As the third quarter of school began to wrap up, the Pitman “Class of [graduation year]” Google Classrooms posted a “Ballot Course Offering” slideshow which announced the latest courses students could take in 2022-23. On February 28th, the ballot course slideshow was presented in every homeroom and students were informed on how to sign up for their chosen classes through Aeries.

During the last week of February, counselors sat outside throughout lunch to answer any questions regarding schedules and a “Ballot Day” occurred on March 4. Different electives were set up at tables around campus to give students an opportunity to ask questions, gain clarification, etc. Amongst the many classes, there were a couple unfamiliar courses, such as Farm to Fork and Early Childhood Education.

To start off, Farm to Fork is one of the new classes to be introduced this year that focuses on agriculture food science. People who plan on taking this elective must be prepared to learn about plant science theories and the basics of raising crops. 

To gain more knowledge of what will happen in this class, the teacher instructing this elective at Pitman High School, Ms. Kiley Silva, was asked the following question about the new agriculture course:

“Would you be able to give a summary of what daily assignments or activities students will be doing in Farm to Fork?”

Ms. Silva replied with:

“Farm to Fork is kind of a farm to table type of idea, so we go out to the garden in the back [of Pitman High School] and they grow their own crops and food. Daily activities are like how to read a seed packet, how we are going to count for harvest, how food gets processed, how food gets handled, how we get it from the ground basically through all of these processes into getting it to the store or the retail or for consumers to buy. So, daily activities are taking care of the gardens which is twice a week. We do different assignments and activities on explaining processes through videos, slides, or putting together their plan of how it gets from point A to point B. We work out in our greenhouse as well so students are in the greenhouse working on seed packets and how we label and identify. They identify plants and crops. We also cook in the class so students will make different meals like hamburgers and things like that from the garden.” 

An additional interview question related to students enrolling in this class was asked:

“What characteristics do you think a student should have in order to take this class?”

“I think as long as they’re willing hard workers for sure. We are in the garden a lot so pulling weeds and putting in effort out there. Another one is being excited for the class, you’re going to learn a lot from start to finish so there’s some parts you’re going to have to explain processes, bacteria, or labs. I think just being excited for the class and being willing to put in the hard work and the class is super enjoyable as long as you’re willing to be dedicated to it,” Ms. Silva responded.

Next, the second new elective to be offered by Pitman High School is Early Childhood Education. By taking this class, an individual will learn child development theories, environments that influence a child’s development, and learning environments to support a child.

The instructor teaching Early Childhood Education, Mrs. Tanya White, was asked the following question:

“What do you think may be challenging for a student that takes this elective? Why?”

Mrs. White answered with:

“It is a class through UC Merced so the rigor is [that of] a college course, and there will be high expectations as well.”

A second question regarding the benefits of taking this class was asked:

“What benefits do you think a student would gain from taking this course?”

Mrs. White responded with:

“Students will receive twelve units of college credits and a teaching permit at the end of this course so that they can legitimately become a teacher. People sometimes don’t have an idea if they want to work with kids or not and so that’s what I think is really fun about this class. It exposes them to whether they end up wanting to work with kids.”

Lastly, this is not a new class, but Speech may return if enough people sign up for it. Speech will be taught by Ms. Colleen Ronzo and many skills can be improved such as: speaking, writing, and critical thinking. When enlisting for this elective, students should expect to write speeches that are original, convincing, and illuminating. In addition, a benefit from taking this class would be overcoming the fear of public speaking. 

To conclude, Pitman High School offers a variety of well developed and engaging courses for students to take based on their own interests. Most students will find a class that piques their interest and if not then they can certainly talk to their counselors to request a new course. 

See next year’s course directory HERE.