Helpful tips for Scheduling

For most students, scheduling for the next school year can be a stressful experience. Coming in as freshmen, students can  only take certain classes because most require another class to get in, so they have to take required courses first. As students progress, they can take more classes that interest them.. There is much more of a variety of classes that can be taken in high school than previous years like middle school. For example, there are many different art classes, foreign languages, skills for living, marketing, and engineering classes that are fun classes to take throughout high school. Most of these classes are both helpful and have a fun atmosphere. According to CollegeBoard, students should take electives that interest them and help them pursue their passions. Taking classes with more interests can help reduce stress because students are learning about something they want, rather than a class you were forced to take or just randomly selected. CollegeBoard also suggests that one challenge themselves by taking a new class about something they don’t know much about to allow themself to maybe discover a new interest or talent of theirs. 

All of the counselors work hard to make sure all students receive a schedule with classes they selected and can enjoy. “I would recommend reading the course descriptions and not just picking classes that your friends are in,” said counselor Beverly Groth. You will most likely be put in the classes that you chose, so there should be a good reason and you should be confident with each selection. Most classes have multiple hours during the day, so there is a very good chance you may not even be placed with the people you took the class because of. Having an interest in a certain class is a great reason to select it. “I would suggest that kids look at two things when choosing classes: what are you interested in or what do you want to learn more about,” said Groth. Students take classes in school in order to further their knowledge about things, so taking classes that will help one with their future is important. There is also more than just learning about a future career. Some classes can teach the basic skills for life, like the finance and skills for living classes. “You can still get benefit out of a class you didn’t enjoy,” said Groth. Even if you aren’t necessarily interested or don’t find the class exciting, there are still good things that can come out of taking these basic skills classes. They teach the essential skills for life and it is good to learn about them earlier in life, rather than after high school. Learning about your career path is just as important as learning basic life skills. “I think the classes that are focused on career exploration give you the beginning skill sets, however in today’s world, students need to understand that they will need additional training after high school,” Groth mentioned. For example, a class like BMT,  can teach students a lot about business and how it works. This can be very beneficial, but you will only learn information to a certain extent and then you will need to explore more after high school. 

Many students have different views when it comes to scheduling and selecting good classes. Freshman Ashley Hughes enjoys her pottery and Spanish classes. “I would recommend pottery because you get to make cool projects and meet new people from every grade,” she said. As Hughes mentions, taking a class like pottery where students can be from any grade allows students to meet new people from many different age groups. Not only that, but this is also a very fun class because of all of the amazing projects that are done throughout the semester. Hughes is also in Spanish 2 this year and really enjoys it for many different reasons. “Spanish is a good class because it is good to be diverse with multiple languages and it also offers more job opportunities for future employment,” Hughes mentioned. Taking any foreign language in high school is a good idea for anyone. This can allow for new communication with people that speak a language other than English. According to Babbel.com, only about 20% of the world speaks English, so opening yourself up to a new language can be helpful and reasonable. “It is so much better than expected and is so cool to speak another language,” said Hughes. Even as a freshman, there are many great opportunities to take cool and exciting classes. 

Junior Sam Hayward is taking anatomy with Mrs. Simmermon this year and she loves it. Even if you aren’t planning on becoming a doctor someday, anatomy is an important class to be taken. “We do a variety of different activities and a majority of them are both fun and helpful,” said Hayward. With taking this class, one can learn about the body and how it functions. Anatomy is not the only helpful science class that can be taken. “I really enjoy Mrs. Crow’s AP Environmental class due to the fact that she makes the class very interesting and fun,” said Junior Jackson Hefke. “We went on a field trip to the Detroit Zoo, which was really fun and incorporated a lot of stuff we learn in the classroom,” he mentioned. This is an interactive field trip that allows students to not only learn about the environment around them, but also to be able to see what is going on. “I recommend this class to anyone who loves science and the environment,” suggested Hefke. 

Many different students would recommend classes because of the many different interests and views people have. With all of the classes that deal with so many different things, there are so many options to choose from. When deciding on classes, think about your future and what you plan to do. Taking classes that help you with both your future and help you with the basic life skills are important. Most classes at Milford High School are reasonable and worth taking for any student.