that I had not done a blog post in a couple of weeks. The others either haven't noticed or were too unconcerned to comment. But we are here in the last week of the semester. Final examinations are about to begin. Fall Semester 2008 will soon be history.

For my students, this is the first semester of their college career. For me, this is very close to the thirtieth fall semester. . .ok, 28, but still that's close to thirty. The point I'm trying to make is that I stand in a very different place than my students do. . .this is all new for them; this is all. . .old hat for me.

And that is unfortunate. One of the things I do truly enjoy about academic life is the opportunity to bring things to a close and then to begin again every few months. Unlike other jobs, where one works pretty much the same routine 28 or 50 weeks out of the year, academic life is constantly changing. We are starting a semester; we are ending a semester; we are preparing for summer; we are preparing for fall. . . but having been through this cycle, first as an undergraduate student, then as a graduate student, and now as a faculty member, so many times, the newness has definitely worn off.

So over the weekend and now as this week begins, I have been returning to the mission statement and asking myself some good questions: Did I stimulate my students' intellectual developments this semester--and if so, how? And if not, why not? Did I find ways to contribute to their social, spiritual, emotional, and physical development as well? Did I move them one step closer toward meaningful careers of their own, life-long learning, and service to God and others.?

Along the way, what did I gain for myself? Did I grow intellectually, spiritually, socially, emotionally and physically? Is my career full of meaning and service?

The answers to these questions may not be easily found. One other aspect of academic life which is sometimes difficult is that the "results" of a particular semester in a particular student's life may not be seen or understood for years. But asking the questions is a good process and I do live in hope--both for myself and for my students.

Catch these blogs. . . heartbreak edition

Jared and Julia are having fun in their blogs this week, pulling our leg about their "relationship," but doesn't it make you wonder why they are protesting so much???? By the way, read Jared's first.

On another note, Katybeth returned to Superstep. . . apparently she felt that if I could do it, so could she. . .read her reflections on the second time around in her blog this week.

Finally, Tracie writes an interesting reflection on "passion." Her questions might be good ones to consider as you are constructing your "personal mission statements."

Finishing Well

Like many of my students, I let a week slip by with no blog entry. Like many of them, as well, this was because life--with all of its busyness and chaos--crowded out the blog writing procedure. So, now, post-midterm, pre-preregistration, I find myself in the weird spot of being ready to finish with one semester but not yet ready to do another. The truth is we still have five full weeks of class to go. We have to finish the second major essay, write the third, and work through preparing the revision portfolio before ENG 101 will come to a close. We will all do six or more blog entries before then.

We are, however, thinking forward this week as well. Pre-registration comes with a series of decisions for all of us. I have had to choose and order books for my Spring classes. Many of the students have written in their blogs about choosing classes, about whether or not to continue at MC, about what they want to major in, about whether or not this semester will end well. Even ENG 102 (or 103) will bring with it a new set of challenges. In addition to the regular sections, students can choose sections that revolve around politics and statecraft, community service, the college football system, contemporary issues, and others. Whichever section students choose, they will be introduced to new levels of thinking, new skills in inquiry, and new challenges in writing.

After nearly twenty years of teaching, I have grown used to this academic calendar. I like getting to "start over" every sixteen weeks, each semester. I have also come to realize, however, that it is not really "starting over." Each semester brings with it another level that has to be explored and conquered. That is true for teachers as well as students. There is always the temptation to abandon the task at hand and focus instead on what is to come. But there is a verse in Ecclesiastes that is pretty clear: "The end of a matter is better than its beginning" (Ecc 7:8). To finish well makes beginning again easier.

Catch this Blog, Homecoming Edition

Chance has been faithfully writing in his blog since this whole project started--and this week, he reflects not only on a slow internet connection, but on social connections--or the lack of them. Since one of the features of a Christian college that Holmes identified was "community," I thought Chance's reflections might prompt some of your own thinking about how you "connect."

Serving Time. . .

Just outside of Provine Chapel is a statue by sculpture and long time art professor Sam Gore. Jesus is down on his knees, washing the feet of one of the disciples, while a disturbed and unconvinced Peter looks on. I have thought a lot about that statue as a symbol for what Mississippi College says about itself and says about its students.

Truth be told, I would rather be almost anywhere than down on my knees in service. While I affirm the gospel message that the followers of Jesus should mimic his life of self-sacrificial service, I find myself using nearly every excuse not to give myself fully into that service.

