The Student News Site of Mount Vernon High School

The Mustang Moon

The Student News Site of Mount Vernon High School

The Mustang Moon

The Student News Site of Mount Vernon High School

The Mustang Moon

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Classes Useful in Life

By Adam Vig

If you walk around the halls of the Mount Vernon High School, students might hear other students talking about how some classes are too easy or are a joke, or how it’s a class that you can get an automatic “A.” Students keep talking about those classes, but should talk about the classes that everyone would benefit from taking, or the classes that are “the most important classes.” At the end of the year, when students go to make schedules they know what classes to take if they need that easy “A,” but they don’t know what classes they’ll need to take to prepare for what’s ahead in life.

Students need to take a certain number of core classes to graduate high school and enter college. For example, in Mount Vernon, students need to take four years of English, with at least one composition class, one literature class, and one speech class. Within these three strands, there are many electives. For example, in the literature classes, some electives are Film as Literature, British Literature, African American Literature, and Contemporary Literature. There are many choices to fill the requirement.

The core subject that students think is the most important is English. Any English class can make a student better at reading, writing, and speaking. While other subjects give you situational knowledge, like the date that Pope Urban II died, or what happens when you mix carbon monoxide and magnesium fluoride, English can give any student basic skills that they need in every job and hobby.

“I think that out of all the classes, English gives you the most life skills,” Junior Paige Beck said. “No matter what career a person goes into, they have to know how to read, write, and speak to other people. English class teaches all of those things.”

Many students that attend Mount Vernon High School think that the basic English I and English II classes teach the most, but after the required English classes, students recommend taking as many composition classes as possible.

Another required subject that students think is the most important is math. With a math class, a student will be able to work with more numbers and will be able to use numbers and equations with more efficiency. Anyone that wants to go into business, or engineering, or anything that needs to use measuring, needs to have an ability to do math. Students in Mount Vernon High School think that Algebra I and II are the most useful because they create the foundation for Pre-calculus and Calculus.

“Algebra I and II are the start of knowing everything about graphs, lines, algebra, and lead into all of the next subjects such as geometry, pre-calc, and calculus,” said freshman Adam Deeb. Even some jobs that the average person might think doesn’t need to have any experience for, they might need experience with math. A job at McDonald’s as a cashier needs you to be able to count up change for a customer. This is why math is very useful in the future of all students worldwide.

Another subject that students think is the most important are foreign languages. It doesn’t matter if it’s Spanish, German, or any other language, all students should learn at least one other language other than their main language. Foreign languages make students think in different ways, the students need to think in a different way of speaking and need to be knowledgeable of the culture and practices of the language.

Freshman Sabrina Cooklin said, “With a foreign language, you can learn so much about other culture and other people in the world. It is important to understand that we aren’t the only people on the planet Earth.” Foreign languages and cultures also make it easier for students to travel to other countries.

An important extracurricular class that students like is music. It doesn’t matter if it’s band, choir, or orchestra, the students want to express themselves and learn new instruments or learn about a voice they never knew they had. Band, choir, and orchestra also make a comfortable environment for people to express students and their talents. “Everyone in the band is all part of one big family,” said junior Amaya Mahoney. “The environment is positive and everyone who is there wants to be there. Everyone is welcome and nobody is left out. We all care for each other and each person wants to help others succeed in whatever they are involved in.” Even if a student doesn’t have a music class, they can always walk in and feel right at home.

Another important extracurricular class is art classes. Art is a way to learn how to make beautiful pieces of art. In an art class, you can take any class from photography to ceramics, to as simple as basic drawing. Any art class can express your personality in multiple ways. Sophomore Leah Kaminsky said, “It really expanded my art abilities, and showed me new skills.” Art is another way to relax and express yourself in any way you want.

Another important extracurricular class is foods. An aspect that people need in life is how to cook delicious food. Foods class helps with that and more. If you take foods one, you learn how to cook, in foods two, you learn how to menu plan. It gets you ready for the real world. Freshman Adam Deeb said, “I really love the cooking aspect of things and it really lightens up my day when I get to go and make delicious foods and eat them as well.” The home economics class also gives a comfortable class to relax and enjoy life as well. 

When you go to pick your classes at the end of the year you might not know what to take, because you want to take classes that make you smarter not only for your job, but in the real world. If a student tries to express themselves and takes difficult English and math classes, they can go anywhere in the world. A student’s final decision isn’t with importance, it is with what they want to do. If a student thinks that a class is fun then they can do it. That is why there are so many classes for students, because it doesn’t matter what the best choice is, all that matters is what students think will help them.

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