imageMay marks the end of many academic years. If we are scrolling through our newsfeed, we’ve begun to see photographs of our friends and family members in their caps and gowns.

For me, there are days in which I miss taking a class to continue my education, whether the course is in theological studies or something more hands-on, like computer courses. As I see photos reminding me of my days in the classroom, I wonder what type of class would I like to take next? I know chemistry was my toughest course, so I would probably stay away from the math-based science classes. Maybe I would retake a course on the history of the human language or anatomy and physiology…

So, as students wrap up their years or maybe their academic careers, let’s reflect upon our school days in today’s Friday Five:

  1. Favorite class during your many years of schooling
  2. Toughest class you have taken
  3. Class you would love to retake
  4. Favorite seminary or theologically-themed class
  5. Dream class – if you could design the ultimate undergraduate/graduate course, what would it be?

Please respond below in the comments or use this as a prompt to write a blog post. Remember to post the link in the comments.

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The Rev. Michelle L. Torigian is the Pastor of St. Paul United Church of Christ, Old Blue Rock Road in Cincinnati. Her essay “Always a Pastor, Never the Bride” was in the RevGalBlogPals book There’s a Woman in the Pulpit. Torigian blogs at http://www.michelletorigian.com.

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10 thoughts on “Friday Five- School Days”

  2. Nobody else here yet??

    1. Favorite class during your many years of schooling
    I suppose it’d have to be some history or government class somewhere along the line. Maybe constitutional history with Dr. Duram at Wichita State, although I have yet to get a complete grasp on the concept of “substantive due process,” which made up a great deal of our study that semester.

    2. Toughest class you have taken
    Toughest as in “I felt like I was beating my head against the wall and got nothing out of it”? College algebra. In my major it was the only math class I had to take, and for that I am eternally grateful.

    Toughest as in “I learned a lot but the classwork was incredibly tedious”? Civil Liberties, also at WSU, taught by John Stanga. We had to read and write briefs on all the landmark civil-liberties rulings the Supreme Court has issued through the years. In the days before computers, it took a long time to write those briefs. But on the good side, when a Supreme Court ruling comes down and people start screaming, I am quite capable of reading, understanding, and summarizing the actual text of the ruling, rather than taking someone else’s word for what’s in it.

    Toughest as in “It was very challenging, called into question a lot of what I thought I knew, and caused me to think in a whole new way”? Bible as Literature my first semester at WSU. I wasn’t raised fundamentalist, but hadn’t ever heard of such things as the Documentary Hypothesis, or the parallel legends from other peoples in the Ancient Near East. I took the class because, having been raised in church with a teacher for a pastor and a first-class Christian education program, I figured a class on the Bible would be an easy A. Little did I know. I worked my tail off for that B-.

    3. Class you would love to retake
    Probably Hebrew, because I could use the refresher, and then move forward into a sustained study of the Hebrew Bible.

    4. Favorite seminary or theologically-themed class
    I actually really enjoyed all the church history classes I had to take, especially the study of American church history.

    5. Dream class – if you could design the ultimate undergraduate/graduate course, what would it be?
    Probably something tracing the way folk music has evolved and changed as it was carried from place to place and as it encountered other traditions. I know a little bit of this stuff, just enough to know there’s a lot more to learn. (Someone has probably already designed this course; I just haven’t found it yet.)

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  4. I love this one, and ideally would love to make it a long blog post, but here’s a quick play for today.

    1. Favorite class during your many years of schooling?

    For now I’ll choose colour theory! I can’t count the times I’ve used the concepts we worked with and that I’m still learning about.

    2. Toughest class you have taken:

    Almost any one with an unclear, disinterested instructor. Specifically? (1)Was that sociology class with the rude full professor “social structure?” Not sure, but I clearly recall when he took a break for his son’s wedding the TA who taught us brought the subject to life, so it was the teacher not the task! (2)First semester calculus with mumbling, unclear semi-lectures, wrong equations on the board…. yuck.

    3. Class you would love to retake?

    US History survey, both semesters, mainly because I know so many more facts and have a broader perspective now.

    4. Favorite seminary or theologically-themed class:

    Book of the Twelve /minor prophets, maybe?

    5. Dream class – if you could design the ultimate undergraduate/graduate course, what would it be?

    All these years later, I still wish I could have majored in urban studies (some schools offer an urban studies major) rather than doing the urban studies concentration / interdisciplinary minor.

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  6. 1. Favorite class during your many years of schooling – high school Maths – i did the top level of Maths in my final years at High School, did well and generally enjoyed it, though it was challenging.Having a good teacher helped.
    2, Toughest class you have taken – 2nd year University Physics – i struggled all year, it was beyond me.
    3. Class you would love to retake – cant think of any I would like to redo
    4. Favorite seminary or theologically-themed class – introduction to pastoral practice [we learnt a lot about ourselves and interactions with others] ,
    5. Dream class – if you could design the ultimate undergraduate/graduate course, what would it be? a class in all the thing that are not covered in Ministry training 🙂 maybe a class that looked at potential conflict with/in congregation and how to deal with that; helpful ways to bring in change or offer new possibilities; how to work with colleagues (from the same and different denominations) all led by practitioners not academics.
    if I was to do further studies I think maybe it would be in retreat leading or spiritual reflection.

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