The End of the Semester

This is for you (and you know who you are) that are struggling with classes that seemingly have NO practical application to your end goal.

I've been there before and I find myself doing the same thing. I was pretty sure that my teacher education classes were a bunch of crap and had really NOTHING to do with how I was going to teach or even to relate to kids (being a secondary ed major and all). Methods, assessment (which I REALLY didn't pay attention in...and this was before wireless Internet access in class), ed psych (which I struggled with), even the content classes that I had to take all kept me from my ultimate goal of being in the classroom with students. I liked learning the content because I like learning. I wanted and believed that we needed more time in the setting(school) and less time in the classroom.

So now, I'm in a professional program to become a pastor and there are days when that feeling re-emerges. What does this have to do with anything? How does knowing the past help with issues today? What good is Greek or Hebrew when I'll be ministering to a Latino congregation in NE Philly? Why can't we be doing more in field ed now...

I see this both ways. I am a contextual person...what happened in the past truly does affect today and maybe we can learn how to get through some of the challenges that we face. I'm also a social/people/giving person who needs to be where the people are. Sometimes its listening, sometimes it's praying, sometimes it's just sitting in silence.

So...patience my dear grasshoppers. I won't be trite and and give you standard cliches. I just pray for patience, peace, and guidance for you as you race to the end of your first seminary semester. It doesn't seem like enough in the short term (it's what 17 days until all is done or something like that?). But that is my prayer, my advice, and my desire for all of you banging your heads and wondering what you've gotten yourselves into.

(Hey...isn't that what Advent is about anyway?)

T.