Help from Herald!

This week our question comes from Overwhelmed, in Chicago, IL.
Overwhelmed writes:
 

Dear Herald, 

Why is it that every moment I spend in community gives me this sinking feeling in the back of my head that I am not getting enough done on my school work? What I mean by that is, I never seem to finish anything here. I am a new student and have been out of school for several years. But I know that undergrad did not assign unethical amounts of reading in every class. I just chose to get involved in too many extracurriculars to accomplish everything there. Here at McCormick, I try to spend almost all of my free time reading, and yet I barely scratch the surface of all the knowledge I am supposed to be stuffing into my brain.  Is this normal?

Anonymously, 
 

Dear Overwhelmed,

First off, take a deep breath.  Seminary is hard.  Expectations are high.  You should congratulate yourself on making it this far.  Your feelings are totally normal.  Breathe in.  Breathe out.

Secondly, as you've now gathered --- seminary professors assign a lot of readings.  Part of the first semester is figuring out expectations of your different professors.  A lot of the balancing act of reading, homework, papers, and still having some kind of "free time" left is figuring out yourself as a learner.  If you have a background in history --- then perhaps you can allow yourself some leeway in those readings.  If you have a background in education, perhaps think of how you might teach this and summarize it to another person and use those strategies on yourself. Make a timeline, an outline, draw a picture to help conceptualize.  Figure out how you learn and how to apply that to your different assignments in class.

Also, (and some of the professors who are reading might want to cover their eyes for this part) seminary isn't all about the book learning.  It's about the experience.  It's great to read about different theologians and their ideas --- but it's more important to learn and practice how to apply that knowledge in the real world.  To develop your own voice and figuring out what you believe and why.

In all reality, if you don't finish a reading, don't sweat it.  Grasp what you can from small group discussions, lectures, and conversations with people.  Application is key.

All this to say, students still aren't able to control what the professors assign --- and it is really in your best interest to read the great things they assign.  But MTS students are human.  Read what you can, in the time you have ... and make sure to allow time for actual breaks without the guilt.

Happy endless reading,

Herald, Ram Extraordinaire