Teaching and Classes and Everything Whitworth Related

I love teaching. From day one it has been obvious to me that this is exactly what God has prepared me for, both educationally and personally. Despite the relentless lecture preps—three new lectures every other day, at least in the first semester—I felt like I thrived rather than just survived. Over the course of the year I experienced the ebb and flow of a semester, the initial excitement and attentiveness of a class of students, coupled with timidity from not knowing one another, to the mid-semester slump of routine and deadlines, to the end-of-semester fatigue but general comfortability with classmates and the professor. Each of my classes—two sections of Introduction to the Bible, two sections of Philippians, and one section each of Messiah and Genesis Themes in Paul’s Letters—developed its own personality. I discovered which classes are easier to teach than others, and which ones I prefer to teach. My least favorite class to teach was Introduction to the Bible, merely because there was so much information to try to cover in one semester, and to do so in a way that is basic enough for those with zero biblical exposure and still challenging for those for whom the bible is a mainstay in their life. I’m not sure I did it well, but I made a valiant effort. On the other end of the spectrum was ‘Genesis Themes in Paul’s Letters’. Whether due to the student make-up or the content or my a little of both, this was such a fun course to teach. And many of the students had high praise for it as well. In a final study session, one student exclaimed to her peer, “I love Paul’s letters! I love this class! I love her (referring to me)!” I was sad for the class to end.

Over the course of the year I also went from knowing no students to recognizing and connecting personally with many, some of whom were in my classes and some of whom were not. I met students for coffee, for lunch, for walks, and welcomed them for chats in my office. It was an absolute joy. I studied with students at a local bakery, swam with students in the Little Spokane River in early May, and spent countless hours building relationships with them elsewhere outside of class. Time and time again I was reminded how wonderful of a gift it is to be here at Whitworth.  

I also loved getting to know my colleagues in the theology department, as well as those in other disciplines. They have all supported and encouraged me in this first year of teaching, becoming in the process some of my closest friends here in Spokane. Additionally, one of the highlights of most weeks was what has now been deemed ‘Beers with Peers’, a Friday afternoon gathering of faculty at the corner pub. The laughs that came from those Friday afternoon gatherings were often what got me through the next week of seemingly endless work.
      There is, of course, much more that can be said; what I've written here barely scratches the surface. Nevertheless, this will have to suffice. :)