It has been some time since I last wrote here. My apologies. This has been an untypically busy J-Term1 and there is nothing better than that. The one thing that I hear from people are complaints that they can’t get major requirements or other “needed” classes in and I also hear in whispers that the college is inching toward introducing those. I say fie to that talk. This is a month to try new things and to step out of the ordinary. So bring on the non-traditional courses. I’m also opposed to grades during J-Term. How can one really enjoy and embrace a subject if he/she is always worried about what letter will appear on the transcript? This is my third J-Term and my second Pass/Fail grading option and I attest that I’ve found great enjoyment out of these courses. What am I taking now? Just a nifty little class: Religion on Film. I love movies (my first J-Term was on 1970s American films) and I am intrigued by religion (my second J-Term was on Apocalyptic Movements), so this course is perfect for me. I’m also TAing for perhaps the hardest class offered this month: Intensive Greek. One semester of Classical Greek crammed into 18 days. Yow. But I’ve found a great deal in that class, since I’ve been called upon to teach it a few times, a perfect opportunity to explore what I will be doing with my life–teaching dead languages.
Of course there is more to J-Term than just class. In my case, it has been diving, as our season winds down toward the Conference meet in four weeks. Only four more weeks of collegiate athletics. That’s a bit unnerving.
1. They might call it the Interim Experience (or something like that) now, but it’ll always be J-Term in my heart.