Many high school curriculums cover the fundamentals of learning, such as algebra, U.S. history, and language arts, but in a rapidly changing technological era where change is the only constant—and where jobs happen to be more and more difficult to secure—it’s highly important to supplement these fundamentals with areas of study that will carry high school students steadily into adult life. Here are 10 courses that you should look for in a high school for a well-rounded curriculum.
Financial Literacy
Many students pass through high school learning algebra, geometry, and calculus, but often these students are still missing the fundamentals when it comes to keeping a budget, tracking expenses, calculating savings, and knowing how much interest is going to accumulate on a major expense over time.
Web Design
Web design is becoming more and more central to how companies operate on the web. A cleanly functioning, visually appealing, and search engine optimized online presence is central to many business models of today, and web design allows an individual to maintain all of these aspects of an online presence.
Graphic Design
As with web design, graphic design is becoming increasingly central to how individuals and companies interact with the web. A background in graphic design will help an individual to create visually appealing content, which is vital to an online realm where images hold more power now than ever before.
Geography
Geography is an area of study under the social studies umbrella that is often neglected or underemphasized. A course in geography will prepare students to synthesize the current events cropping up in the news every day and to travel around the world with more knowledge to support them.
Current Events
Similarly, a course centered around current events and interpreting the news put out daily by the media will work to instill a habit in students that many adults have yet to cultivate.
Earth Science
This field of science deals with the Earth’s landforms, atmosphere, and climate, and a study of earth science can help students to understand better how their everyday actions benefit the Earth or put a strain on the Earth’s resources.
Life Fitness and Nutrition
Many physical education classes do introduce students to a wide variety of sports and exercise activities, allowing students to explore forms of exercise that interest them, but a health and physical education class geared towards helping students develop their own exercise regimens and nutrition plans will prove an invaluable addition to these typical health and P.E. classes in the long run.
Child Development
Because of the heavy influence that home life plays on the overall health and behavior of an individual, high school students can benefit tremendously from discussing human growth and development, as well as parenting techniques that they will need to rely on in the future as parents.
ACT/SAT Prep
The ACT and SAT are central to college applications, so it only makes sense to dedicate more time to preparing students for them. An ACT or SAT prep course can increase tremendously a student’s chances of getting into the colleges of his or her choice.
Study Skills
Students may practice some form of studying in every course that they take, but many can benefit from learning what the most effective study techniques are, so that they can be prepared to take on the increased levels of coursework that come in college.