Heather Hayes: Mashburn #3

Dr. Mashburn started where he left off last time we were together. What is the University?-Part II. During the roman perirod (500 BCE to 500 CE) life was much different. Mother's were in charge of educating there young children. The role of young girls were to run the home, become mothers themselves and administer the household. Now, men are seen as the ones who should run the household. Boys of this time were to be apprentices of their fathers and memorize laws. Here is a list of some of the twelve tablets during 455 BCE:
* If one didn't pay their dept then they were sold into slavery to match the dept.
* Extreme deformed children were killed.
* If the father sells his son three times his son if free from his father.
* If someone testifies as a false witness they will be hurled down the Tarpeian Rock.
The roman schools of 300 BCE taught subjects, such as, rhetoric, literature, logic, geometry, astronomy, music, physics, law, and philosophy. Dr. Mashburn posted a few quotes from the era, one in which I took special interest to was that of Ci Cero. " To be content with what one has is the greatest and truest of riches." The Greek education system was quite different than that of the Romans. Greeks liked to think and talk, whereas, Romans preferred to build roads and set laws. The Latin phrase In hoc signo vinces means, "In this sign you will be victorious." The Emperor Constantine regiened from 280-337. He saw the (In hoc signo vinces) in a dream and became a born again Christian. This dream also lead to the Constantine Reforms:
* The cross represent the army
* Legal rights to Christians
* Sunday effical Roman holiday
* Chruches tax exempt status
* Declared December 25 as the day of Christmas
* Motivating force behind Council of Nicea Jesus-fully human, fully God
*Easter and Lent

Dr. Mashburn's Response Paper November 14

Andrew Schmitt

Dr. Mashburn once again did an amazing job conveying the importance and origin of the university. I would have to say that the thing that was most outstanding to me about the information presented to us was the lack of discipline between American Universities and European Universities. To me, it seems that the Europeans take so much more pride in their education than Americans do. While in college, Europeans basically eat, sleep, attend class, and study the majority of the day. This definitely has its cons, but this goes to show that students in Europe realize what they are at college to do and that is to further their education. It is with deep sorrow that I say many young people go off to college today looking for entertainment and parties. The mindset of many young Americans who go off to college nowadays is basically, "I want to spread my wings and do what feels good without having mom and dad telling me what to do. I think it would not hurt us Americans if we stepped back and looked at how the Europeans are doing education, lest one day they will all be our bosses and we will see how we had the same opportunity as they had, yet we wasted ours.

Response, final paper

Response to Dr. Mashburn's Nov. 14 lecture--please post your response as soon as possible.

Re: your final FS 100 paper, since I was out sick on the day we should have discussed this, the deadline will be 12/5 instead of 11/28. This paper is very short--only one page double spaced in which you relate some observations about FS100/your first semester at UM in general. The following questions may help you get started.

Has my first semester at UM been what I expected? How or how not?
What surprises/disappointments stand out?
Is there any way in which I wish I had been better prepared?
What have I learned that will make subsequent semesters easier/better?

Next week we will also discuss selecting a major (I think most of you already have this nailed down), and the Keirsey Type Sorter (so be sure to bring this).

And yes, since I missed another day, you will also be forgiven one additional absence!

Josh S. Time Mgt. Tip

Time management is simply managing your priorities. What I mean by that is what you hold as important you will have the time to do. It always happens. Unfortunately for most of us what we want to do is to neglect work, and value relaxing and having fun. So in order to have good time management we must first value things like school work, our job, exercise, sleep, ect.

Time Management Tip

Time management is not really something that can be taught, so giving a tip is almost impossible. No matter what is said, it is up to the person to make the sacrifice or sacrifices needed to manage his or her time. So the only tip I can give is to be willing to make sacrifices in order to manage time.
T.J.

Time Management Tip

Time management is how you handle your time, whether you use it wisely or waste it. It's hard to give a tip on actually managing your time properly, you should just always have time set aside to focus on the things that need to get done. Anyone can manage their time properly, it just comes down to a matter of actually wanting to. Most of the time we just procrastinate until we can't anymore. We're always avoiding that next paper, studying, or any given homework assignment. There just comes a time in our life where we realize we have to mature and become responsible.

