Comments on: Some Classes Stink, or Introducing Mr. Pareto

By: Reading Intelligently « Conjectures of a Dimly Lit Mirror

Reading Intelligently « Conjectures of a Dimly Lit Mirror — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 23:57:47 +0000

[...] The Pareto Principle applies here as elsewhere: 80% of the value of a book can be found in 20% of its pages. That means that reading most of the book will be a low-value use of your time, your professor’s insistence to the contrary notwithstanding. So unless, you really like the book, don’t read any book from cover to cover. Try this instead: [...]

By: A Seminary Survival Guide Sampler | Said at Southern

A Seminary Survival Guide Sampler | Said at Southern — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 10:57:15 +0000

[...] Some Classes Stink [...]

By: Master Your Seminary’s Required Reading in Half the Time (or Less) : Seminary Survival Guide.com

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 10:10:49 +0000

[...] talk about moneyMy Crummiest ClassesSurvive Seminary in the BathroomClasses Worth TakingSome Classes Stink, or Introducing Mr. ParetoChallies on Discernment and CallingWhich degree should I get?Time to Get Back in the Saddle: Plan [...]

By: Stephen Jones

Stephen Jones — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 01:56:37 +0000

Thanks for clarifying, Mark.

By: Mark

Mark — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 17:24:25 +0000

Stephen,

I so appreciate your humility and caution. You’re right: most seminary students are not in a place to make (arrogant) determinations about what is or is not worth their time, so to speak. Seminary curricula are well-designed for the most part, and should be approached with trust and not disdain. I am not encouraging rebellion.

My fundamental assumption is triage: you can’t do everything well, and some things will have to go, simply because we’re finite creatures. So if we have to cut back at seminary for the sake of our sanity or our marriage, I’m saying that there are ways you can do that without robbing yourself of the greatest value of the experience. I hope I can communicate well enough that this isn’t taken as “10 ways to blow off seminary and still get your degree.”

By: Stephen Jones

Stephen Jones — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 18:11:01 +0000

I will be interested to see how you develop this, but I believe seminary students are in a very precarious position to be judging which 20% is most “important.” We should do our best in every class, to the glory of God.

I agree that some classes will demand more time and effort, but we really should approach every class with a sense of urgency and spirit of teachableness. My MDiv was 98 hours, and I just don’t think it would have been wise to exclude any of them.

I would urge every student to select a seminary carefully, and then develop a very high level of trust and respect for its board and faculty. If we don’t trust their curriculum and pedagogical decisions, then we will become frustrated and perhaps even resentful when we wonder, “What is the importance of ___?” or “Why are we wasting so much time on ___?” or “When will I ever apply ___?”

An MDiv program is designed to expose us to a very broad base of knowledge, so that we will be able to converse and interact and discern and dig deeper later on in ministry.

By: Shaun Tabatt

Shaun Tabatt — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 12:32:10 +0000

There will certainly never be enough time in the day to complete all of the things that “need” to be done while you’re in Seminary. It is critical to your survival (sanity) that you come up with a good time management / scheduling system from the start. Another important thing to learn early on is that you don’t always need to get an A. Truth be told, it will be nearly impossible to get an A from some professors. I always strived to do a good job in all of my classes. However, I did commit more of my time and energy to those classes that were core courses for my area of study and a few others that were particularly enjoyable or interesting. Happy studying!