I've been thinking a lot today about what I've learned from @BreneBrown and her Unlocking Us podcast, and how it'll influence my teaching going forward. A long, rambly thread that may or may not be helpful to others: 1/

When COVID first hit and universities/life shut down, I struggled a lot. This was in part because I live away from family and had just moved into a new place. Another part was redefining what "productive" meant, and at the time, and to some extent now, it's "stay afloat." 2/

One thing I found really helpful was the Unlocking Us podcast. Initially, it helped me feel OK with the anxiety of the unknown in the COVID world; it helped me understand what students might be feeling, too. Later, it helped me learn a ton about myself and people in general. 3/

Come summer, I started teaching my PA in Pop Culture class, which I'd never taught before and for which my plans were derailed by the move to remote instruction. It's turned out great, and I have a lot of ideas for how to incorporate more pop culture into all my classes. 4/

Of course, this wasn't new, as I've been using @parksandrec for years as a supplement to my classes, and I know that film/tv/pop culture is a beneficial teaching tool in part because it invokes emotive reactions. 5/

That said, the class and the podcast--namely, @BreneBrown's work on shame and empathy--have really opened up the floodgates, so to speak, in how I think about all of this. 6/

We (as a field) spend a lot of time on the technical/neutral/professional aspects of PA and we should. But I don't think I'm* doing a great job of creating space to talk about vulnerability and empathy and how that makes for a better public servant. 7/

*I recognize this is partly a reflection of my training and education, and this may not be the case for everyone! 8/

So, as I work to incorporate more pop culture in my classes, I want to also incorporate more on these topics (alone, not as adjacent to others). By doing that, I hope it can help students identify their blind spots as *humans* and thus, be better public servants. 10/

"better public servants" = more inclusive, more understanding, more empathetic, more social justice-oriented, etc. 11/

I recognize that I am not qualified to *teach* these topics, but at least I can create a space to discuss them and how they apply to public service. 12/

I guess this is all to say: I recommend @BreneBrown's podcast (and her conversation on @alanalda's) and I think self-reflection about some of the topics she covers in it can make us better people, students, scholars, and teachers. 13/