By: Harry Fritzenschaft on October 18, 2018
Rowntree asks us the question, more frankly asks me the question, “Why are you studying?”[1] Perhaps more contextually, the question should be, “Why are you pursuing a doctoral degree (the glamorous DMin LGP)?” Upon starting my seminary education in January 2017, my original purpose was to acquire a doctoral degree, a terminal degree so my…
By: Mary Mims on October 18, 2018
I graduated from high school over 40 years ago. I spent around 18 years taking college and graduate level courses. And now I am just reading books on How to Study correctly? I guess I should be a bit angry that no one told me there was a secret to all of this book learning. …
By: Jenn Burnett on October 18, 2018
I was single for much of my undergraduate degree. Married but no kids during seminary; but then had to finish some extra Masters level courses after I’d had children and it required absurd levels of commitment and reorientation. The transition wasn’t pretty. I remember lying on the bathroom floor, plagued by unrelenting morning sickness, with…
By: Tammy Dunahoo on October 18, 2018
The best version of Tammy Dunahoo is when I live on the edge of the quarter, the old kind with George Washington’s head on one side and the eagle’s wings on the other. I have what some might see as a strange hard-wiring as there is a practical, analytical, thinker (“heads”) on one side and…
By: Rhonda Davis on October 18, 2018
During our trip to Hong Kong, I heard many of you discussing the Enneagram, and various reflections on your “2-ness” or “8-ness.” I was curious about this, so I decided to take the assessment myself.[1] My result: over-the-top-3. After assessing my type, I fell down the rabbit hole of discovery. Apparently, this is common for…
By: Harry Edwards on October 18, 2018
For as long as I can remember, writing well has always been a roadblock to pursuing advanced degrees—at least the kind of writing required to pass courses. Secondary education and the years in college did not prepare me well for the task of writing. Sure, we had English, Literature, Grammar, but nothing on how to…
By: Sean Dean on October 18, 2018
There is a point in the movie Patch Adams where Patch and Carin are talking about Patch’s epiphany about how medicine should work. Carin expresses her distrust in Patch’s positive outlook on medicine, because people hurt people. Patch’s response always gets me, he asks her “and who hurt you?”. In most of our society this…
By: Andrea Lathrop on October 18, 2018
Derek Rowntree did something early on in Learn How to Study: Developing the study skills and approaches to learning that will help you succeed in university[1]that got me thinking about empathy. He convinced me in his introduction that he truly cared about my success as a student. He even expressed his desire to personally coach…
By: Digby Wilkinson on October 18, 2018
I’m writing this on a plane to Australia, while watching Jurassic World (that’s honesty and multitasking!). Ok, before I wax eloquent on Rountree’s helpful little book, LEARN HOW TO STUDY: Developing the study skills and approaches to learning that will help you succeed in university, [1] I thought it would be interesting to read about…
By: Rev Jacob Bolton on October 17, 2018
“Why are you reading this paragraph? It is not lettered A, B, or C, so it does not correspond with any of the answers. If you want to get the best out of a programme (or any other reading for that matter) you must watch out for clues that will help you skip material you…
By: Mario Hood on October 17, 2018
The biggest takeaway from reading, Learn How to Study by Rowntree is the effectiveness of planning out your study time. It has been said in leadership teachings to focus on your strengths and not your weakness.[1] While this is a famous saying and motivates people to do their best while not worrying about their weakness,…
By: John Muhanji on October 16, 2018
We have an African saying in Swahili that says that “ Tembea uone mengi” (travel and see more), resonate with me as we went to Hong Kong. It was a journey to the East that was with full of many surprises and wonders that one would hardly see in the part of African, I was…
By: Shermika Harvey on October 14, 2018
The world of education has been turned on its head, and an end has to come to this madness! Firstly with the introduction of “How to Read A Book” by Adler & VanDoren forced a reboot of the cerebrum to adjust to the new levels of reading. Now, this, “How to Talk About A Book…
By: Wallace Kamau on October 12, 2018
I have always had it very easy getting my books on Amazon and mostly in kindle version and earned some reasonable credit to enable me get some free books to my credit. It was therefore with such confidence that I put off acquiring the book “How to Talk About Books that you Haven’t Read” by…
By: Rhonda Davis on October 12, 2018
I have been accused of suffering from frequent amnesia. Unfortunately, I must plead guilty to the accusation. For instance, I recently watched one of the many super hero movies that are so popular in my house full of boys. When it was over, I said, “That one was pretty good. I liked it better than…
By: Harry Fritzenschaft on October 11, 2018
Wow, after getting home from Hong Kong this past Saturday evening, my first week back has been slammed! It is totally (my three-year-old grandson says that) my fault; I am trying to complete my final two theology courses (no big deal, only the Trinity and Race) of my MA in Theology at Fuller Houston…
By: Tammy Dunahoo on October 11, 2018
Jet lagged and swamped with work from being out of the country for eighteen days, I attempted to read Pierre Bayard’s, How to Talk About Books You Haven’t Read with as much focused attention as my foggy brain could muster. During this grueling process, I would read his statements extolling “the virtues of non-reading” and…
By: Mary Mims on October 11, 2018
I sneered at the idea of talking about books I never read. I thought this was academically dishonest to at least not try to read all of the books assigned. I have had trouble in some graduate level courses because I believed I had to really know my sources, and know what I was talking…
By: Harry Edwards on October 11, 2018
How To Talk About Books You Haven’t Read was tough reading for me. I held off writing this to the very end to avoid the real possibility that I may have misunderstood Bayard’s project. I did not want to fall into the same category of people who misjudge books simply by its cover. One only…
By: Andrea Lathrop on October 11, 2018
As mentioned in my previous post in response to How to Read a Book, my reading and study habits are being challenged. How to Talk About Books You Haven’t Read takes it to another level. I attempted to practice what I have been learning and did my best skimming yet! You would think skimming would…
