{"id":19497,"date":"2021-02-24T11:42:29","date_gmt":"2021-02-24T11:42:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/?p=19497"},"modified":"2023-06-08T18:24:07","modified_gmt":"2023-06-08T18:24:07","slug":"discovery-core-music-philosophy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/2021\/02\/24\/discovery-core-music-philosophy","title":{"rendered":"A class inspires students long after it ends"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"David
David Nixon<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

One of the first things students do in Dr. David Nixon\u2019s Discovery Core class Music and Philosophy is sing. Not as homework or practice but as a live performance in front of their classmates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nixon, a lecturer in the School of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences<\/a>, said this teaches first-year students that they can do something hard and scary, live through it and be okay. \u201cSinging in front of strangers and completing your first quarter of college aren\u2019t so different,\u201d he said. \u201cBoth can be very intimidating.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Music and Philosophy was the first Discovery Core class Nixon taught at the University of Washington Bothell back in 2008 and he has been teaching it ever since. Discovery Core classes are designed for first-year students to explore topics from different academic disciplines and different points of view, all the while acclimating them to being college students. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the 13 years, Nixon\u2019s course has undergone many changes, but it has always been about assisting students in personal growth by teaching skills rather than facts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond the classroom <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Alumna Sarah Park (Environmental Science \u201914) took the class a decade ago and said, \u201cOut of all the classes I took in my undergraduate career, this is one that has stuck with me. I don\u2019t remember everything I learned, but I remember the feelings I had and the positive experiences that came out of it.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similarly, alumnus Kyle Piper (Society, Ethics & Human Behavior \u201916) took the class in 2013 and said that he is still using the skills he developed in the course eight years later. \u201cThis class demonstrates the value of the Discovery Core program,\u201d said Piper. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe classes are varied, which allows students like me \u2014 who are interested in music and other non-traditional academic fields \u2014 to pick fun classes,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prior to COVID-19 and the shift to remote learning, students in Nixon\u2019s classes were taught how to play the guitar. This is a great skill to have and can be used throughout life, he noted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Piper, learning how to play the guitar fostered a lasting connection with his father. \u201cMy dad is a self-taught guitarist. Taking this class and learning to play the instrument gave us something to bond over,\u201d he said. \u201cHe even took me to a pawn shop and bought me my first guitar. It\u2019s a special memory.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Piper has continued to play since the class ended. \u201cThe only good thing to come out of quarantine is the amount of time I have to play my guitar,\u201d he said. \u201cMaking music has been a positive outlet in a stressful time.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

External engagement <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Another distinctive part of the Music and Philosophy class prior to the pandemic was experiencing music in the \u201creal world.\u201d Students would attend three concerts throughout the quarter and were encouraged to attend performances of music they didn\u2019t listen to normally. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Piper\u2019s opinion, this was the best part of the class. He had never been to a concert before but said he has been to dozens since. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because the class is part of the Discovery Core program, Nixon wants first-year students to find passions outside of the classroom. \u201cStarting college is a big deal,\u201d he said. \u201cI want my students to learn it\u2019s okay to find yourself and fail in the process. It\u2019s all part of the college experience.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nixon isn\u2019t concerned with whether or not students like the concerts they go to. What matters is discovering their preferences through experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMaybe they realized they don\u2019t like crowded places or loud music. Or maybe they heard a sound or lyric that really spoke to them and helped them process a thought or feeling,\u201d he said. \u201cThe point is to cultivate self-awareness and personal growth.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Park recalled the class pushing her out of comfort zone and helping her grow as both a student and musician. \u201cProfessor Nixon does a great job of teaching a class in a nontraditional style and challenges his students to think beyond the textbook,\u201d she said. \u201cHe made us feel comfortable with ourselves and other people.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not your average course <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The final project for this course is writing and performing a song about the experience of being a first-year college student. Park still remembers hers, titled \u201cDavid Nixon\u2019s Recurring Nightmare.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The song explored her journey in the class that she said was both \u201creally scary and entirely positive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUltimately, I am glad professor Nixon pushed me and other students to perform and put ourselves out there,\u201d she said. \u201cI learned not to take myself too seriously and found confidence in being okay despite perfection. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have taken that experience and confidence with me.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Students recall lifelong inspiration from the Discovery Core course Music and Philosophy taught by Dr. David Nixon, who posed for a photo during the recent snow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_is_archived":false,"_archived_contact_email":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[202],"tags":[318],"school":[419],"class_list":["post-19497","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-campus-news","tag-discovery-core","school-school-of-ias"],"acf":{"related_links":{"toggle_visibility":false,"link_1":"","link_2":"","link_3":"","link_4":"","link_5":""},"highlight_box":{"toggle_visibility":false,"title":"","content":"","button":"","button_style":"angled-purple-button","button_screen_reader_text":""},"contact_type_1":{"toggle_visibility":true,"contact_title":"Contact Us","email":"test@uwb.edu","phone":"(206) 999-1234","box":"Box 358500","address_line_1":"18115 Campus Way NE","address_line_2":"Bothell, WA 98011-8246","location":""},"contact_type_2":{"toggle_visibility":false,"contact_title":"","email":"","phone":"","box":"","address_line_1":"","address_line_2":"","location":""},"social_media":{"toggle_visibility":false,"facebook_url":"","instagram_url":"","linkedin_url":"","twitter_url":"","youtube_url":""},"blog_archive_sidebar_visibility":false},"yoast_head":"\nA class inspires students long after it ends - 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