Comments on: Master Your Seminary’s Required Reading in Half the Time (or Less)

By: Reading Intelligently « Conjectures of a Dimly Lit Mirror

Reading Intelligently « Conjectures of a Dimly Lit Mirror — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 23:54:32 +0000

[...] I borrowed this piece from Mark Warnock editor/founder over at seminarysurvivalguide.com. The whole website is filled with wisdom seminary students will eternally benefit from, but this post on reading was exceptional. Part of the article is here, and teh rest can be found in his original post Master Your Seminary’s Required Reading in Half the Time (or Less). [...]

By: Reagan Marsh

Reagan Marsh — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 20:15:01 +0000

I can’t think of a single class in my M.A. or M.Div. programs (both at SBTS in Louisville, KY) which hasn’t required signing a document stating that I have carefully (or closely) read ____ pages of the required ____ number of pages. Perhaps it depends on the degree program as well?

Of course, I can count on one hand the number of books I’ve read in seminary that I didn’t want to read closely…but my wife always tells me that I’m a nerd.

By: Mike

Mike — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 16:56:35 +0000

My only question is this, why is the reading requirement so significantly high if the prov knows that the students are not going to read every word? It seems that the reading requirements are out of touch with reality. The less for more principle would seem to apply to the topic. However, since the requirement is 1 to 2 thousand pages a class and it doesn’t change, then anyone going to seminary better read this article!

By: 32 Tips on Surviving Your First Year in Seminary « Road to Priesthood

32 Tips on Surviving Your First Year in Seminary « Road to Priesthood — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 05:03:37 +0000

[...] 26. Master your required reading list in half the time or less. [...]

By: Maybe the Most Practically Helpful Site I’ve Ever Seen « Your Cross on My Back

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 03:31:10 +0000

[...] Master Your Required Reading in Half the Time [...]

By: Britt Treece

Britt Treece — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 01:15:13 +0000

Great, great, great post and website. I’m gearing up for my last three classes of seminary, but wish I had thought more about the kind of content your website has a long, long time ago. Hopefully, I’ll write a similar post on what I’ve learned in seminary, and seminary reading.

Thanks again,

Britt
crossonmyback

By: Five Points of Interest (02-09-08) | Cal.vini.st

Five Points of Interest (02-09-08) | Cal.vini.st — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 01:35:45 +0000

[...] Master Your Seminary’s Required Reading in Half the Time (or Less) [...]

By: Chris Gensheer

Chris Gensheer — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 17:38:09 +0000

Great thoughts and comments here. As a seminary student, I have had to learn how to moderately speed read. I think that you can actually read 100% of a book, without it taking 2 painstaking weeks of “soaking” in every word. Some books lend themselves to this more than others, of course. Those links above are actually pretty helpful for this. I have been exposed to some other, but similar thoughts.

And yes, I think it is a pedagogical error to equate percentage read with learning. The best assignments I have had are when the professor (who does make us sign off on percentages, unfortunately) gives us “Take Home” “True or False” quizes on the readings. This makes sure that we have read in order to understand what the author was communicating, not just what we took away from it. I have found this to be much more beneficial then the “percentage read” or “reflection paper” approach.

By: Mark

Mark — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 11:31:45 +0000

Excellent point. I don’t deny that there are things lost when you read less than every page of the book. I would hope that lectures and intelligent discussion with peers might provide some direction to the uninitiated.

There is of course a continuum from reading the entire book on one hand, to lightly skimming it on the other. A student can place himself anywhere on that continuum he thinks is appropriate to his understanding of the material and the demands on his time.

Please remember, everyone, that my suggestions about reading are not about the best ways to learn, but about how to manage time. The goal is to reclaim precious time for the most important things with minimal loss of value. If you have a time surplus, these suggestions need not apply.

By: Peter Beck

Peter Beck — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 14:32:35 +0000

As a prof, let me add one equation to the discussion (which by the way, I also teach a similar method of “gutting a book”): does the average student know enough about the topic in question to make an adequate determination as to what is worth reading in a book? Are we running the risk of actually short circuiting the learning process by encouraging the unitiated to determine what is of most value when they have no mental canon by which they might measure the new material?

The shortest distance between points A and Z often means that everything in between also gets shorted. This is the classical catch-22 writ large.