Why JBU?

     I came to JBU mainly because they gave me the most money. I came to a Christian out of state college because I felt God leading me in that direction. My hometown in Colorado has a rather large university and it is also cheep for town residents but it isn't Christian. As I went through my Senior year in High school, I felt God tell me I needed to leave my family and head out on my own. I had grown dependent on others for my spiritual growth and God wanted me to be able to stand on my own two feet, albeit not without Him. God provided JBU as the perfect place for that.


      As to why I decided to pursue a college degree, it's simply because I need one for my career, a museum archivist and hopefully a professor. That is only true of my History degree though. I am also pursuing minors in Economics and Museum Studies because I enjoy those subject areas and not because I foresee any career advantage from them (though they definitely help).

      Finally, I learn because I want to. I have a thirst for knowledge in most subject fields  I want to understand art, technology, construction, math, chemistry, business  communications, etc. There are very few areas that I don't want to learn about. While History is the area of study I enjoy the most, I still want to branch out into other fields and learn. I partake in musicals and plays and I am even considering auditing a bible class. I'm also taking a class on Welsh that has no relation to my major except that the prof teaching it is a History prof.  If only I had more free time and could take classes on graphic design or accounting.  However, I can't stand the basics of any fields. I already have a base knowledge of most of these (hardly enough to account for a credit hour) but some core classes, like physical science  are just repetitions of the basics we learned in high school. While I'd love to take a class on geology or ecology, I despise relearning how mass is the amount of stuff one has or that velocity is speed plus direction. Probably the best non-major class I took here was Microeconomics. It was originally required before I switched majors, but I didn't drop it because I fell in love with the subject. I loved it so much, I am pursuing a minor in it now. So all that to say, I really enjoy learning. 

Is this the last one?!?!?!? for reals?!?!??! what am I going to blog about after this?!?!?!

“The scandal of the evangelical mind prompt one”

Attending a Christian college does not automatically apply the “life of the mind” to a person. It is not just what you learn that is important but how you look at it. While a good college will try it’s best to frame the knowledge with a Christian worldview, it takes action on the learners part to decide how they will look at it. I can take an economics class and only see boring numbers while the professor constantly shows the importance of economics in relation to life and Christ. In order to have “life of the mind” one must themselves build this Christian framework and choose to look through it. A professor can guide them, but only you can walk through the door. However, looking through this framework is much easier with a professor who works with you rather than one who merely teaches the facts. For this reason, how the subject is taught and handled by a college is nearly as important as to how the person themselves looks at the subject. Another thing that can hinder the “life of the mind” is if the college isn’t liberal arts, or has a poor liberal arts program. If one merely learns about their selected major, then they have a very narrow focus and participate in the scandal. Sorry for this boring and meaningless prompt. The reading did not affect my opinion on this topic nor do I find this topic important to me at the moment. I have much bigger things to spend time worrying/meditating about.

1) What is the base to this framework?

2) Why is it called “life of the mind” sorry, just a picky question. 

The greatness know as being good... also a list of amazing things.

            Alright, intrinsic good. What is it, examples, and how have I experienced it? Challenge accepted. Intrinsic good is, as everyone says, something that is good for its on basic sake. I’m not sure exactly how to rephrase this. It just is what it is. It is something that just makes life better by being there, not doing something. The mountains cause great harm for people trying to climb them, or pass them, but they are intrinsically good because of their beauty, their presence, and power. Without intrinsic good, a person would never be content, never reach that “inner piece” everyone strives for. Ok you want examples, I’ll give you examples.

Puns- “barges? Barges? We don’t need no stink’in barges!”

Christmas lights

Accents

Inside jokes

Popcorn

Corndogs

Pets- my fish Finnick Odair Buxman and dogs =)

Finnick Odair =)- READ THE HUNGER GAMES!!!!!

HUNGER GAMES!!!!!!!!!!

Snow

Owls

Trees

People who climb trees

Cheese

Icicles

Music- More recently The Airborne Toxic Event and the Decemberists

The feeling of clothes fresh out of the dryer

Lighting!!!! I really want to make Tesla Coils!!!!!!

Castles

Greek Mythology

            And now a personal experience. Let’s meet my best friend and his girlfriend Alex and Megan. Alex has been my best friend for a couple months and my friend for a little over a year. Megan has been my friend for 8 months, and Alex’s girlfriend for 3 months. (all dates are approximate ish) Since we all go to the same school, though different grades, we spent uber amount of time together. Since Greeley was boring, we spent a lot of time hanging out in parks just lying in the grass and talking. Now here is where the intrinsic part comes in. Our favorite thing to do was to lie in the grass at night, wrap up in blankets and just look at the stars and clouds. We didn’t talk about how the stars could help our lives; we just said “wow those are amazing. Isn’t God great.” The last night I spent in college, we did this. We went to our favorite park and laid down by the lake to stare at the amazing starry sky. After an hour or so we started playing our favorite songs on my Iphone and basically spent the last couple hours together admiring God’s creation. That’s what intrinsic good is and I remember God, as well as my friends, every time I look in the sky and see Orion’s Belt. I sure hope this makes sense.

