Make your own fall syllabus

For those who miss back-to-school (and those who don't!)

New York is quiet but alive this morning. The sun’s out and there’s a chill in the air letting us know fall is just around the corner.

Over the weekend, I saw a bunch of NYU students dragging blue bins across Manhattan, moving their stuff around and all the while making me nostalgic. I miss going back to school.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about how full my brain is with information and yet I seemed to have ‘stopped learning’.

It’s not entirely true—more just a feeling I have. I think it’s because most of my ‘learning’ these days is split between:

1. Ultra-productive: reading, watching, studying something because of what it will give me. A means to an end. Usually for my day job, sometimes for a writing project.

2. Mindless: scrolling or reading online. Interesting sometimes, pointless other times. Cute animal, random fact about space, all the nick-names for someone named Joe, war, salad recipe.

Ironically, both can numb the mind. Why? They lack a true curiosity.

I think this is why something like The Artist’s Way resonates with so many people—it leads you back to your own genuine interests, your own sense of spirit. It allows you to explore. Just like school did for me.

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Anyway, to try and recreate a little bit of that back-to-school magic for myself I decided to make a fall syllabus. I’m using ‘syllabus’ loosely here¹. Think of it as a guide that can be as specific or vague as you’d like.

If you want to join me and make your own, start by free-writing or journaling with one question in mind: What are you curious about?

It can be anything. Do you want to learn more about your neighborhood? Are you interested in a specific genre or time period? Have you always wanted to do [insert fun thing] and never had the time?

From there, you’ve got a compass. Then, you can build the map.

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When boiled down, I think a syllabus should include:

1. The what: What do you want to learn? What are your guide rails? (This is where your curiosity from above comes in.)

2. A timeline: When do you plan to do this? Over the next month, two?

3. An objective: Why do you want to do this?²

4. And a bibliography: List the things you want to read, watch, cook, do, etc.

Here’s a google doc template you can use as a guide if you’d like.³

I asked my friend, Hannah Kauders—a professor, writer, and a translator who’s new translation, Galapagos, comes out in December!—her advice as well.

She says a syllabus doesn’t need to cover an entire theme or topic. It can’t! And you’ll likely set yourself up for disappointment or failure if you try.

Instead, focus on quality over quantity. “Aim to ignite a spark not to learn everything,” Hannah says.

What spark do you want to light this fall?

Charlee

Old stone stairs in a branch of the NYPL <3

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Other inspiration & tidbits

• The New Yorker just posted their top 5 back-to-school movies. (This could be a mini syllabus right here.)

• Elle curated a media syllabus of movies and books to revisit when fighting brainrot.

• A quick video on the day in the life at the New York Harbor School where kids get to learn real-life maritime skills and more.

• A reddit thread with pics of a course syllabus from NYU on Taylor Swift :)

1. When I used to make real syllabi while teaching, it was always way more work than I expected!

2. Be careful here. Not everything needs to fall into that ‘productivity’ sink hole. Your why can be ‘just because it seems fun’.

3. Bonus points if you enjoy my sample syllabus 🧀