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Voices of CHS
 I must admit up front that I really didn't intend to stay. Some years ago, I saw an announcement of a chaplaincy program at Cherry Hill Seminary. As a Unitarian Universalist with an eclectic and naturalistic Pagan practice, I anticipated that I would find myself among what I imagined to be "traditional Pagans" who would view me with suspicion, if not antipathy. Still, I thought I could tough it out, pop in for some practical training that would assist me in my hospice and grief counseling work, and then go on my merry way.
It didn't work that way at all. Interacting with CHS students and teachers, I discovered what I can only describe as a "call to ministry." The warm, enjoyable and encouraging environment into which I had happily stumbled was marked by academic excellence and variety; by respect for truth, history, the natural world and the amazing range of Pagan diversity; and by the desire to help everyone explore his or her potential as a religious/spiritual scholar and/or leader. In short, it was life-changing.
If I had any doubts that CHS would be as inspiring and challenging as other seminaries, those were dispelled when I had the opportunity to take some courses at an older well-established seminary (in Chicago). The level of teacher (and student) commitment and academic rigor is fully comparable at CHS.
What I have learned at CHS has certainly had practical application - I have used it to construct UU services (including, among others, a four service series on "green religion" and another four service series on "religious language"), to interact with my bereavement clients, to navigate the vagaries of group process, to design educational sessions, and to craft Pagan ritual circles. It has spurred independent research interests in psychology, philosophy, and history. Still, more than anything, CHS has inspired me, awakened my potential, and helped me explore my own gifts for ministry.
And, really, how often do you find such a place -- where you can have fun and better the world at the same time?
- Jo Ann Dale
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Staff of Asclepius is Seeking Resources
 The Staff of Asclepius is a Patheos blog dedicated to Pagans with mental or physical impairments or who are in recovery from major injuries or addiction, or part of the deaf or blind community.
The blog welcomes essays from Pagans who have experienced major injuries due to an accident or are physically disabled as well as from health care professional or members of the clergy doing chaplaincy for this part of the community.
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Important Dates
For Students
May 9, 2011 - End Summer Registration
May 16, 2011 - Begin Summer Semester
May 23 - Add/Drop Last Date
July 14 - 17, 2011 - Summer Intensive
For Faculty
May 1, 2011 - Fall Course Information Due
May 6, 2011 - Spring Grades Due to Office
Foundations Courses
March 14 - April 9, 2011 - Foundations Spring Three
May 16 - June 11, 2011 - Foundations Summer One
June 13 - July 9, 2011 - Foundations Summer Two
July 11 - August 6, 2011 - Foundations Summer Three |
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Registration For Summer Classes Open
Pagan Elders and Ancestors: Starhawk, Taught by Sarah Whedon, PhD Summer 1, no meeting
Introduction to Heathenism and Northern European Pagan Traditions, Taught by Scott Mohnkern, J.D. Summer 2, Mondays, 8pm EST
Sacred Egypt, Sacred Science, Taught by Rosemary Clark Summer 3, no meeting
N627 The Sacred Earth: Human/Animal Relationships, Taught by Grant Potts, Ph.D. and Christine Hoff Kraemer, Ph.D. Mondays 9:00 PM ET
N6270B Nature and Pagan Spirituality: Human/Animal Relationships, Taught by Grant Potts, Ph.D. and Christine Hoff Kraemer, Ph.D. Mondays 8:00 PM ET
T5090 World Religions from a Pagan Perspective, Taught by Michael York, Ph.D. No meeting
P5090 Survey of Chaplaincy, Taught by: Chris Highland No meeting, Periodic skype chats TBA
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Register Now for 2011 Summer Intensive
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The Benefits of Online Learning
In 1728, an add
appeared in the Boston Gazette promoting a correspondence course for short hand. Distance learning was born.
Jump forward to 1986. QuantumLink, a national online network for people who owned Commodore computer, opened an online tutoring center that became CALCampus. These were the first regular (though noncredit) classes offered in a virtual classroom. As the use of email spread, distance learning grew. In 1989, the University of Phoenix, which did not then have accreditation, became the first online correspondence school. But it was the development of the Mosaic web interface in 1993, that allowed the creation of the Internet and the public access to online education.
Cherry Hill Seminary was quick to take advantage of this new technology and began its online classes in 2000. Today, we serve students in the United States, Canada, England, Australia and Belgium. Thirty-eight students are matriculated into one of our new CHS master's or certificate programs, and a much larger number of students enroll in the four-week Foundations classes.
We aren't the only innovators in this field. According to the Sloan Consortium, dedicated to integrating online and mainstream higher education, 3.5 million students were involved in online secondary education learning in 2006. Online graduate enrollments far out-pace enrollments in traditional graduate schools. Ambient Insight suggests that 44 percent of graduate students in the US were taking at least some of their courses online in 2009, and projects that this will increase to 81 percent by 2014.
If this is projection accurate, online education will be the predominant form of post-secondary education in the US. There are reasons for this beyond the obvious ones of economics and geography.
In their book on online teaching, Judith Boettcher and Rita-Marie Conrad argue that the structure of online classes provides the advantage of automatically forming learning communities, and research indicates that people learn best where learning takes place in community through collaborative explorations and conversations about content. Here are some other things that Boettcher and Conrad say are fairly unique about these classes.
1) Online courses require students to interact with one another and the content to construct their knowledge, rather then relying on a trickle down delivery of content from the instructor.
2) Where students typically post comments and responses before class, there is an unwritten requirement that they actually reflect on what they have learned from the assignments before class. The visibility of their responses to their peers helps motivate compliance.
3) As part of a learning community, students must do more thinking, writing, doing, sharing, reflecting, and peer reviewing.
4) Where the only assignment for the week is reading, students are typically more motivated to complete it ahead of class in order to interact with peers. Again, visibility helps here.
5) Students have many more options as to where, when and with whom they work on course goals
6) Assessment is continuous. This allows the teacher to get to know students and see more quickly if and where they need help. It also allows students to know each other better.
Whether a student is interested in a Master of Divinity, a Certificate, or a personally enriching (and fascinating) Foundations course, Cherry Hill Seminary offers a unique educational experience. Join us!
- Wendy Griffin, Ph.D., Academic Dean |
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