Time Management Tip

By: Andrew Schmitt

Extra time is something that is hard to find for myself. If I am not careful, I find myself wasting more of it than using it wisely. The most helpful tip that I have learned about managing my time is planning and using a schedule. I am the type of person who will and likes to follow a schedule. I cannot function unless I am organized and a schedule allows me to do that. It provides structure and accountability to my life. If I am ever in doubt of what I should be doing, I look to the schedule. Unlike other people's schedule, I like to keep my schedule very rigid. If i set out to do something at a particular time and place, Lord willing, I am going to do that particular activity at that specific time and place. In a way, a schedule serves as my parents away from home. It makes sure I complete what I am supposed to when I am supposed to. Being in college and having no one to come to you and hold you accountable, I feel that a schedule is a great time management tool to use.

Time Management tip

Most times when I find myself in a stressful situation and I need a little bit more time such as study time for a test or eating time for lunch before practise I usually do these activities during moments people never expect these things to be done. For instance if I have a test in a couple hours and I still need to study a bit but I have to do a few things more in my schedule then I try to study through different methods. Like while walking to class, my friend quizzes me or if I'm in the shower I try to review the main points through my head which helps me to remember things. Another example if I want to grab a bite before practise sometimes I don't have time to sit down make myself comfortable and eat so instead I make a quick sandwich or grab a snack in my hand and eat while I am walking to the field this saves me lots of time. You don't always need to be at a desk to study or at a cafeteria to eat, and by using my method you can do a few things at once saving you a bunch of time.

Topic--Time Management Tip

Please share one of your time management tips. This can pertain to any of the topics covered in your chapter, or in the Time Challenged video: priorities, handling disruptions, making a daily plan, etc.

A couple of things that save me a lot of time are automatic deposit and online bill paying. You all are at a different point though, so I look forward to reading your tips!

Here is our class picture with David somewhat artfully added in. If you would like me to e-mail this to you, please let me know.

Lecture on Education

The lecture on the definition of education that was held by Dr. Kingsford, Mrs. Dunning and Dr. Robertson was very interesting, and had me listening. Each Professor had a different definition and a different perspective on their theory of education and what it means to them. Dr. Kingsford explained that there is no professor at the University of Mobile that would define it the same way as any one of his collegues. The education that we receive at school is that what we receive from others, meaning the people and the events that surround us and influence us at the school. It is also what we teach ourselves because a big part of college is using your mind and asking questions that you never asked before. It keeps us thinking and trying to solve problems we have never encountered in our lives. Through this process we engage our mind and develop it to think more ratonally for itself and it becomes a stronger muscle just like when we work out in the gym and develop our physical muscles.
Mrs. Dunning continued the conversation and her opinion in being engaged in the learning process is to ask questions, especially in the stuff you don't understand. She stated rather then just using short-term memmory, she encouraged students to really understand what there reading and working on. Knowledge is power but it can be forgetful, so while engaged in the learning process, Mrs. Dunning tryed to reinforce to students to really try to focus and concentrate hard on what they are doing so it will stick in there minds and students won't forget it. Tuiton is really expensive and while at school students should make the most out of it. Being engaged also means doing more then the expected. That is visiting professors, looking for outside sources and becoming active.
To finish the lecture Dr. Robertson listed some of his opinions and he tryed to let students incorporate God in all their teachings. He said God is the source of all truth and ideally he is inside or related to everything we are learning. While attending school, we should understand this fact and bless God for giving us the chance to make the learn-process an available experince to us. The lecture by all three professors consisted of different points and views each student could look upon of. The conversation really grasped my attention and it gave me some nice ideas.

Mashburn 2

Dr. Mashburn's second lecture on education was very insightful. The fact that there are so many definitions of education really got me thinking. What is education really? I guess anything from a graduate of Harvard to an African tribal leader has experienced some sort of education. It seems weird to think of it that way, but in a sense that is the truth. It does not matter what you earn but the act of learning that is the true essence of learning. That is what i got from this lecture.

