By: Celeste Nevil

On the week of January 23rd through the 27th there were two PM Program Planning activity days. For some students this may have seemed like two days to pick classes that are easy and fun but picking classes is critical for any student to earn a diploma and build a future.

There are many difficult choices that are a challenge to make in high school. Some decisions are simple like the clothes to wear and a job to choose, but some decisions are a lot harder to make such as picking classes for the upcoming school year. Diplomas have to be chosen and classes have to be picked according to that diploma. This means taking all of the classes that are required, making good grades in those classes and making sure classes are passed and credits are earned.

According to an article on Xatel, there are three things you have to ask yourself before you pick classes. The first is: will this look good for college? Picking classes that look good for college look better on a resume and are going to make colleges more likely to choose those students.  The second question is: does this fulfill the requirements? There are always required classes that have to be taken in order to be able to graduate and it’s easy to get them out of the way very quickly.  The last question is: is this class something a student has considered a career in? It’s important to have ideas of what careers are interesting so that picking classes can be easier.

Some of the new classes that are being offered at next year are: Languages for Heritage Speakers, AP human geography, and AP environmental science, human developments and family wellness, culinary art foundations and at Prosser the new program is Fire, Rescue and EMT.

“Languages for Heritage Speakers will be a class offered to students who used to live in a place with a different national language,” counselor Mrs. Natalie McGarvey said. “AP human geography will also be offered and will be a lot like world geography but will focus more on the people of those times.”

Some of the other classes like AP environmental science will focus on the science of certain environments, human developments and family wellness will focus on the whole life cycle and help you learn about it.

“Culinary art foundations is a beginning cooking class for students who might want to pursue a future in culinary arts. McGarvey said.

All of the required classes are important to the outcome of the individual. If a student in high school starts thinking about jobs that interest them now, they can look at colleges and find the requirements and standards the college is looking for.  An easy way to do this is by looking on the College Board website, which will help by showing a list of colleges and their academic requirements.

“It’s important to take as many AP or dual credit classes as possible,” stated an article on the Teen College Education website. “Because these classes can help prepare students for college classes.”

Using a four-year high school course plan like outlined in the Academic Handbook, formerly known as The Counselor will help to make sure students are taking all the classes they need for the diploma they want to earn. But not everyone uses the four-year course plan to pick classes.

“I like to pick the classes I really want to take,” sophomore Brandon Cape said. “If I run out of options I pick ones that I would enjoy and classes that teachers and students recommend. If I have trouble picking a class I ask my friends what they are taking and I ask the teacher about that class. If it seems interesting then I’ll take it.”

Education is important and a class taken or not taken can totally change a students future. Making sure to take the proper classes for the chosen diploma is the key to building a successful future after high school.

“I’d recommend taking at least one AP or dual credit class junior year.  Also, take any foreign language classes still needed. It’s required to have at least two fine art credits too, some of those classes include orchestra, band, choir, drama, music theory, keyboard and theater tech,” junior Jeremiah Edwards said. “I hope students will take my advice on choosing classes because it’ll help them in the long run. I’m not able to take that easy of a senior year because I’m behind in math and I wouldn’t feel right if I wasn’t pushing myself as hard as I could to get the best diploma and grades I can.”