Have you ever felt like you missed out on a school experience because your school lacked diverse electrive options? If you’ve ever wanted to experiment to find a hobby, school would have been a great place to start. Schools no longer offer courses like home economics which includes cooking, sewing, baking and other practical skills. This is due to the fact of societal norms changing and schools not wanting to challenge students with gender stereotypes.
According to many studies, electives provide students with valuable opportunities to advance and explore students’ personalities. “Electives are the perfect opportunity for students to showcase their talents and develop new interests and abilities. It gives them the freedom to break away from the traditional subjects, dive deep into a topic that resonates with them, and step out of their comfort zone and explore something new. Elective courses offer students the opportunity to learn about themselves and the world while developing important life skills that will help them in the future” (The Willows). This research demonstrates that the more elective freedom students have the quicker they can find out what hobbies interest them the most. This also shows that specific electives can increase students’ knowledge, ranging from basic household skills to important social and financing abilities.
In addition, students at Edison intermediate school share their thoughts and opinions on their options for electives. Eighth grader Julianna Brito stated, “I think the electives we have now are very fun but not super helpful when it comes to basic life skills. I think a baking class, sewing class, or woods class would help many students by teaching them skills that they might not be able to learn at home,”
Many other students at Edison shared the same opinion as Julianna. Sixth grader Kendall Crummy expresses her thoughts on electives. “I feel as if all grades should be able to pick at least one elective and not have all of them are required. I think it would make middle school a better experience to have more elective options”.
Adding more electives will open more opportunities for students to accustom to an environment filled with people they can build connections with, and can be successful with new electives. “Part of feeling well is rooted in how students build identity, which is a lot harder to accomplish without electives. As much as students need their core courses, very few come to school because of math or English. Instead, kids look forward to two other aspects of academic life: time with peers and classes that touch upon more profound needs,” (Education World).
On the other hand technology teacher at EIS, Mrs. Fahy shares her thoughts. “I love teaching my elective classes. I think it would be very beneficial for the school to split electives into smaller courses or even add some new electives to the curriculum. I believe all students should be able to select electives no matter what grade,” she stated.
In conclusion many students and staff love the electives we have but would like to expand the range of electives. Whether it’s making elective classes into smaller courses or having completely new electives. Incorporating more diverse electives can be essential for providing students with constructive life skills that go beyond traditional academic subjects. By ensuring a hands-on, real world education, students will be able to make informed decisions in their future whether it is personal or professional.
