On Jan. 27, students from Amador’s elective classes visited Harvest Park Middle School to showcase the elective options middle school students will have the opportunity to take this upcoming fall.

Isabelle Lo (‘23), a student in digital electronics, was one of the people sent to explain the principles of circuits to the middle schoolers. 

“For digital electronics, we did a puzzle where you had to change switches to figure out what kind of circuit each circuit was. Seeing the students understand how to do it and then figure out the rest of the circuits by themselves was very rewarding,” said Lo.

For middle school students, having the physical learning experience lets them explore different ways of learning. 

“Having that hands-on activity really helped them better understand what it was like to be in the classes,” said Lo. 

In the engineering classes, students learn the basics of engineering such as computer design, dimensioning, and other engineering-related subjects. Taking part in all of these projects gives students a better idea of what they can potentially pursue as a career.

“That’s one of the great things about all of our electives, not just CTE (Career Technical Education). [Students] can explore culinary, BioMed, foods, art, visual and performing arts, and it helps them decide what they want to study further,” said Engineering teacher Tony Dennis.

Taking elective classes is a good way for students to discover things that they’re passionate about. Being exposed to subjects that students wouldn’t have the opportunity to take in middle school could inspire them to explore new career paths in high school.

“I think the overall goal for CTE was to give students an early exposure prior to college. [Students are] getting exposure to what possibly could be something that they major in in college, whether that’s engineering or culinary or any of that,” said Engineering teacher Eric Ra. 

The elective fair showcased to the middle schoolers all the many electives that Amador has to offer, giving them a better idea of what they may want to do once they get into high school. 

“I would really encourage students to explore during their time in high school to help narrow down and figure out what they want to study further,” said Dennis.