Karen Rivera also contributed to this article.
Course selections have started up! Last week, Malden High School counselors began the process of calling students down to the gallery to help them pick out their courses for next year.
During course selection, students choose what classes they will be enrolled in for the next school year. There are many interesting courses and electives that students can choose from. If they pick something that they end up not liking, students have the option to change the course by talking to their counselor within the first two weeks of the next school year.
Course selections used to be held in offices. Some students did not particularly like the arrangement due to the massive lines and the long wait times. Due to the amount of difficulty with choosing courses in the offices, many students decided not to go and, as a result, ended up with classes that they did not want. Now that course selections are being held at the gallery, a lot of students and counselors seem to enjoy it more than the offices. “I enjoy this a lot because this is my second year doing the course selections, so it's nice to have some of my colleagues here together to bounce some ideas off of. Plus, it's just a beautiful space with a lot of natural light so I enjoy meeting with all the students in-person here,” Guidance Counselor Jessalyn Brown explained.
On the other hand, some people were not so sure about having course selections in such a public area.
“I mean it is more spacious than having it in the office, but again I feel like people can overhear… my business, but I’m fine with it,” Junior Hilda Chacon said. She feels like privacy could also be an issue for some people. Due to the amount of space the gallery offers, it allows more students to be in one space at the same time, which could make some people feel uneasy about talking about their course preferences.
Junior Joanne Tang disagreed with this because she says ”I am pretty sure everyone is focused on their own thing so I wasn't worried about that.” She also stated that being in the offices was harder because it was harder to think about what courses you wanted to take. Not only is the gallery way more spacious than an office, but it also makes students feel a little more comfortable and free in their choices and it has a very nice view that can be seen through the windows.
With students still heading into the gallery all this week, hopefully everyone can find a class that is perfectly catered to their preferences.
