Decoding Disney At Duke

Sometimes, it's easy to get bogged down and lost in the day-to-day details of teaching. And, if you're a bit of an anxious person (like me), you can spend way too much time scrutinizing and reliving the things you said, the way you said them, and wondering if there was a better way to say them.

And sometimes, especially in those early morning classes, it's easy to forget that you are making a difference, that you are reaching students, that you are, well, teaching.

And then there are days where the world reminds you of the latter. Today, for instance, I ran into and stopped to chat with two former students and that just made my day. And then, I opened The Chronicle (Duke's student newspaper) to see this article:

You can read the full article online -- and one of the courses highlighted, "Stranger Than Fiction," is taught by my fellow adjunct and all-around rock-star Kevin Casey -- but the basic gist is that Duke offers unique and engaging first-year writing courses, including the one taught by yours truly:

"Duke prides itself on offering a wide variety of Writing 101 courses, with topics ranging from new fad diets to rock documentaries. First-year students are able to improve their writing skills not only through essay writing, but also through making blog posts, creating websites and examining archives—and this year is no exception to the trend of highly specialized subjects. Sections of "Music in Science Fiction Films," "Islam is Not ISIS" and the perennial favorite "Decoding Disney," were all options to freshmen this Fall, as well as other topics inspired by professors' pursuits."

It's nice to know that your course is a "perennial favorite," and even better to see it in print.

And, for any internet trolls out there -- No, the course is not for athletes only; No, popcorn doesn't come with registration; and, No, it's not a sham course where all we do is watch movies.