OK my first papers (AKA "books") are turned in and I'm in grading mode now.
This is one of the most happy times of a professor's career. I hate grading yet at the same time I love seeing the work students do. I have the "Church Leadership" books now and am grading them. It was a course that I was not satisfied with this semester. It never seemed to take off. Last semester it was my best course. This semester it just didn't seem to get traction. BUT now that I am looking at "papers" I'm feeling much better. It is something like preaching--you leave the pulpit whipped thinking you blew it, then somebody tells you God really spoke through the sermon you thought you flubbed. That's how these books are--when I see them (well, most of them) I feel like I did in fact earn my keep this semester. Even when I know that some (many?) think it was "just an assignment" I know that they have gathered stuff that is vital to their future ministry and I'm delighted. The remainder of the semester in CLPL we're doing "the personal life of the minister" and that comes in a separate paper--a smaller one: finances, taxes, advice from grads about the first year in the church, and ethics and morals for ministers. It is an easy section for me and provides a "soft landing" in the course. Today I taught 5 students--all the rest were Wesleyen students off touring the Headquarters today. They missed the "Minister's taxes" lecture... poor students--I always put some tough questions on that on the final exam ;-)
The rest of my courses... maybe I will say asomething about them later. My fav this semester is LCE--it is an incredible collection of 38 people! Whew! Tell you later more.
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3 comments:
Hey Coach - mark and I will be around this weekend for the youth conference. Hope to get a chance to connect, if even just briefly!
YOU BET GUYS! That'll make my weekend!
Just to let you know--Church Leadership was one of the best and most rewarding classes I took at IWU. :) Sorry for the late feedback--but I was just scanning through your blogs and noticed this one. I'm sad because it's the beginning of the school year... and I want to sign up for a catch-up-coffee with Coach. :( Your blog helps though. Sounds like your summer was incredible eventful. Mine was good--stretching. I never thought I'd spend a summer running a daycare class and changing beds at Shunem House, but I did--and it was great. Classes are pretty much in full swing now at WBS, and I'm eating it all up. :)
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