Opinion: Electives Teach More Than What’s On The Syllabus
Making room for electives that excite you can make you a better student.
(Kevin Wu via Washington Square News)
by Neya Kidambi
This story was originally published on New York University’s Washington Square News.
The start of a new semester is accompanied by many feelings, some familiar, some foreign. As we enter the second week of the new semester, the honeymoon period of discussing syllabi, smiling our way through icebreaker activities and showing up extra early for our 8 a.m. classes mostly comes to an end. For me, the exhilaration of a new semester began dying down when I spent three hours on a 10-page reading for lecture, dozing off after every jargon-filled sentence.
To combat this feeling, I’m taking an elective: “What Really Matters? Leadership with No Regrets.” This two-credit course is not necessary for my major, and it is filed as an undergraduate class under the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. While it may not fulfill any academic requirements, it’s something that I look forward to in the week — and that’s arguably just as important.
As soon as I read the course description, I knew I had to take this class. Meditations are scheduled into every lecture, and weekly integration papers call upon students to introspect and apply the deeply relevant readings to their own journeys of authenticity, self-care, emotional understanding, forgiveness, happiness and more.
For many students taking demanding classes, satisfying major and minor requirements, busy schedules restrict the exploration of creativity and self-improvement. The one thing that we lack time for is, in fact, what makes us better students.
Read the rest of the story at Washington Square News.