Electives are more than a break from the core classes your student works through every day. They give your child a way to get creative and develop their interests while making connections with others, including their instructors.
CCA understands the importance of electives, which is why we’ve incorporated a range of unique classes our learners can take to explore their interests and develop their skills. With our personalized education plans, learners can take control of their schedules and pursue what matters to them.
Benefits of Student Electives
Core classes offer an engaging description of a variety of topics, but electives allow students to take a deep dive into the areas they love the most. While core classes provide an excellent foundation for essential topics, electives can encourage students to get more creative with their work. In these classes, students can connect with peers who share their interests and discover new ideas and ways to complete work.
Students can also find new interests and connect with subjects they’ve never encountered. For students approaching graduation, this is especially important as they begin to think about what they want to pursue in college or career-wise. As students work with new materials and become curious about cultivating their skills for the future, electives give students the space to experiment. As a bonus, they help students focus and recognize their achievements.
Electives can also act as support for core classes. For example, learning about art often relates to various points in history. Sociology and psychology electives can encourage looking deeply at texts and writing annotations that students can apply to their composition courses.
Furthermore, elective courses help students cultivate life skills such as writing, speaking, and listening. For example, public speaking, debate, and creative writing courses encourage students to vocalize their thoughts and present their ideas in a clear and meaningful way. Exploring elective options in high school helps students prepare themselves for whatever will come after graduation.
At CCA, we’ve initiated Career Pathways that encourage students to find their careers of interest in flexible ways. We first introduce students to success skills in elementary to develop their interests as they grow. From there, our program makes becoming college- and career-ready easy, no matter what field students want to pursue.
We offer pathways for science and health, human services, engineering and industrial technology, business, finance and information technology, and arts and communication. With our guided Career Pathway, students can identify the courses that are most meaningful to them and are encouraged to find additional learning opportunities, such as internships.
Exciting Course Electives Offered at CCA
Electives are just as important in online schools as they are for traditional brick-and-mortar institutions. Good electives to take are the ones that most interest your child, even if they’ve never encountered the subject material before. Reading the course descriptions of each class will help your student determine which ones interest them.
Online schools have the advantage of catering lessons to each student’s needs, including their extracurricular interests. Therefore, your child has more options to choose from and a more comprehensive range of interests to explore.
CCA offers unique electives for students to allow them to get creative and help prepare them for future career paths. You canbrowse our course catalog to determine what electives to take. Here are some of our unique options below:
1. Art History
Art History is available for all high school students, but we recommend it for juniors and seniors. It lasts one semester and doesn’t require a previous course before enrollment. In Art History, students will examine architecture and works of art throughout history and discuss their social, geographical, religious, political, and historical relevance.
2. Astronomy
Our Astronomy course is a unique class that empowers students to complete work comparable to real astronomers. In this class, students can explore the universe and the last frontier to uncover mysteries about black holes, understand the formation of the galaxy, and learn about planets, stars, and other entities in space.
Throughout this course, learners will uncover information about the most recent discoveries from the Webb Telescope and Hubble Space Telescope while engaging in many other interesting activities. We offer exciting opportunities like visiting a telescope facility or planetarium, attending a live interaction with astronomers, and watching a space flight or rocket launch event.
3. Cosmetology
CCA offers a variety of cosmetology courses to encourage learners to deeply explore their interests in a field that could become their future careers. Cosmetology 1 provides the fundamentals that students will need to thrive in this industry.
During this course, learners will discover various career paths and form a foundational concept of owning a business. Here, they will find a strong focus on art, teamwork, communication, customer service, and the science of cosmetology.
Learners who want to continue their cosmetology education can then pursue Cosmetology 2. This course builds on the conceptual knowledge from Cosmetology 1 and offers deeper insight into career paths for makeup artists, nail technicians, cosmetologists, hairstylists, and estheticians.
4. Digital Photography
Your child can get creative in Digital Photography. Our educators will show your child the basics of photography and explain shutter speed, composition, lighting, and aperture. Learners will explore the history of photography and practice basic camera functions. They’ll create portfolios that highlight their images of landscapes, action shots, close-ups, and people throughout the semester.
5. Game Design
Our semester-long Game Design courses encourage children who love video games and coding to dive into their technical and creative skills. This course teaches learners about hardware, software, troubleshooting, internet safety techniques, gaming platforms, and gaming history. During the class, your child will have the chance to create their own video game plan.
6. Journalism
Journalism pairs well with U.S. Government or U.S. History courses. This course encourages learners to identify significant figures who shaped the industry as they explore the beginnings of journalism. Your child will experiment with various article types and have the chance to contribute to the class newspaper as they explore exciting topics and construct professional articles.
7. Sociology
Sociology encourages learners to question the norms they see in everyday life. They’ll discover how to view sociology as a science and begin to understand the world around them in a different light. Your child will start to realize how people relate to society and each other and evaluate why people act the way they do in groups.
8. Yoga and Pilates
Online students can get active throughout their day the same way students in traditional schools can. Our Yoga and Pilates class gets your child off their feet for a quarter of their academic year. Our instructors will teach them basic yoga poses and discuss the proper techniques to stretch, breathe, and relax to decrease stress and improve flexibility and overall health through daily exercises.
9. Web Design
Web Design gives students a unique opportunity to understand the ever-changing world of mobile apps. The course begins with a historical tour of the worldwide web. It continues with an introduction to WordPress, which will allow them to design web pages and determine an online presence. As your child works through data-transfer capabilities and the evolution of networking, they’ll begin to understand more about mobile apps.
10. World Languages
CCA offers a range of world languages your child can explore to expand their vocabulary and connect with more members of their communities and other cultures. We offer Chinese, Arabic, French, German, Japanese, Spanish, Latin, and American Sign Language at various levels so your child has the opportunity to become proficient in an additional language.
Start Your CCA Journey Today
School isn’t all about the books — it’s about learning life lessons your child can carry with them and adapting the mindset that learning is a lifelong endeavor. Our programs allow students to take control of their futures and expose themselves to a unique offering of classes.
Your child deserves a personalized education that helps them develop life skills they can use to further themselves in their future careers. Our online program lets your child pursue their interests and learn the skills needed to excel and succeed in their desired industry.
You can easily request more information about our electives and how our personalized education programs can benefit your child. We have resources readily available to help you determine the best courses for your child, and we can always offer you guidance in choosing classes.
