At Bethel we have what are called "FYE" (Freshmen Year Experience) blocks--two courses blocked in a single time slot on Tuesday and Thursday of the fall semester that two professors teach teach. Cristian and I teach FYE together. FYE is a sort of a misnomer because it only runs the first semester. Nevertheless, since the program was begun eighteen years ago it has had a fairly dramatic impact on student retention and has enriched the overall Bethel experience. While it is not a unique program--there are many similar across the country--it is one of the things that makes the Bethel experience unique.
Often at the end of the semester our students have expressed their sadness that the block experience ends with the semester. More times than I can count, students have told me during second semester that they "miss block."
We've been thinking a lot about SYE (Sophomore Year Experiences) that might build upon the FYE. There are many things that could be done, but lets just say that at our institution curricular changes don't come easy. One day driving into school I had a brainstorm about a way to "reconnect" with my block during second semester that wouldn't require any curricular change. All it would require would be permission to meet one day per week during chapel (for chapel credit) during the second semester of sophomore year. The VP for Student Enrichment liked the idea and gave our block permission to give it a trial run.
So yesterday Cristian and our two "block mentors" (Karli and Cassie--the best FYE student mentors in the history of the program) started brainstorming together about what this thing might look like. We set a launch date, came up with a name ("B7 Reconnect"--FYE Block 7, reconnecting on many levels), talked about how to generate excitement about it, and discussed themes and topics that might be most helpful to sophomore's in college--something in the general neighborhood of life calling or vocation and our identity in Christ without using such tired and over-used lingo as that. Anyhow, I'm looking forward to the many layers of "reconnection" that may be possible in a setting that is as "un-classlike" as possible.
I love my work. It's the place God has called me--as Buechner says, it's the place where (my) deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet.
p.s. This song just started on my Last FM reggae station, and I've been singing it to my wife. :-)
1 comment:
B7 Reconnect sounds like a good idea. I was in the transfer block when I first came to Bethel, but it really wasn't much of a block. Although, that's where I met my first Bethel friends other than my roommates.
P.S.
This time I actually listed to part of the song you posted. My brother's black lab / pitt mix perked up her ears in her sleep.
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