At West Ranch, enrolling in elective classes is a great way for students to be exposed to different types of learning and subjects. Being in classes that they love can create community and build experience for a life post-graduation. However, many of these courses often go unknown. At West Ranch, these classes allow students to explore their personal interests and passions.
Honors Molecular Genetics and Honors Microbiology
Since the beginning of time, the principle of science has always inspired people to ask questions about the circle of life. At West Ranch, science courses such as Honors Molecular Genetics and Honors Microbiology encourage students to discover the foundations of life.
Honors Molecular Genetics is taught by Mr. Kim for the fall semester, followed by Honors Microbiology in the spring semester. “Both of my elective courses deal with molecular biology so we have a lot of hands-on activities on using tools and lab techniques used in medical laboratories and other biomedical research fields,” Mr. Kim explained.
West Ranch junior Andrew Franquez vocalized his favorite part about Honors Molecular Genetics: “I love to try new things and doing labs is a way I can try new things while also learning.”
Mr. Kim continued to emphasize the benefits of taking his course, especially for students interested in pursuing various science professions including healthcare, microbiology, biotechnology and more.
Creative Writing
Learning about self expression is a topic that is taught through many different forms, including writing. This school year, West Ranch is offering a creative writing class, taught by Mr. O’Brien, to encourage Wildcats to explore their creativity through various forms of literature.
Students of this creative writing elective spend the first semester exploring different forms of poetry, novels and literature. Then, students can revisit topics of literature that they enjoyed and create their own project in the spring.
While the creative writing course may seem only enjoyable for those interested in literature, the class is geared towards all types of students, focusing more on expanding one’s creativity and providing a forum for self-expression.
“Be creative. The word ‘writing’ just defines that we’re going to be creative in this form of expression, but the idea of tapping into your creativity, that’s for everyone,” Mr. O’Brien shared.
Ethnic Studies
Our West Ranch campus is filled with an extraordinary amount of diversity, with students, staff and faculty with varying ethnic, racial and cultural backgrounds. This diversity is what makes Mrs. Christensen’s Ethnic Studies class incredibly valuable.
As a brand new class that has only been offered since the beginning of this semester, the course strives to teach students of all grades about various ethnic groups that may be overlooked in traditional history classes.
Mrs. Christensen explained what the course entails, as well as its importance, especially for residents of Los Angeles: “I think this class is so important to understand the contributions of all Americans to the creation of America. Especially in Los Angeles and California, we have such diversity that some students don’t actually get to learn of; Chinese Americans, for example, or Indian Americans.”
Prior to this school year, William S. Hart district had been hosting a community group dedicated to creating the ethnic studies course and ensuring that it would educate about a variety of groups in the community. This community group consisted of parents, faculty, administrators and students.
West Ranch senior Hasrat Sood, who was a part of the ethnic studies community group and is also a current student in the ethnic studies class, shared her views on the community group and the process involved: “We look at the minority groups and each of our schools, we try to make sure who’s included and we try to give as much representation as we can.”
While the course classifies as an elective class, the class environment and rigor are similar to a typical social studies class, with activities focused on critical analysis, cause and effect and class discussions.
Sood elaborated on the structure of the class and the focus on being interactive and enjoyable, saying that the class entails a “lot of group study, a lot of talking to other people” and hearing everybody’s different input.
Mrs. Christensen concluded with how critical ethnic studies is to future voters, as it teaches students about our community and its diversity.
Conclusion
With such an elaborate course catalog, West Ranch provides many opportunities for learning. However, this can get daunting at times, and a lot of the times students can be overwhelmed with the great variety in choices they have when choosing their courses for the semester.
Classes such as Ethnic Studies, Creative Writing, Honors Microbiology and Honors Molecular Genetics are some hidden gems that may help students branch out in their learning while also being part of something they are passionate about. Cats, if you are interested in taking any of these courses or would like to explore the great variety of classes offered at West Ranch, be sure to speak with your counselors and learn about topics that interest you!