In class last time, I tried to prompt some thoughts and discussions about service with questions about what constituted service, whether or not service could be required or should be required, how we choose the acts of service we do, and whether or not service could be beneficial. The response I got from you all told me a lot. We seemed to agree that certain acts constituted service--but few of us admitted to doing any service unless it was required. And required acts of service were met with resistance and even the suggestion that we wouldn't "do our best" in those situations.

So I have been wondering. . .why do we, why do I, resist serving when I claim to be following the example of Jesus? Why is "required service" such a bad thing, when I am willing to submit to requirements for most other areas of my life? What might "authentic service learning" look like?

That's the question we will be addressing in these next essays. . .

Another Blog to Catch

I had to chuckle when I read Katybeth's blog entry for this week--if you will read her most recent entry you will find out why. . . yes! English teachers do have "other lives" (and other clothes!). Remember that you need two copies of your essay when you turn them in this week. I know you are all ready for some Fall Break. . .Ms. Furby and I are as well.

Gotta Serve Somebody. . .

So there I sat--face painted, in front of screaming, foot stomping kids, watching the sun go down and trying to follow the football game. This is service?

Saturday, I joined Kim and Peng as we did a service project with students from four other ENG 101 classes, welcoming eight children from Hunter Oaks Apartments Tutoring Program to campus for parents' day and the football game. I chose this service project partly because I knew I was going to be on campus on Saturday anyway and figured it would be easy to extend my time. But also I used to live in Hunter Oaks Apartments several years ago, so I had an attachment to the place.

The service project actually went well. The kids had a great time--even if all of it wasn't focused on the football game. They played cell phone games, screamed and shouted (sometimes for the wrong team) and ate! Boy did they eat! Oh, and we got our faces painted--many of us did anyway--thanks to some other students who volunteered their time and paint.

So that was our service project. . . and I left feeling. . .tired? yes. Happy? yes. Glad that it was over? yes. . . but I wasn't sure what I was supposed to feel. I certainly didn't feel as if I were some "super server." I didn't feel as if my life had completely changed. I realized that while we had made the day happier for those children that we probably hadn't altered their lives dramatically. Some unexpected things did happen--I got to know Kim and Peng a little bit better and they got to know me a little bit better. I got to see very diverse groups of students working together--Black, Chinese, and White students all focused together on a task and learning from each other. Did you know that Chinese students already know about boiled peanuts?? They have them in China!

What I am hoping is that service will eventually seem less intrusive and more integrated for me. I am thinking that like most things that will have to come with practice--making it part of my routine, my schedule. Volunteering seems counter-productive: I give of myself for free. . . what do I get out of it? Well, truth be told, probably a lot more than a painted face. . .

Catch this Blog, 3

The blogs are active this week, talking about family emergencies, rush skits, stolen purses, football games, and, O yes, English essay assignments. Take a look, however, at Julia's blog. She talks about her trip to Ole Miss to see the presidential debate. Her conclusion is interesting--and not just because she references me! I hope you will enjoy her reflection and it might prompt some reflection of your own.

Banned Books, Conferences, and College

This week is the official "banned books week" as observed by the American Library Association. I always try to note that since so many of the books I have enjoyed reading over the years have ended up on the banned book list for various reasons: Harry Potter, Catcher in the Rye, Hucklebury Finn, Beloved, even the Bible. People have lots of reasons for taking books out of libraries, out of classrooms, and out of people's hands. The book banners and I have one thing in common: we both believe in the power of words. We both understand the danger of words, and we both understand how readers can change after reading a book. At least the book banners take reading seriously.

Unlike the banners, however, I don't believe that most readers need to be protected or shielded from reading. Certainly some books are inappropriate for certain age groups, but most of the banning campaigns happen, not because someone has been harmed, but because some people feel that the knowledge is not to their liking. They are trying to suppress and deny rather than liberate and open.

Which brings me to writing conferences. Ms. Furby and I have been meeting with our students all week, talking about their ideas about what Christian education is and what a Christian college should be. Arthur Holmes raised the issue of protection and academic freedom in his Idea of a Christian College. He suggests that a Christian college is not a place of protection (evil, after all, comes from inside not outside) and should be a place where faith "liberates the mind" not restricts it. The sentence that has caused us all to pause and reflect is "All truth is God's truth, no matter where it is found." Some students have felt that Holmes is wrong and that the Christian college does have a duty to protect students. Others have felt that the "Christian" part of a Christian college should not affect what is being taught in the classroom at all. Other students are trying to negotiate a position somewhere between the two. As a faculty member, this is a constant question for me in all of my classes. What do I mean by "integration of faith and learning," both in theory and in practice?

