Turning into my busy self

This is my third week of school. The time when you really get to start digging into the courses you are taking. So I thought I would talk about my courses for a little bit. Overall, I really like everything I'm taking and the teachers (some of the students in them are already starting to drive me insane). We'll see how long all of this lasts. Here we go:

Mass Communication: I always love my communication classes because I know everyone in them by now and a lot of times we have fun discussions. Talking about media on a global scale is different for me, as a journalist I've mainly focused on affecting a more local audience. But its been kind of fascinating learning how the big news outlets do it... the biases they have and how the way they present certain issues really affects viewer/reader opinion. This class has birthed in me a hatred for the Fox News Channel (fair and balanced?) that has affected how I watch the news. Propoganda is out there in all the media outlets, and you have critically evaluate everything you are taking in, from either a liberal or conservative bent. Plus, we get to engage in media in the class by watching documentaries, news casts, and listening to speakers. Its been pretty great so far.

Journalism Practicum: This is the third time I've taken this class, but so far its been my favorite time. I am one of three upperclassmen in it, and I kind of feel like I'm there to help out the freshmen who are just starting out with their portfolios and their journalism majors. Plus, as editor of the Huntingtonian this year, they all know me and think I can answer all of their questions. Whether that is a fair assumption or not, this class is like an affirmation session for me. Plus there is a lot of positive relationship-building going on between me and Slang and our new reporting staff. They are all taking everything so seriously, it makes me happy, and its a little pathetic at the same time.

Public Policy: This is the class that might turn into my favorite this semester, because its just freakin' fascinating. Plus, my favorite gen. ed. prof is teaching it, which was a total surprise when I got my schedule this summer. So far we've discussed a ton of stuff that I learned in media law (my FAVORITE class from last year, besides Hebrew) and it is fun to discuss things like the 1st Amendment from a different point of view, and to listen to how non-communication students feel about their freedom of speech and other civil liberties. The only bad thing is the narrow-mindess that comes into play when we discuss issues like legalized prostitution and abortion. People cannot seem to grasp the idea that everyone does not have "Christian" mores, and that every young girl who gets knocked up does not have it coming to her. When I get in an enclosed room with fourty students who know that their opinion is the only right one, I get really uncomfortable. It actually makes me physically sick. So, this class is going to be a challenge for me. I'm excited.

Biblical Interpretation: This class is my heaviest work load, but so far I'm really liking it. Dr. Fairchild is amazing, and even though his class is at 8 a.m. and is 75 minutes long, I'm excited to go in the morning because this stuff is really revolutionary to me. I mean, the Bible is kind of turning into this amazing puzzle to me, where I get to search for key words and themes and the purpose behind some of the things Paul writes in I Timothy. It's hard, and I have a million questions all of the time. Right now I'm in the middle of making observations on the book as a whole, and I cannot wait until I'm done so I can look to commentaries to answer some of my questions. The Bible is so amazing... that to fully understand it the way God intends us to, scholars have developed a system that can take hours just to delve into 12 verses. And it is thousands of years old and it is living, and God communicates to us in it. I sound like a dork but this is just so awesome to me.

Teaching for Character Transformation:
I really like that I'm taking this class after my internship this summer, and I hate it at the same time. Because when we are talking about approaches and principles of how students learn, I can picture myself teaching certain things and using the techniques we talk about to the students from home, but I get frustrated when I think about how much better I could have been when I was teaching, just from what I've learned in the past three weeks of class, and also using concepts from Bib Interp. My professor is crazy, but you can tell she loves what she's doing. I wish that we could have better discussion in there though, no one will talk.


So, this is what I'm learning right now. On top of everything I'm learning as the editor, which has been so much. I'm confident that at the end of this semester, I will be both older and wiser... hehe :)