I love teaching the first course in oceanography for non-majors—indeed, that is my professional specialty. Some readers of this column may look upon an assignment to teach a freshman general oceanography course—especially one that fulfills a general education science requirement—as a sentence to a bleak semester of blank faces and repetitive questions. Not me! As attention spans decline and cell phones proliferate, I find I must become more inventive, be more able to explain complex ideas quickly and clearly, and exude even more patience. I gladly accept the challenge.

Garrison, T. 2005. Education: Connecting with today’s freshmen. Oceanography 18(1):247–249, https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2005.76.

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