Monday, December 22, 2008

Class is Fun (Sometimes)

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we used an actual chalkboard in my favorite class

my interdisciplinary class this past semester was so interesting that i had fun attending it.  in fact, i missed a class once and i began hitting myself over the head.  i was missing out on so much good stuff!  the class had some really long name, and it focused on the world’s current energy situation.  the professor was a canadian, hailing from edmonton, alberta, which is six hours north from where i lived for grades 3 and 4.  when i asked him about my town, medicine hat, he told me how he’d often drive through there.  what a small world!

professor piers is an emeritus professor, and he returns to teach just this one course.  he taught chemistry before he retired, and which gave him a lot of credibility when he’d discuss the efficiency of ethanol and the amount of energy gasoline contained.  every class was a tremendous learning experience, and his lectures were so enlightening.  i could tell that he had spent many years honing his teaching skills.  we covered natural gas, oil, coal, solar, wind, and everything in between, and by the end of the course, i had a much better understanding of why obama is urgently pushing for alternative energy.  after learning the facts, i can’t help but feel the same way.  we need to move off oil as soon as possible and invest in alternative energy to power our nation.

over my career at calvin, i’ve noticed that great classes have a few things in common:
1. the prof is knowledgeable and confident.  the religion department is filled with these kinds of profs.  that’s why i’m a religion major.
2. students get involved.  nothing like great discussions from students who care about the topic.
3. the prof lets students get involved.  many a great discussion has been squelched by a prof determined to reach chapter 12 by october 11th.
4. in-class material is different than textbook content.  i’m not attending a class to hear the professor repeat what i just read.
5. the profs believe in the course content so much that their enthusiasm spreads to the students.

those are the classes that i’m sorry to miss, and those are the classes that i hate to complete.  i’d rather extend the semester than receive a letter grade on my final exam.

Posted by Nehe555 on 12/22 at 11:29 PM
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