Every year, at the end of the spring semester, Athens students have a hard decision to make: What classes should they take next year? With over a hundred courses offered at Athens, making that decision can be extremely difficult. People decide based on requirements, interests, what their friends are taking, or how challenging a class is. But what if when the time for decision-making comes around, there are classes that people are missing because they don’t even know they exist? It’s a predicament many Athens students find themselves in.
“I took a music appreciation course in high school, and it was through that course that I realized I wanted to be a music teacher because I realized I loved music, not just guitar or just band; I loved music,” said Jerry Markoch, Music Appreciation teacher.
As it so happens, Athens Drive offers a music appreciation course taught by Markoch, nicknamed “Doc” by his students and band, which studies the art of music. Students in music appreciation listen to the work of Beethoven, Bach and other composers ranging from medieval times to modern day. This year was the class’s first year being taught at Athens, and the curriculum is aimed at students with little prior knowledge about music. Doc has hopes to add an honors aspect to the class in future years.
“I absolutely love this music. I love sharing it with others and showing them what is so cool about this music,” said Doc.
It is not always new classes that fly under the Athens radar, Lessons of the Vietnam War/Recent International Relations Honors, taught by Connor Bayer, is one that has students asking, “Wait, we offer that?”
“The course was actually originally designed for upperclassmen only (seniors & juniors) but was recently expanded to include sophomore students as well. The original reason for this was due to the maturity of the content. I will say, even though sophomores can now take the course, that the students handle the content very well,” said Bayer.
Lessons of Vietnam has been at Athens since the early nineties, and has been taught by Bayer for seven years. The class dives deep into the Vietnam war, covering everything from Vietnamese culture to how the war influenced the Civil Rights movement in the U.S.. The International relations aspect of the class touches on recent American wars and international events.
“I think every class, even if it’s the same subject, is different based on the students, the time of day the class is and the overall flow of the class,” said Bayer. “I would say the one benefit with smaller classes is you’re able to get to know the students a little bit better, but I wouldn’t necessarily say I have a preference. With that being said, I do very much enjoy teaching the LoV [Lessons of Vietnam] course whether I have 20 students or 30+.”
Walk in, sit down, take notes, leave. Walk in, sit down, take notes, leave. This cycle can feel repetitive and trapping. It’s a pain that happens with taking required classes and popular electives with large class numbers. With taking niche specialized classes like Lessons of Vietnam or Music Appreciation, classes become less mechanical, and can dive deep into curriculum that they find interesting.
“I bring in anywhere from five to 10 guest speakers, majority of them Vietnam Veterans, to speak to my LoV classes throughout the semester. This is my favorite part because it gives the students the opportunity to learn from people who served directly in the war and bring ‘living history’ to the classroom,” said Bayer.
Bayer describes his speakers as a way to bring ‘history to life’ and give perspective and personal experiences to his students.
“Additionally, for me, they’ve been a great source of knowledge and support for me since I embarked on the journey of teaching the course,” said Bayer.
There are many hidden gems in the long list of Athens courses, too many to put in one article. Classes that detach from the base core classes needed to graduate, and truly dive into subjects held closely by the hearts of their teachers. While many students make plans for classes they will take and leave no room for extra, others don’t, and may be pleasantly surprised by what they find when they look extra hard at that registration list in the spring.
“There are courses that teach you how to make a living and there’s courses that teach you how to live. This course helps teach you how to live. It helps you find something in life that’s neat, that’s beautiful, that could be a hobby for the rest of your life. And I would encourage anybody that has an elective that just wants to enrich their human experience and really just enjoy life more to take it,” said Doc.