T.J. Brown

Mashburn #2 Josh Stodghill

Topic: Panel discussion response paper.
Dr. Kingsford focuses primarily on what the K-12 education system is for and what the college years are meant for. He pointed out that for us we have been focusing primarily on facts that are intellectual, political, ect.; where as, now college will still teach this, but it will also cause us to learn to think on our own. He stressed the fact that college is just the next step in the life long learning process.
Dr. Dunning made the point that if a class is easy for us then we should dig deeper on our own. I love this point, and believe that students should do this in order to accomplish the knowledge they will need later as well as developing skills that will carry on for the rest of their life.
Dr. Roberts made my favorite point when he used 1 Corinthians 10:31 which says, "therefore whether you eat or you drink or what ever you do, do it all to the glory of God". He made the point that in our education process we are to learn as much as we can and to accomplish as much as we can so that what we do will be to the glory of God. So many times people will do there classes for the grade or for their parents, and miss the point that they are to do their best for the Lord.

Barbara Bowar, Mashburn #2

I learned that there are many definitions of education, not just one. We heard three different ones from the three speakers. Dr. Kingsford talked about how education is a process and we are always learning. College is a formal structure of education. Dr. Dunning talked to us about not just learning for the test, but beyond that, as questions, and to go see your professors to help get a good education. Dr. Robertson talked about how we were created to glorify God, so we should become educated about Him and glorify Him. I think that what they told us was very helpful and useful to getting a good education.

Topic # 4 Dr. Mashburn

The topic of Dr. Mashburn's lecture was education.  

Dr. Kingsford's definition of education was, to help students change or do new things, ultimately a process we participate, the end product is learning, and it is not confined to a school building.  K-12, he said, was the beginning process of formal education and college is the next step.  During our k-12 years, he stated, we learn intellectually, politically, economically, and socially.  Our 4 year degree is more focused on what we learn from others and education we give ourselves.

Dr. Dunning described education as being engaged in a learning process.  She covered three main points that she believed would help us with our education.  
1.  Work for the test or beyond

2.  Ask questions

3.  Go to your professor's office: You will recieve help and lets your professor know you care

Finally, Dr. Robertson began by asking,"Why are you here?" He went on to answer his own question by reminding us that we are here to glorify God, first and foremost, and we are not here by accident.  How does God relate to things we study?  He gave us a mind to use to glorify Him, therefore we should use our minds to learn and become educated about Him.

Mo Habibzi (Dr.Mashburn #2)

What is Education?

I thought that Dr. Mashburn, Dr. Kingsford, Dr. Dunning, and finally Dr. Robinson’s speech was really helpful for us freshman because we heard four different ideas of what education is. This is how I pictured there ideas of what is education? What I learned was that education starts from the day you were born. You teach yourself how to walk when you’re little, then slowly you start to talk and etc. Then as you get older and start to attend school, you become more educated. But you process your brain and yourself to be educated everywhere school, home, streets, friends, family and so on. Also one other way to educated yourself is by asking your teachers/ professors question on the things you don’t understand what they are teaching or something they aren’t teaching. Throughout your whole life you educated yourself to become someone after University, but after finding a job you’re still processing yourself and becoming more educated to learn more about that job and the future.

Heather Hayes: Mashburn #2

What is education?
Dr. Kingsford:
The dictionary definition is to challenge, motivate, and inspire. To educate means to help students change or learn how to do new things. This definition does not adequately define education or even answer the question (what is education). Each professor has their own definition of what education is. Education is ultimately a process with the en product being learning. One can experience education everywhere. College is just the next step to learning what education is. The experience of the school years prior to college are the foundations of education. The foundation is made of four basic principles: economic, political, intellectual, and social. Education really begins after college experience. There are two types of education. One type of education we give ourselves and the other type we receive from others.
Dr. Dunning:
-If I Had Known Then What I Know Now-
To become successfully educated one must become engaged in learning. How does one engage themselves in learning? Three ways to engage in learning are to work for the test and beyond, ask questions, and meet with your professor. Meeting with your professor will get you further help than class and it lets your professor know you are interested and care about the class.
Dr. Dunning shared with us that we will never have as much free time as we have now.
Dr. Robinson:
-Why am I here?
The purpose of a Christian University is to integrate faith with learning.
You must always remember to glorify God with all your mind.
Matthew 22: 37
He said to him, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind."