So "banned books week" and these student conferences both serve the same purpose: they open a discussion about topics which are vital. Talking to each other about knowledge and whether or not it should be forbidden or celebrated or curtailed or forced is a good conversation to be having--especially at a "Christian college."

Catch this Blog, part two!

This week we had a lot of people talking about how school had gotten more difficult than it was at the beginning. I have been hearing the same thing in most of our conferences this week as well. Maybe I started that trend with my blog entry; I'm not sure. But this week, be sure to check out Tony's blog and his reflection on diversity. In fact, if you haven't read his blog at all, take a minute to check out the other entries there as well. See you in class on Tuesday! See some of you in conferences yet this week!

Third Week Blues

After our class yesterday morning, I suddenly remembered that we were in the third week of the semester. For some reason, right about week three, college stops being fun. We all suddenly realize that this is not a sprint but a marathon. The work starts; initial quizzes and grades are in. . .in short, college stops being summer camp and becomes what it is: educational work. Several students yesterday expressed a little frustration with assignments, readings, and responses, even though the work load so far has been minimal. The contrast, however, between high school requests and college requests are often significant. Students come out of a situation where reading is often done "in class," where written assignments could be dashed off right before the morning bell rings, and where lapses in work were overlooked or excused. Suddenly the academic rules have changed. Readings not only must be completed, they must be understood and retained. Quizzes count. Absences do, too. Missed work is missed. There are consequences.

At the same time, students are faced for the first time with handling their own time schedules. Late night dorm sessions, noise, the great fall weather, athletic practices, pizza runs, all begin to infringe on study and work time. This is a time for socialization as well as education and finding the balance between friendship and classes can be difficult.

Teachers feel the same third week blues. Many of the faculty I have talked with this week have talked about the fatigue, the work load, the sudden stress with students. Faculty, too, especially in the fall semester, are adjusting to the change in the schedule that they had enjoyed most of the summer.

So we are in a transition time. Soon the schedules will seem more natural. The work loads and assignments will take on a certain rhythm. And we will start to pace out the semester: a few weeks until Fall Break, this assignment done before Thanksgiving, finishing up in early December--and the fall semester will be history! Runners talk about facing "the wall." That refers to that spot in a run where the body just wants to quit. Pushing through that "wall" mentally becomes a major goal for every runner. We can push through the third week wall as well. Much waits for us on the other side.

Catch These!

This is just a short entry to highlight two blogs you will want to check out--Peng's blog talks about hunting for alligators--and comes complete with some pictures--Dr. Randle's new blog entry talks about a conversation with a sophomore about some of the same issues we are talking about in class. Definitely give both of these and read, and watch this space for next week's "Catch These Blogs."

Mission Questions

Last Monday, I met with Dr. Price's and Dr. Jordan's ENG 101 classes and talked with them about the Mission Statement at Mississippi College. I think that our Mission Statement offers many interesting, provocative challenges. Most interesting for students are the five verbs, the five actions that the university says it will do to and for students: stimulate, promote, encourage, emphasize and reflect.

Each of those terms gives me a slightly different picture of the educational process. The college says that it will poke and prod student for intellectual development using the two "big sticks" of the core curriculum and the majors. The college will push students forward to develop spiritually, socially, emotionally and physically as well. The college will give students "heart"--in a good biblical sense of strength and courage as they pursue "meaning filled careers, lifelong learning and service to God and others." Finally the university will emphasize programs that accomplish those goals while attempting to reflect models of service itself.

These actions, of course, go beyond what most students--and most faculty--think about when they think about college. For many, it is simply an exchange of information or skills. But learning is more than memorizing body parts or accounting procedures. Development of "intellect" doesn't mean just adding information, but learning how to process, how to analyze, and how to synthesize that information. Development of spirituality means more than just chapel or Bible study; it means developing one's spirit as a motivating force. Adding social, emotional, and physical development into the educational mix each bring added challenges.

On some level, this "holistic" approach fulfills what Arthur Holmes in The Idea of a Christian College suggests when he talks about Christian education being something that prepares the whole person to meet the whole world. This holistic approach also underscores his rejection of the question, "What can I do with this," in favor of "What will this do to me." I wonder what this vision of education would do to us, to me, if we were able to implement it fully?

Alike and Different

Yesterday, we worked on reviewing the syllabus and getting our blogs set up. To be honest, I wasn't sure how the students would do with the mechanics of setting up the blogs, but, honestly, they were fine--more comfortable than I would have been in the same situation. You can see all of the blogs from the class listed down the side of this page. Take some time to browse some of them and see what has been posted so far. Each of them seemed to enjoy being able to pick colors and titles and "gadgets" to go on the blog pages. Immediately each student worked to make the blog his or her own. Some ended up pink; some ended up with polka dots; some ended up with titles; some were simply simple.

