By Gabby Carlson | Echo
There are three words college students don't want to see on their schedules: general education courses. This is why the foundational core committee decided the required courses each Taylor student needs to graduate with were not just "general education" but needed to be part of the new foundational core curriculum. Professors strive to keep their foundational core courses interesting for students from different majors, countries and perspectives.
Bill Heth, professor of Biblical Studies, said, "You can say the foundational core courses are my favorite ones to teach. I'd rather teach those than electives in our department." Heth articulated his passion for young students taking his course: "I became a Christian in college, and it so changed my life that I think it changes or can change Taylor students' lives."
Heth's secret to 30 years of success comes from one of his fears.
"My greatest fear is that I would bore students. God is not boring. So, I'm always always looking for either an Echo article, something that was written touching on Taylor student life, something in the news or a hot topic that I can relate the subject matter to," Heth said.
Heth tries to keep a balance between academics and hot topics, but enjoys the variety of students he encounters and invests in daily. "I'm an 18-year-old at heart, so I think that works too. I'm not cool, and I'm not really smart like my colleagues."
Matt Renfrow can be found in the depths of the Eichling Aquatics Wing as an associate professor of kinesiology. Although the majority of his courses pertain to exercise science majors, he also teaches Fitness For Life (Kin 100), a requirement in the foundational core curriculum. Renfrow likes teaching this course because it's one of the only times he interacts with students outside of the exercise science major.
Renfrow knows the secret of keeping every sphere of influence balanced.
"You know, I think there is a balance between wanting to give you guys good content, but I don't want to turn it into a bunch of heavy basic science," Renfrow said.
By incorporating the habits of people from all walks of life, he encourages his students to form their own healthy habits. "As a liberal arts institution, we are trying to see that all things overlap. That's why last year I had Dr. Habecker come in and talk about how he cares for himself and Dr. Diller from philosophy as well."
Jeff Cramer, associate professor of computer science & engineering, has served on the foundational core committee since its creation. He has taught a portion of Foundations, Senior Seminar and COS 104 for a few years-all foundational core courses.
Cramer's secret to success is clear.
"I think the foundational core courses can be made more relevant and interesting to the students if you keep a theological perspective in the course," Cramer said.
Cramer sees a lot of room for improvement in the curriculum for the future. One area he highlights in particular is unity within the courses.
"One of the weaknesses is that students take a hodge podge of courses that largely feel unconnected," Cramer said. "I think one of the key things we could do to improve the foundational core would be to get those that are teaching in that area to incorporate some big ideas that would fit across the whole foundational core curriculum."
By doing this, Cramer believes students would not only relate to their classes, but they would also be able to apply core classes to one another.
Many professors are motivated to mold their courses to the foundational core curriculum and also promote strengthening their students' core values to develop well-rounded citizens. All three professors mentioned a student perspective to the phrase 'gen ed', further approving this academic shift:
From Heth: "I thought, 'That's why they changed the name from general education,' which sounds like, 'Oh man, who wants that?' to foundational core curriculum."
From Renfrow: "There's a sense of 'It's a gen ed, I just need to get it out of the way.' How many times have you heard the phrase?"
From Cramer: "A positive direction would be to get faculty and students to refrain from using phrases like, 'Let's get this one out of the way.'"
Bill Heth praised the shift from a general education system to a foundational core curriculum: "They're foundations in our Christian life that we never grow out of, but we always build upon for the rest of our life." Core strengthening your mind and faith can be just as important as core strengthening for the physical body.
