Any student at LOHS knows that there’s a certain expectation to attend a four-year college after high school. Whether it’s a pressure from parents, teachers or peers, it heavily impacts how students go about their high school careers. With all of that considered, it’s no surprise that students tend to forecast for AP and Honors classes over other electives in order to look impressive on college applications.

On the LOHS website, the school is described as “a four-year comprehensive public secondary school that offers a challenging course of study aimed at meeting the needs of a predominantly college-bound student body.” Challenging classes are integral to the curriculum here at LO and are often the classes that students are encouraged to take the most because attending college is the end goal. There’s no denying that AP classes look better for colleges, save money and are a good challenge for students, but is that enough for them to be valued more than any other elective?

LOHS offers a variety of fun electives, including but not limited to: Video Games as Interactive Narratives, Creative Writing, Introduction to Agriculture, Reading for Enjoyment and Criminal Justice. There are many students who love these electives and even look forward to taking them over anything else, but they are often the first to go when classes are cut. 

It’s understandable for those types of classes to be seen as the least important. They’re not core subjects, so they’re often discarded and labeled as unnecessary. Many parents would rather have their children take a challenging AP course over a few random electives. 

But, what many people don’t consider are the benefits students accrue from taking electives. If you ask a student here at LO, they might say that their electives are their easiest classes, but they’d probably also say that they learned a lot more real world skills from them than from some of their core classes. Classes like Yearbook and Newspaper teach students important soft skills, such as communication and collaboration. They offer leadership opportunities and develop writing abilities. Classes like Introduction to Agriculture and Criminal Justice allow students to explore different career paths. Not every student wants to follow a STEM career path, so why should the classes we have not give students opportunities to explore other options? 

Plus, some students may not plan to go to a four-year college at all. Culinary Arts is a class that could possibly direct students to a career in the subject, something that requires going through a special program rather than the typical university experience. College is not the only way to achieve success, which is why students at LOHS should have the opportunity to take electives that explore different options. 

Electives might not seem rigorous or impressive, but they teach skills and perspectives that are simply not attainable from taking most AP classes. With the recent news of the coming budget cuts in LOSD, it’s time to start thinking about the classes that actually make a difference and make students more well-rounded. High school is the last time in our lives that we can take classes and learn for free, so why not take advantage of the electives offered at LOHS that are merely perceived as “less academic.”