Luke Leonard's "Nerdvana"
Finding Educational Value in Pop-Culture Favorites
Instructor Luke Leonard has a unique approach to education, one that landed him a position almost a decade ago teaching literature, history, and humanities at Eastern Florida State College.
After earning literature and history degrees at the University of Central Florida, Leonard went on to teach at UCF for many years, eventually bringing his expertise to 新澳门六合彩开奖记录 in 2011.
Now, the courses he teaches are a childhood dream, including sometimes teaching a Special Topics Humanities course (HUM 2390) on the Titusville campus with a truly special curriculum topic: supervillains.
鈥淚鈥檝e been a nerd since I was born and every time I teach these courses, it鈥檚 Nerdvana for me. I love teaching these classes,鈥� said Leonard.
鈥淚f you had told me 20 years ago, 鈥楬ey, all these comics you鈥檝e been reading your whole life? You鈥檙e going to teach classes on this,鈥� or 鈥楢ll these sci-fi stories you watch all the time? You鈥檙e going to instruct this,鈥� I would鈥檝e called you nuts.鈥�
Class includes watching famous supervillain movies, but with an academic twist.
Students read Joseph Campbell鈥檚 鈥淭he Hero with a Thousand Faces,鈥� a book on mythological heroes that became well-documented as partial inspiration for director George Lucas鈥� 鈥淪tar Wars鈥� movies.
In addition to supervillains, some of Leonard鈥檚 favorite topics he has taught at Eastern Florida include 鈥淪tar Wars,鈥� 鈥淗arry Potter,鈥� and J.R. Tolkien鈥檚 鈥淭he Lord of the Rings鈥� trilogy, along with traditional American history and literature classes.
Leonard is very particular about what he shares in class. His teaching revolves around being unbiased, no matter the course content.
鈥淚 try so hard not to teach anything that I believe. I don鈥檛 get paid to teach my political, philosophical or religious views. Students come to learn a curriculum. If they ask me what I believe I always say, 鈥業鈥檓 not going to tell you that. When you鈥檙e no longer a student, then I鈥檒l tell you.鈥� I鈥檝e had teachers who taught their biases and philosophies and you had to give the answer they wanted. I hated that, and I refuse to do anything like that.鈥�
When it comes to his students鈥� essays, Leonard has more of a laissez-faire philosophy designed to challenge his students to think outside of the box.
鈥淚 give them prompts, but they can attack it anyway they want,鈥� said Leonard. 鈥淚f they don鈥檛 like any of the prompts, they can write one up and send it to me. I might modify it a little bit, but then they can answer the prompt they created. The point is for them to think, not for them to dogmatically answer a question the way I want them to, and I get great answers as a result.鈥�
To students on the fence about taking his classes, he offers a few convincing reasons why they should be part of a well-rounded college education.
鈥淭aking a literature/humanities class lets you be introspective. It lets you learn things more than just dates, figures or formulas. It teaches you what鈥檚 important in life. Humanities teach us how to be the best versions of ourselves and help us learn what we really enjoy doing.
鈥淲hen we do things that we enjoy, they speak to us in some way. Generally, our jobs don鈥檛 always do that. A job is something you do, not something you are. The things we enjoy are what engage us on a personal level, and they鈥檙e the things that, in some ways, have the most profound effects on us.鈥