Ok now the questions. What exactly makes something unitrisictaly good?

            How much of our life should we focus on the intrinsic aspect and how much on the usefulness aspect of something?

For the wierd super smart French man

Response to the first question.

            Freire proposes some very radical and interesting ideas towards education. He describes education as a place where students and teachers are on the same level and they teach each other. They are part of the world and make it what is. This is in contrast to the “banking” education method where teacher spew facts and expect students to memorize and not question them. I’m not sure Freire actually changed my definition but he changed my view on it. While I still believe education is the process where students are taught the concepts of life, I never really saw its purpose in regards to the entire world besides just a stepping stone to life. Feire taught me that education can radically change how a society thinks and acts. If one is taught simply to regurgitate, then that’s all they do and the pattern increases and society stands still and no advances are made in technology. If one is thought to question, to think, and to act, then society increases in leaps and bounds. While there is a place for the teacher to be higher than the student, class should also be full of discussion and questioning. Where would we be in Newton never asked why apples fell or if Franklin never asked what would happen if he put metal keys on a kite in a lighting storm? Floating around the Earth and getting struck by lightning, that’s where. 

The near perfect college

   The college nearly for me: thus is the description of St. John’s college. I am in love with books.

Everyone who knows me well know that I am taking all my spare moments either reading or climbing trees. St. John’s reading program is exactly what I would love. Sitting around talking about Plato’s Apology, Homer’s Odyssey, or Roger Green’s Fable of Troy sounds like heaven! It also sounds like Honors Western Civ. 1. We sit around a table, receive a brief lecture on the time period around the book, then discuss what the book says. This formula, while not exactly like St. John’s, is what works the best for me. It fits perfectly in that zone of proximal development. It requires just enough output from me to keep me interested, but also just enough difficulty to keep me thinking. Sadly, this is the only class I have that works this way. All my other classes, except Honors Orientation, have one textbook where we read it before class, then are taught the exact same stuff in a long boring, probably sleep filled, lecture. I hate it. As I was reading through St. John’s description (4 years of Ancient Greek, no lectures, 1-8 faculty-student ration, etc.) I wondered why I never applied there, minus the exception that they wouldn’t teach my major. I even considered transferring, but I looked a bit closer and saw something I completely forgot about; the Professors lecture us because they actually know what they are talking about. While it’s great and very important that we spend time in discussion, we also need to be taught and lectured because we aren’t all knowing being like God.

Tis the end of the book. sad, I was starting to love it.

Here be the words of Shane slathered upon a page. I don’t do well with new people. I’m not much of a conversationalist and I tend to say/do stupid things when I’m nervous or tired. I typically try to avoid hanging with people I don’t know well because I feel like I’d be a nuisance or a burden to them. I love it when people come talk to me though. If someone takes the time to come over and say hi, that’s someone I could be friends with and talk to. In light of these circumstances, I didn’t do what I was asked for this prompt. However, I know perfectly well what it’s like to meet new people randomly. For me it’s very awkward and I tend to shut up like a clam. My hands usually are connected and start fidgeting, drawing intricate webs per say. I don’t speak unless asked to and I certainly don’t ask questions. This only takes place when I am in a relaxed environment. If I was in class and I was put with people I don’t know for a group, I work just fine. I’m still nervous but I tend to lead the conversation and distribute ideas. The difference is that I don’t actually have to “meet” these people, just work with them. Thus ends the random ramblings of Shane Buxman.

Last one of September!!!

I feel that a lot of people expect a lot of me out of life. I try to be funny with friends, try to sound smart in bible study, and try to keep my happy face on at all times. I’ve recently discovered I’m very good at these performances but they aren’t me. I’m usually not that funny, I don’t have much at all to give in bible study, and there have been plenty of times where I just want to fall apart. I think this is true of a lot of people. We all try to be other people depending on our peers. We try to fit in with our friends; try to be smart in class (whether by talking a lot or not speaking at all), and we try to act strong like nothing affects us. We are a people who want to be accepted by all. We need to be a people who want to be accepted by the One. Saying how to perform for Him is to easy. It’s just simply acting in a way that pleases Him and wanting His will for us. If only acting that out was that easy. I honestly don’t know how to perform just for God and I’m not even sure it’s possible but I think we all need to make the attempt and find that path on our own.

Q’s

            1) How can we be sure of God’s calling (secondary) for us?

            2) What separates a good daydream from a bad one besides the obvious of if it glorifying to God or not?