Learning outside the classroom

As I'm out on tour, one statistic I love to highlight is small class size. I usually say something along the lines of, "The average class size at Coe is 16 but last semester I had a class of five and a class of six." I then launch into why I love having a class of six English majors. Let me tell you, it's a party. Of literary awesomeness. 

Not only does the small class size allow me to get to know my peers better, I also create solid relationships with my professors. Case in point would be Monday. 

My friend, Ashley, and I are Writing Fellows for our English professor, Melissa Sodeman, and her History of English Literature class. We've had her for History of English Literature, Literary Analysis, and now, 18th century literature. She emailed us and said she'd like to take us out to coffee to thank us for being her writing fellows. 

After class on Monday, the three of us, along with another classmate, Chloe, headed over to Brewed. We grabbed some coffee, sat down at a circle table and started chatting. The conversation began on our class, moved through other literary topics, and then turned down the "let's talk about our lives" path. 

It. Was. FANTASTIC.

Suddenly, an hour and a half had passed and Melissa had to go teach another class. It was such a nice break from my non-stop busyness. I was ready to conquer the rest of my Monday, inspired and hyped up on coffee.

And, not only do I know my professor better, but Ashley, Chloe, and I had a nice bonding session! It's these sorts of things that I really believe makes Coe unique and a great place to be.