Samah Abdulsalem | Recruitment Manager
Featured image by Michael Zusev
Nearing enrollment windows, students often find themselves on websites like Facebook in search of recommendations for good courses to take. Bird courses are a popular term used by students to describe courses that are considered easy, meaning a light workload and course content that guarantees an A. With around 20,500 members and people communicating on it everyday, “Bird Courses @ York U” is a well-known Facebook page in the York community used to find courses of this nature. This page is one among many outlets available for students to do their research. Third-year administrative studies student Amarpreet Dhami says that she found her bird course on a site called birdcourses.com.
In the summer of 2015, Dhami was able to take the popular bird course called THEA 1520 – Acting for Non-Majors – which she claims she thoroughly enjoyed. She states that although there was more written work than she expected, she believes it was a fairly easy class and considered it a GPA booster. That being said, even though the class was just intended for the grade, she benefited from it. “This bird course in particular allows you to experience and develop skills you would not in another course,” such as public speaking.
Aleksandar Lukac, a part-time theatre instructor who has been teaching at York for the past 20 years, knows that students consider his class a bird course. However, Lukac believes that bird courses like Acting For Non-Majors have a lot to offer despite their reputation of being lightweight.
“This misconception of [Acting for Non-Majors] being easier is because it’s not heavy on theory, but it’s heavier on practicum,” states Lucak. Because the course is targeted toward non-majors, it is more relaxed, hands-on and physically active than the theory-based classes students are used to. Acting for Non-Majors is a well-designed class that, like many other classes at York, requires students to learn theory, write exams, do assignments and abide by guidelines and deadlines. Participation is also key, which means attendance is required to get a good mark. With these safeguards in place, students are able to learn a lot from this class, which includes the acting process, theatre theory and how to publicly speak with confidence and elegance.
Both Dhami and Lukac state that there is a misconception about the nature of bird courses, and agree that there is a shock factor for students when they see that there is a lot of work to do in a bird course like Acting for Non-Majors. Ultimately, bird courses may be just considered easy because they are a swift change from theory-based courses. A bird course status does not guarantee an A, but it can be an opportunity for new challenges and a change of pace in your academic career.