By the way, Kim wins the award for posting first! She has an interesting reflection about how and why she came to MC. Check out her blog in the list.

One thing that always strikes me when I meet a new class of freshmen composition especially is the wide variety of students that make up Mississippi College. While we all may feel that there is a "sameness" here, even in our class there are people from different regions of the country, different ethnic backgrounds, different beliefs, different goals, different family situations. I hope that the blogs will helps all of us to get to know each other a little bit better, to respect our differences and to discover the surprising ways in which we might be alike.

First Class Nerves

I just met with Ms. Furby who will be working with me in my English 101 section. We discussed what the course was going to be like, what the requirements would be, and what we anticipate as we began the semester. Just as Dr. Randle talks about in his first blog entry, the unknown of the new semester is a bit unnerving. This section of English 101 is experimental in several respects. We obviously think that the experiments are going to move us and our students in the right and necessary directions in writing, but there is always the possibility that there will be glitches or that activities that we think should work, simply won't.

So like every good "researcher," I have to be content that some things will work--and work well--and others will need to be revised. In fact, that is a lot like the writing process. Good ideas need to be "translated" into clear communication. Sometimes I have an idea about how a class should go, but when I'm in the class, things turn out differently. That happens in writing as well. Even this blog entry has changed since I first started writing it.

So we are all approaching the start of classes with the same feelings, wondering what will work, wondering how it will work, wondering what we will do when they don't work. Luckily, we will have time to conference, to revise, to rework and re-present as we go along.

Evaluation and Engagement

Yesterday, the English department had a day long workshop devoted to English 101. Specifically we discussed ideas about how to evaluate and respond consistently to student writing and how to get students more engaged in the writing process. What we discovered is that we as faculty shared some common ideas about what we wanted to see in good student writing: clarity and complexity of thoughts, good organization and presentation of those thoughts, careful attention to grammar and mechanics during the final editing steps. What we also discovered is that we often use different language to talk about these common ideas with students. The result of using those different terms, we speculate, probably leads students to think that we are talking about a range of issues in writing and not the same basic ones.

How do we solve that? Well, yesterday's workshop was a step in that direction. We began to discuss whether we should start trying to use a common language and whether we should use a common rubric for essay evaluation. I may experiment with some rubrics this semester, and I may enlist the help of the students to construct a usable rubric for essay evaluation.

We also talked about how to get students engaged in the writing process. At one point we were asked what our "wish list" for students might be; what would we change about our students if we could? Nearly all of us mentioned that we would like students more connected and enthusiastic about improving their writing. Now, I fully realize that part of that enthusiasm and engagement has to be provided by me. I have to create a class that "matters" before students will understand how writing "matters." But beyond that, we talked about how to conduct conferences, peer review sessions, and even one on one appointments so that we move forward on improving writing and do not simply keep rehearsing what makes writing bad. I am thinking about some of the ideas that were presented and am going to try to implement them in my Eng 101 class.

But I need some help. What are the best ways to engage students in this class? What works in composition and what doesn't? What are the best characteristics we should be looking for in academic writing? How can I make "writing matter"?

First Thoughts

This morning, Dr. Jordan, Dr. Price and I had breakfast at the Cracker Barrel on I-55 in Jackson. We had a lot to talk about: faculty workshops, ways to evaluate student writing, and plans for English 101. Among the items we discussed was the idea of having students blogging about their first semester freshmen experiences at Mississippi College in light of one of the five developmental goals of the MC missions statement: intellectual development, spiritual development, social development, emotional development, and physical development.

Somewhere in the discussion one of us suggested that we, as professors, should be blogging too. This would allow us to participate in the same experience, but from a different perspective. So, here we go.

Each week, I'm going to pick an event from that week that affected me in one of the five developmental areas. And I'm going to blog about it, trying to reflect on it, offer it to you and see if you have comments or responses to it.

Of course, for this week I've already picked the event: the Cracker Barrel breakfast discussion. It was a lively exchange as the three of us brainstormed ideas, asked questions, clarified out positions, laughed, puzzled, and thought about what would work and what wouldn't. We expressed some fears about the blogging assignment. We expressed some hopes about what would come from it as well.

Personally, I think this will be an interesting discipline for me, helping me to take time each week to think back over the week and say something about how this week has shaped me in relationship to my idea of mission at Mississippi College. Thanks for reading the start of this adventure. Who knows where it will end in December?