Unique Classes

Scheduling spotlight

Taking a glimpse into unique classes o ered at FHS

Alex Duer duerale000@hsestudents.org

At Fishers High School, there consists a wide variety of classes available for students to take. From American Experience down to Zoology, there are plenty of classes that o er unique environments and opportunities for learning. With over one hundred classes to choose from, students can take classes that extend to all kinds of college and career paths. For those who want to study lm, are lm junkies or simply enjoy watching movies, Film Literature is a safe choice. “We have watched lms like the Dark Knight, Jaws, and Jurassic World,” junior Connor Egge said. “ ey were classics I had not seen, and they were very fun to watch.” One aspect Film Literature explores is the details behind a lm’s composition. At times, these ideas are more abstract than at rst glance, an example being shape theory. “We have looked at shapes, and how the human eye sees those shapes,” Egge said. “For example, elements such as a corridor or the golden ratio, ideas you would not notice unless you took the course.” Adding onto that idea, as senior Sandi Bramlett explains, there is a story behind every detail. “ ere are a lot of elements that make a story, a story,” Bramlett said. “ ere is a story in the way the camera moves, the way the lighting is set up, the characters’ face(s) and so on.” Along with studying lm, the course also dives into the practice of movie-making, which both Egge and Bramlett found to be exciting. “We are also creating our own lm that we get to share,” Egge said. “It gives you a sense of how huge movie productions are made.” Although subject to change, instead of a standardized test for the nal exam, the course’s nal consisted of producing a short lm, directed by and featuring students taking the class. “Our nal exam was to create a sixty second movie,” Bramlett said. “I helped write the lm, and I also worked on editing it and capturing it. It was honestly pretty fun.” At the upperclassmen level, the list of available courses contains plenty of challenging classes to accidentally choose from. For students concerned with di culty or commitment, according to Bramlett, the class is not one to stress over. “ e assignments were very di erent from my other classes,” Bramlett said. “I never had a test or quiz to take. We did little writing assignments, but other than that, we mainly watched lms and talked about them, and worked on our movie.” Another unique class o ered is eory of Knowledge, a class like no other found in the school. As the course description states, eory of Knowledge (TOK) is a thought-provoking course that, through a list of thirty ve questions, guides students to better understand themselves and the world around them. “ eory of Knowledge is about how we know what we know,” senior James Wilkes said. “A lot of our assignments are based around how we gain knowledge, and the ve areas of knowledge: math, history, art, and natural and human sciences.” As a current student, Wilkes explained how the class sets itself apart from the others he is taking. “TOK is structured very di erently from other classes,” Wilkes said. “It is very free, and Mr. Seland, the teacher, gives assignments that are broad, which we interpret however we want.” Similar to Film Literature, eory of Knowledge di ers in format and workload compared to other classes. “He also gives fun assignments,” Wilkes said. “For example, we did a show and tell which connected back to a TOK question, but it was also an interesting way to learn more about our classmates.” Wilkes said. TOK is a required course for International Baccalaureate students, a rigorous preuniversity course of studies. However, Wilkes personally found the class to be on the contrary. “TOK is actually the easiest class that I have taken in my four years of high school,” Wilkes said. “It is because of the freedom the course gives; we are unrestrained in what we can do.”