“Boldly going where no man… where no one has gone before.”[1]
At the end of our second week under restrictions because of the COVID-19 virus, my husband and I spent a quiet morning watching something other than the news. We are both considered essential personnel, so we travel each day to our respective jobs, helping to keep our economy going. Each night, we return, emotionally and physically exhausted, so the weekends have become even more precious. This particular Saturday morning, we enjoyed a cup of coffee and a Star Trek movie on cable. It was the second of the original movies where Khan strikes out at Kirk and Captain Spock dies. It was at the end of the movie, when Spock gives the famous monologue for this series. In this version, it is still “no man”. It wasn’t until the “Undiscovered Country” that it became “no one”.
It got me thinking. After great trials, great advances seem to happen. Case in point, the Renaissance after the late Middle Ages. So, if this is our great trial with this virus, what great discoveries await us? Would we start our journey into space or make great advances in science and technology? Or would we start a great journey into being better humans?
I pondered on this while thinking about this blog. Many institutes of higher learning do not have the necessary steps in place to host online learning. Many have shunned the idea of students learning solely online as they feel that being in class is a better option. And I completely agree to a point. It is difficult to complete lab work at home just as it would be difficult to complete the necessary clinical work. But our chosen subject, history, is another story.
In one of our readings, Anthony Picciano discusses how “distance education” were mainly used by adults who were “geographically distant from traditional brick and mortar schools and colleges. The schools, colleges, and universities most interested on online learning…were those that had established distance education programs.”[2] This is why certain higher education institutions are having such difficulty with the now necessary switch to totally online learning. They weren’t set up for it in the first place!
Our task this semester is to design a class to be taught online and in a traditional classroom. This is our chance to help create that great journey for our potential students. Out of this dark time, we now have the chance to bring the light into our student’s world. This light is more than just history and more than just information. It is a chance for us to use our God given talents to inspire and to enlighten. God calls each of us to give of ourselves by helping our fellow humans. As the Apostle Paul wrote in his second letter to the Corinthians “Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold.”[3] Now is our time to help our students “to boldly go” and learn as never before.
[1] Star Trek VI– the Undiscovered Country. Paramount Pictures, 1991.
[2] Picciano, Anthony G. Online Education: Foundations, Planning, and Pedagogy. New York: Routledge, 2019.
[3] 2 Corinthians 3:12.
Seeking History 