Every student at South needs to take electives in order to graduate, the specific amount depends on their intended diploma type. With the task of choosing new classes for next year underway, here are some choices of electives to add to your schedule that you may not have considered already.
Newspaper class, The Optimist, offers students a chance to try their hand at journalism. It is offered all year, every year, and will always be during fifth periods. You can report on sports, current events, or entertainment. Opinion pieces are also a fun way to express yourself. Or if you are more drawn to photography, you can use your skills to take photos or create videos to be posted on The Optimist website.
Within the Family and Consumer Sciences electives, Principles of Interior Design is a great option. This class explores design theory and color dynamics, while giving students the opportunity for hands-on experience and creativity. Students will get to create multidimensional structures, like miniature homes and dream bedrooms, and also learn about the physiological and societal impact that design has on people.
Child and Adolescent Development is another Family and Consumer Science elective that is offered in alternating years. In this class, students will learn about the physical, social, emotional, cognitive, and moral development of young children. There is also a practical part of the class where students take home, and care for, infant simulators.
Do you want to take a class that might assist you in getting a job? If yes, then adding Lifeguard Training or Sports Officiating to your schedule is a good idea. In Lifeguard Training, students will enhance their communication, injury prevention, and rescue skills. Successful completion of the course will result in a student becoming a certified lifeguard. In Sports Officiating, students will learn basic principles of officiating and will be able to work entry level contests of their selected sport.
Project Lead the Way classes are project-based learning courses that the school purchases for students to explore different career directions. There are options for students who are interested in both engineering and medical science endeavors.
Within the social studies electives, sociology and anthropology are two compelling options. Sociology class focuses on the study of group behavior and also discusses current social problems. Anthropology class focuses on the study of human biological evolution, cultural evolution, and the beginnings of civilization.
Some courses, including anthropology, have historically been offered to students in the course guide, but don’t end up being taught the following year. A former South student, Iris Kreilkamp, is now an anthropology major in college. Before Kreilkamp graduated from South in 2022, she tried to sign up for the elective but was told that it was often not offered as a real class. Kreilkamp said, “as someone who knew they were going into the major in college it certainly would have been great for me to have a little experience from high school.”
