Opinion: Three “Must Take” Classes at SHS

After four years of exploring the high school’s course offerings, I have narrowed down my top three recommendations. 

Beginning with number three, I recommend taking Spanish. Although most students begin a foreign language in middle school, I started during my freshman year and was thrown in with all different grade levels. Nevertheless, Spanish is still one of my favorite courses. Every day I walk through the language hallway and see the smiling teachers. A typical day in the classroom is filled with native music (and dance), collaboration, and group work. I can’t remember sitting through a Spanish lecture. While this sounds like all fun and games, the courses are challenging. The tests and speaking practices can be difficult, but they improved my Spanish skills. Although many seniors drop their foreign language, I am glad I stuck with it. If you plan to travel abroad or take a foreign language in college, push through and challenge yourself during your senior year.

At number two, I recommend taking Advanced Journalism. While I may be biased because I am writing this article as the class’s assignment, Mrs. Hall’s courses have taught me the importance of writing (and proper grammar). You can work with classmates to create stories, and students have the opportunity to leave campus to conduct interviews. They are encouraged to develop story ideas that are critical to the community. This class requires self-reliance and time management, as you must keep yourself accountable for completing your stories. While self-motivation and thoughtful ideas are essential, Advanced Journalism is a fun, relaxed class where students learn about current events and report the highlights of life at SHS and beyond. This class has strengthened my writing and grammar skills, and my confidence in interviewing people has increased.

Finally, my number one recommendation is AP Psychology. You may have heard seniors recommending this class to underclassmen! This course is challenging, hence the AP in the title; however, it is designed for students to succeed. You will thrive in the course if you have self-discipline and complete short homework notes each night. The teacher, Mr. Roberts, makes lectures interesting and applies each psychological term to your life, making the curriculum relatable. A typical class in AP Psych includes a lecture, group reading, working with a “buddy,” and applying the unit terms to celebrities, famous trials, or well-known studies. If you are someone like me who prefers organization, I am pleased to tell you the entire year is outlined through unit agendas and Google Classroom. Whether you want to study psychology in college or learn about the mind and personality, I recommend taking this course.

These are my recommendations and stories; however, many incredible other courses at SHS exist. To learn more about other seniors’ opinions, I surveyed them about their favorite classes this year. Overwhelmingly, Ornithology with Mr. Maguire remained on top.