Reaching the high school level comes with the burden of the increased curriculum. You are studying a variety of subjects and the pressure is there to excel in all of those as well. Amidst such a situation, you may feel the pang of not being able to do things you have a natural inclination for.
Thankfully, there are electives to do at the high school level that may help you stay closer to your God-gifted talents. While the main subjects are to be studied to have the requisite skills needed for the life beyond campus, electives are the subjects that may help you build vocational skills or follow your natural calling.
Why electives are important in high school
Apart from staying true to a natural calling, there are a few other purposes that electives in high school may serve. For the uninitiated, electives are the additional subjects that you choose to study apart from the main curriculum. These are not ‘subjects’ as such, but can be called ‘co-curricular activities’, ‘hobbies’, or the ‘vocational skills’. Understandably, these are important for the following reasons:
1. May help you become self-sufficient
Not all students have an interest in studying beyond high school. Sometimes, college education becomes tougher due to a lack of funds too. Sadly, scholarships are for geniuses who have exceptional academic records to produce. But, what about others who need to fend for themselves after high school?
There are vocationally inclined electives that may help students start to work on completing high school. These electives help build a job-oriented skill that can be applied to start at the ground level in various industries. Public speaking, personal finance, Automotive maintenance, Apologetics, Writing, etc. are some of the electives that help have a great start in life after high school.
2. Help take the mind off the workload
A very important service done by an elective is – taking off the workload! While curriculum and the pressure of excelling in exams may be the first thing in your mind always, you deserve a break too! Electives can make you feel less burdened by indulging in an activity that is close to your heart. Also, due to deep interest, you may find it an easy way to earn more credits for entry into college.
3. Support your way to higher education
Several electives are such that they prove instrumental in building skills needed for a course of choice at the college level. Such electives can help do the required groundwork and prepare you for the subject of your interest that you intend to opt-in college.
If not for serious motives, recreation and satiating the creative streak can be good reasons. Let’s take a look at the fun electives that you can take in high school so that you are doing what you like or to hone your inborn skills.
Low-stress fun electives for high schoolers
1. Music Elective
Music does not come easy to one and all. If you want to get spotted in the crowd, crooning in a well-tuned manner or playing an instrument can be your best bet. You may identify the germs for music in yourself from an early age. If you feel like fanning this passion of yours and pursue music professionally, you can take this elective at the high school level.
2. Dramatic Arts Elective
Theater and Drama are challenging, fun and allow you to don various personalities by the way of enacting roles. If the round of claps and recognition intrigue you, the dramatic arts elective can be your go-to. Help yourself in building a career in the dramatic arts field by preparing for it at the high school level. This elective is fun, entertaining, and quite satisfying to your creative side.
3. Writing Elective
Writing is the finest way of telling stories by staying off the camera. You can connect with your readers through your work and inspire them with your words. Also, the writing can help keep the readers entertained as well as engaged in learning. Writing elective can help you convert your passion to communicate into a form. It also prepares you for a career in the field of journalism and print media.
4. Cooking Elective
Cooking is no less than an art! Many people find cooking to be a good stress-buster. You can add a lot to your love for cooking by learning the technicalities involved. Cooking elective can help you learn about nutrition, healthy cooking methods, great serving styles, and managing parties too. All these learnings acquired at the high school stage can help you move swiftly to the phase of becoming self-sufficient. Even if not eyeing for a profession, this skill can help you manage yourself or be on your own when moving out of the house or joining a job in new city.
5. Foreign Language Elective
Enquire from your high school which foreign language is offered as elective. There are certain foreign languages like German, French, Spanish, etc. that help you get placed at good companies. Also, you may work as freelance translator or mediator with the knowledge of a foreign language. This elective is easier to do if you have a special love for languages. When planning to make a good career based on foreign language skills, this elective can provide you preparatory support. Sometimes, just to have an additional activity in hand, the foreign language elective offers good option to pick. When planning to live as an expat in a foreign land, the knowledge of native language of the destination country can help you live like a local there.
6. Photography Elective
Want to be more than a mobile phone photography champ? The Photography elective serves you the right option, if so. Photography is quite an in-demand skill and has a lot of sub-branches like portrait photography, landscape photography, wildlife photography, commercial photoshoot, etc. This elective can expose you to all tools and techniques used in photography. A lot of workshops are organized by camera equipment biggies that offer practical training on various special aspects of this art. Students at high school can add a lot of fun to their routine by choosing this elective.
7. Graphic Design
Graphic design can also offer a great outlet for your creativity. It is a skill quite in demand in the web development sector. Also, marketing and advertising companies use graphic designers to create commercials, merchandise, and other branding materials. If you have an aesthetic sense and a deep understanding of layouts, this elective can offer you the right premise to explore and shape up your skill. Using the learnings from this elective program, you can start working as a graphic designing professional and fund your college education too.
Summing up,
Choosing electives is a part and parcel of high school life. Do a bit of research before opting the elective. You need to introspect how you want to wield the opportunity to choose an elective and put to use for shaping the future ahead. Also, you must explore the choices available with your high school. The options given above are best to fuel your creative side and serve as a good stress-buster apart from helping you with the career or higher education after high school.
Sananda Bhattacharya, Chief Editor of TheHighSchooler, is dedicated to enhancing operations and growth. With degrees in Literature and Asian Studies from Presidency University, Kolkata, she leverages her educational and innovative background to shape TheHighSchooler into a pivotal resource hub. Providing valuable insights, practical activities, and guidance on school life, graduation, scholarships, and more, Sananda’s leadership enriches the journey of high school students.
Explore a plethora of invaluable resources and insights tailored for high schoolers at TheHighSchooler, under the guidance of Sananda Bhattacharya’s expertise. You can follow her on Linkedin