Students do not like school because they don’t think it is important. They don’t think
they will use any of the skills they learn at school in real life. Even though they are
mistaken, adding classes where you learn things you would most certainly use later in
life might encourage kids to feel more vested in school and classes. Examples of these
classes could be Shop/ building or cooking classes. At Landrum Middle School, we
used to have a cooking/ baking class that has since been discontinued. This annoyed a lot of
people. The wound reopened recently because the school just removed all the ovens!
Everyone was hoping it would come back soon but it looks like that’s not an option
unless we make a profound change!
Studies show that having baking classes at school can be de-stressing. You can have a
break during the day and relax whilst still learning how to create new dishes! It is an
easy class to make friends and get a good grade in! Also, have you ever laughed at your
Grandma for having to hire someone to build something? That could be you if you do not
learn how to assemble and design things! Students agree that they would sign up for
cooking or building classes. As Addyson says,
“I would sign up for a cooking class because I love baking and it would be a good break
in the day.” Although, some students have different opinions. For example, when I asked
Caulder what she thought to baking and building classes, she responded with
“I wouldn’t join either class because I feel that I could use my time better in different
electives. I also wouldn’t want to get dusty during shop.” While this could be true, for
these electives you could have the option whether to change out or not… like during PE.
That way you couldn’t get dirty and still have fun getting messy! These electives would
not be for everyone, but I think they would benefit multiple students and their interests.
Project X: Bring back the ovens!