[B-Greek] Midterm blues

gfsomsel at juno.com gfsomsel at juno.com
Tue Nov 9 22:10:41 EST 2004


On Tue, 09 Nov 2004 20:23:44 -0500 Kelly McDonald <w4kpm at adelphia.net>
writes:
> hello list,
> 
> I got my midterm exam back today, and while it wasn't terrible, It 
> sure
> wasn't what I had hoped, and I'm feeling a bit discouraged.
> 
> I have had a checkered past with the language, and after a 6 year
> absence, I have returned by taking a Greek exegesis class at 
> seminary. I
> had taken a similar class in 1 peter, but now we are working on
> Galatians as an elective.
> 
> I have been struggling just to keep my head above water in this 
> course,
> and given my life circumstances right now (i.e. 6 wk old baby !) I 
> feel
> like I am doing OK, but not up to the level that I would like to be
> (i.e. some of my peers who are doing much better in the class) I 
> will
> most likely get a decent grade in the course, but It more about my 
> own
> standards for myself. 
> 
> Anyone care to yield a bit of perspective as it relates to 
> mastering
> Greek?
> 
> Thanks in advance, 
> Kelly
> 
> -- 
> Kelly McDonald <w4kpm at adelphia.net>
> 
> ---

For what you describe there is only one solution I know of:  Lots of
coffee, late nights, and heavy reliance on a good grammar (possibly BD-F)
and BDAG.  Analyze every form and its relations to other words in the
sentence.  I had a similar experience in classical Greek.  I met a girl
whom I married before school began the following year and as a
consequence did poorly in 1st yr. Greek.  I began 2nd year (Homer -- or
was it Plato?) and dropped before I failed (newly-wed, you know).  Taking
up Greek a year later I was under the gun so I was up until 3:00 a.m.
every day studying Greek (BTW:  I got an A).

george
gfsomsel



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