St. Patrick was born to an aristocratic family in Britain in the fourth century. While he was a young man, Patrick was captured by Irish raiders and taken to Ireland where he was enslaved for six years. Due to this enslavement, Patrick never learned to read and is known as having a poor rhetoric because he was never taught the rhetoric of Britain. Patrick, however, learned a different type of rhetoric that allowed him to return to Ireland as an evangelist.
Patrick’s story is inspiring to me as a Christian. First, instead of resenting God and walking away from him because he was enslaved, Patrick used his knowledge of how the Irish thought and learned as a means of bringing them Gospel. When Patrick was able to return to Britain after six years in slavery, he became a bishop for the Roman Catholic Church and was called by God back to Ireland. A second way that Patrick inspires me is that God was able to use him to evangelize an entire barbarian country without a formal education! Because of being enslaved at the age of 15, Patrick did not receive the formal education he would have due to his family’s status in society. We can know based on Patrick’s life that God is able to use anyone at any academic level to spread his Gospel to those who haven’t heard. Finally, Patrick inspires me because he answered God’s calling in his life to be an evangelist to Ireland. When his critics were asked why Patrick returned to Ireland, they replied “He was compelled by God and called by the need of Irish.” If Patrick had not listened to God’s call for his return to Ireland, many Anglo-Americans would have a different life than the one they have today.
Although St. Patrick lived 1600 years ago as a contemporary of St. Augustine, his life and works still have an impact on not only Irish culture but also on the entirety of Christianity. So when you pull out your green this year and watch the parades (or pinch people for not wearing green), remember this incredible story about a man who followed God to a barbarian land and evangelized an entire country. To find out more about St. Patrick, his life and writings, check out the articles “St. Patrick in Fact and Fiction” by A. Haire Forster and “’Ego Patricius, peccator rusticissimus’: The Rhetoric of St. Patrick of Ireland” by Paul Lynch. You can search for these articles on Ebscohost and also the various books in the Library about St. Patrick.
~Jenny Dunning
Works of Art
Currier, Nathaniel. St. Patrick. N.d. Ackland Art Museum, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. ARTstor. Web. 7 Mar. 2014.
Etcheverry, Hubert-Denis. Saint Patrick Converting Two Noble Women. 1896. Musee Bonnat, Art Resource, NY. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. ARTstor. Web. 7 Mar. 2014.
This video was inspired by a previous post "Cheap Library Dates". That blog can be read here. Please enjoy the following feature.
A Special thank you goes to the cast Daniel Wright, Rebecca Hardman and Daniel Hanselman. The artist vision and videography is courtesy of Daniel Wright and Michael Rothermal.
We
are only a month or so into the school year, but the homework is starting to
pile up. Readings are stacking up, papers need to be written, and projects need
consideration. With papers, projects and readings looming overhead, I have
developed a list of tips to help a student stay on top of the mounds of
homework that further our education!
1.
Time it. I have seen the excellent advice of pacing yourself; set a timer,
generally 25-45 minutes. During this time period you do some hardcore
studying, not letting anything distract you. When the timer goes off, take a
5-15 minute break (setting the timer for that as well) to just do something
leisurely. Then go at it again, setting a timer to get some firm studying done.
2.
Close Facebook. No, seriously. Close it. In fact, don’t touch the
browser at all unless you are doing research. Don’t give yourself any excuses.
If you absolutely MUST check your Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc, then do it
during the 5-15 minute break mentioned above. Be SURE to have your timer
though, because then you can’t get sucked in for endless hours; the timer will
force you to stop and go back to work.
3.
Environment matters. Don’t lay on your bed, or lay on a couch. Your
environment matters greatly when you study. If you study in a relaxing
environment that you always associate with a feeling of rest, then your brain
is going to switch to that resting mode it has for that environment. Choose
study-specific environments, like the library, or the commuter lounge, or even
just your desk in your room. If you don’t believe me that environment matters,
ask Matt McAlack! He’ll prove it to you in all the brainy technical terms
you’ll need.
4.
Prioritize. What’s due first? It’s best to get the things that are due
first out of the way. People often try to get the easiest assignments done
first, but that’s taking up valuable time that could be better spent on
something that is due sooner. This way, you don’t stress out about something
that’s due tomorrow because you were working on something that is due in three
days. Prioritizing has been especially easy for me with the app ‘MyHomework’,
which I got on my Kindle Fire HD. It’s absolutely free and it puts up the list
for you of what’s due first.
5.
Study Alone. I hear often that people study better in groups, but guys,
when we get down to it, we all know that the people we have around us are
distracting. When you’re spending time with friends, even if you’re both
supposed to be doing homework the temptation to goof off and have fun is
overwhelming. It is often best to study alone, or study with one person
who is quite studious themselves. It is easy to find a solitary space to study
in with the study rooms at the library, to which the keys can be checked out
right at the front desk.
6.
Use flash cards and notes. This method is especially helpful if you’re
in a class that has important terms that must be remembered. Write the term
down on one side of an index card, and then write the definition on the other
side. Then quiz yourself, only looking on the definition side once you’ve tried
to give your own. Also, during readings, it is highly profitable to take notes.
If something stands out to you, or if there’s something that you personally
disagree with, go ahead and write it down! The professor will absolutely love
it when you bring it up with them or the class.
7.
Get a head start and don’t cram. This is incredibly important. The
sooner you get to work on some of your homework, projects or papers, the sooner
it will be done. Cramming is not healthy, mentally or emotionally, and you retain
a lot less information when you cram than if you study at a more casual pace.
So try to make a list as early in the semester as you can of homework, big and
small, and their due dates. This way, when you get something done before it’s
due, you’ll have some time to just relax and do something fun instead of cram
for that particular piece of homework.
8.
Reward yourself. I saw a fantastic idea on Pinterest where a person put
gummi bears every so often on the pages of the book they were reading; when you
get to the gummi bear, you eat it! This can also be used with M&Ms,
Skittles, etc. It motivates you when you get a reward. I would highly suggest
this method; a mini candy bar always tastes better when you’ve worked hard to
earn it! It gives a much more positive attitude towards homework when you know
you’ll get something good out of it.
9.
If you don’t understand something, ask! Every single teacher I’ve had
here at Cairn has always responded graciously to any emails I sent with a
question. Teachers love it when you ask questions because that shows you’re
doing the work and thinking about it, and that you want to do the work well. If
there’s a prompt for a homework assignment that is confusing for you, or if the
guidelines for your paper or presentation could mean a couple different things,
just send the professor an email and ask them. They will be more than happy to
get back to you and elaborate on what they mean and what they are looking for.
Just remember; it never hurts to ask!
10.
WANT IT. This is the most important tip I could possibly give. You have
to WANT to get your homework done, or else none of these tips will work
anyways. You have to be willing to sit down and work hard for this education
that you are paying to have. College is a gift that plenty of American students
take for granted. We’re here to experience and learn, and to learn we have to
do some things that aren’t always pleasant. Even if it’s not pleasant, you can
want to get it done. And who knows? Maybe you’ll learn a few things by the time
you finish that annoying homework assignment or tough paper.
~Rachel Krodel
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
RSS Feed
Posts
All Comments