Julia Hardy
Reporter
When junior Matthew Parrino took an Independent Studies elective in repairing and upgrading automobiles last year, not only did he get advisor help in fixing up his 1998 BMW, he also earned .75 credit towards graduation.
His story is not remarkable. The Independent Studies program allows students to pick a topic on their own and study it independently for either a semester or a year.
Topics must first be approved by the Independent Studies committee. “Topics are deemed worthwhile based on the enthusiasm of the student, the evidence that they thought out their proposal, and the lack of availability of the topic as a regular class,” Independent Studies Coordinator Veronica Astacio said, who is head of Independent Studies while Ms. Roseanne Forte-Sanford is on medical leave.
Students such as junior Neal Koller decided to independently study a language no longer offered at NCHS. “I wanted to learn German and this was the easiest way I could,” he said.
Other students have taken advantage of the opportunity to design classes based off of their passions. Junior Ellen Hoover, who studied ceramics last year with a focus on the work of American sculptor Toshiko Takaezu, said, “I wanted to expand my ceramic skills. Plus Toshiko Takaezu was my inspiration for doing ceramics through middle school when I had first seen her amazing work.”
Senior Julia Tuttle said she designed a course in humanitarian aid, inspired by her experiences in Ghana. “I have volunteered in Ghana six times over the past few years,” she said. “Over this time, I developed an interest in aid projects and I wanted to educate myself on approaches to humanitarian aid so I could best have an impact.”
Both students and teachers alike noted the many benefits of taking an independent study. “I was able to learn so much more about how cars work and how to repair them by actually doing it myself in such a hands-on manner,” Matthew said.
Students also mentioned the relative ease of completing a course individually. “People think that the work is unbearable, but if you just do it little by little, you wont ever have a problem,” Neal said.
Moreover, Ms. Astacio said, “Independent Studies are a great way to meet the six course requirement and learn about a topic you love.”
Independent Studies alumni said they were so pleased by their experiences that they said decided to take another. Parrino added, “I loved independent studies last year so I’m taking it again, this time for Latin.”
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