By IAN FREETH
BYU Education week reaches its 76th year with this August’s conference.
Education Week runs from Aug. 18-21, with additional classes Aug. 17. There are more than 200 faculty members involved, which the more than a thousand classes. Classes this year will feature many subjects including music, business, education, religion, family and youth topics.
The theme this year is “Of Things Both in Heaven and the Earth,” which is taken from Doctrine and Covenants 88:78-79.
“Teach ye diligently and my grace shall attend you, that ye may be instructed more perfectly in theory, in principle, in doctrine, in the law of the gospel, in all things that pertain unto the kingdom of God, that are expedient for you to understand;
“Of things both in heaven and in the earth, and under the earth; things which have been, things which are, things which must shortly come to pass; things which are at home, things which are abroad; the wars and the perplexities of the nations, and the judgments which are on the land; and a knowledge also of countries and of kingdoms.”
It is no doubt the biggest adult single-event education program in the United States.
“There are about 30,000 who usually attend the program,” said Neil Carlile, director of Campus Education Week. “Last year people from all over the United States attended Education Week. People also attended from 12 other countries. Over half of the people were from Utah and the Western States.”
Catherine Corbett, 20, a senior from Orem majoring in film, said, “The best bit about Education Week is the spiritual learning. People just come and thrive on Education Week. It’s a great feeling. A lot of people wait all year for this week, because it brings such an elevation to their whole being.”
Amy Crump, a homemaker from Ogden, said,”I’ve been going for five years. Education Week is a spiritual feast that I look forward to every year. It is a time I can put aside my normal temporal routine and concentrate on recharging my batteries. It lifts me up to a higher level as a wife and mother for months afterwards.”
The Tuesday Devotional will be given by Elder Russell M. Nelson from the Quorum of the Twelve. This will be in the Marriott Center and open to the public. The Devotional will not be broadcast anywhere else on campus.
“For the third year, 20 hours of classes will be broadcast over the (LDS) Church satellite system to various stake centers around the United States, Canada, the Caribbean and Mexico. They will also be broadcast on KBYU. Last year 50,000 people around these countries got the opportunity to watch the lectures,” Carlile said.
During the week, there will be various nighttime events to give the visitors something to do. Shows include “Singin’ in the Rain” at the de Jong Concert Hall, “Wilford Woodruff: God’s Fisherman” at the Pardoe Theatre and a concert by the Fellingam Family at the Madsen Recital Hall. These shows will be performed every night of the week.
There will also be a youth dance at the south end concourse of Cougar Stadium the evening of Aug. 20.
“Each year we have about 4,000 to 5,000 youth attend Education Week.
So this is something for them. There are usually about 2,000 youth at the dance,” Carlile said.
Education Week is sponsored by BYU and the Church Educational System.
