A PLACE FOR STUDY AND DISCIPLESHIP Reflections From the Chair of the Department of English, Literature, and Modern Languages Ever since I was a kid, I wanted my own office. I loved visiting office supply stores, and when I first had my own room, I immediately set up an office desk, complete with a desk organizer that held paper clips. I didn't know why anybody needed paper clips, but I had some anyway, because that's one of the things offices had. For many people, office space is mundane. The word “office" suggests beige walls, stacks of binders, and boredom. But when I landed my first full-time job as an English professor, I realized that one of my childhood dreams had finally come true: I had my own office, complete with a desk and lots and lots of paper clips. We often tell students to spend two hours studying for every hour they spend in class, but for professors, the ratio of study time to class time is more like 3:1 or 4:1. We are in the classroom for only 12–15 hours per week. We spend the rest of the work week grading tests and papers, preparing notes and slides for next week's lessons, and reading about developments in our field. Much of the real work that goes into teaching occurs not at the front of a classroom but behind a desk. The office is also the space where we do vital mentoring work with students. Every student sits down with a professor at least once a semester for one-on-one academic advising. They share their aspirations for the future with us, and we help themmark out a career path from their first-year courses to graduation and their first job. It's also where students come to talk to us about things far beyond academics. It’s not unusual for a student to collapse into one of our office chairs and pour out his or her heart about a difficult choice, a painful breakup, or a crisis of faith. These conversations cannot happen in the hallway outside a classroom. The office is where we can invite students into honest, personal conversations about things that matter most to them, and it's where the important work of discipleship takes place. So while having an office may not be everyone’s childhood dream, I now see that my childhood dreamwas one of several God-given desires that led me to a place where I spend a lot of time in my office — not only studying and organizing things, but also mentoring and discipling college students. And I finally knowwhat to do with all those paper clips, too. Stephen Schuler serves as Chair of the Department of English, Literature, and Modern Languages and Professor of English. He earned his PhD from Baylor University. The office is where we can invite students into honest, personal conversations about things that matter most to them, and it's where the important work of discipleship takes place. 13
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