Topic #4 Dr. Mashburn

Andrew Schmitt

I would have to say that today's lecture/question and answer session with Dr. Kingsford, Dr. Dunning, and Dr. Robertson was awesome and informative. Today we discussed what education really is. It was interesting to note that Dr. Kingsford, the Dean of Education, could not really settle on an official definition for education. Basically, he said twenty different people would have twenty different opinions as to the definition of education; however, he did say that education is a never-ending process.
Dr. Dunning stressed the point of not just studying to learn for an exam, but study to retain. We concluded that this is a difficult practice to perform, yet could be done by extensive research and critical thinking.
Dr. Robertson definitely drove the nail in the coffin when he talked about how we should have a desire to learn because we cant truly follow the Greatest Commandment in Mark 12:28-31 unless we want to increase our intelligence. We should love God enough to do this.
As we study for and take our exams in college and basically whatever we do in life, we should heed Paul's writing to the church at Colossae when he said, "And whatever you do whether in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. " (Colossians 3:17)

Neal Ledbetter

I found Neal's speech to be very entertaining and interesting. I thought he did a real good job catching the crowd's attention and getting his points across. Neal's lecture was to help students understand, that even though students are away from home and parental influence it means no reason to stop the relationship they held with God. Instead he insisted we continue to bond with God and learn more about him, because that is one reason why someone would attend a Christian school. Some reasons why students become detached away from God in college are bad influence, more freedom (independance) or a change of heart. Why? Many students were dependant on there parents and others but now that they are alone, they gain more freedom and become responsible for there own choices. Neal argued that should not be true though fun is necessary at College, each of us has certain resposibilities and we should not forget those even while experiencing new changes. Instead of becoming separted further from God, students should be open and look for ways to come closer to God. Students should challenge one another with new questions and use there minds to worship him. Instead of being focused on just what's around you, peers and friends should learn about the entire world and understanding whats going on across the entire globe. College should not only be an academic experience. It is much more then just getting a degree. It is a spiritual experince just as much as anything else and after leaving Univeristy students should feel good and smart about themselves. Not only have they attained more knowledge but they have learned to become better people who there peers have trust inside them, that they can survive in the world. Neal mentioned to do this we should each have a mentor to challenge us. To help us use our minds more and to think harder for ourselves.

Topic # 4 Dr. Mashburn

Please post your response to Dr. Mashburn's October 3 lecture.

Topic # 3 Critical Thinking

What is one thing you wish you had done or known before you began college? Explain.

(This may be funny, serious, spiritual, practical, academic--anything that would have been helpful for you to have done/known before beginning college.)

Topic # 2

Please post your response to Neal Ledbetter's September 5 presentation on spriritual challenges faced by freshmen.

Topic #1

Please post your response to Dr. Mashburn's August 22 lecture on "The University."

FYI: Dr. Mashburn joined the UM faculty in 1985, and serves as co-dean of our College of Arts and Sciences. He teaches philosophy, and is an ordained Baptist minister. He earned his B.A. at Livingston University; his M.Div. at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, his M.Th. at New College, University of Edinburgh; and his D.Phil. at the University of Oxford.

Welcome!

Welcome to the FS 100, section 09 blog!

This is where you will post your responses to our lectures by Dr. Mashburn, Neal Ledbetter, and Brian Boyle. Please put your name and topic number in your topic line (i.e. Ginger #1) and limit responses to a couple of paragraphs (posts must be at least six or seven sentences to earn credit--remember, your class exercises count for 28% of your FS 100 grade!), and keep in mind that everyone in the class will be able to view what you write. You are welcome to respond to one another's entries, as long as your responses are respectful.

If you have questions or problems posting, please call me at 442-2372.I look forward to hearing from you!

Pamela Buchanan