Independent Electives*
Why This Class
Does your student have a job, hobby or internship that you think may be worthy of academic credit? Do they invest time in this area on a regular basis and plan to continue it alongside their academic pursuits? If so, this course gives your student the chance to earn high school credit for their non-academic activities.
Students in this course commit to logging sixty hours of combined practice or work in a single activity within a given semester. Along the way, they submit four brief reports of their progress (one for every fifteen hours of work) and receive live instruction or coaching at least four times from a qualified professional in their field. A qualified professional can be a coach, a professional teacher, or anyone trained in the subject. If the parent of a student also happens to be a qualified professional, they can fill this role. Students submit their instructor’s contact information for Williamsburg to confirm at the end of the semester.
By completing this course, students earn credit for participating in an activity that matters to them. They not only improve in their field of interest but also strengthen their ability to set and achieve goals in other areas.
Overarching Questions
How can I improve in my extracurricular activity through goal-setting and reporting my progress?
What can I do better to help myself develop my talents?
How are my efforts paying off? What is my next step?
Reading List
None
Course Details
Recommended Grade: 9th (Freshman) – 12th (Senior)
Prerequisites: None
Estimated Weekly Hours: 5
Format: Self-paced
Credits: 0.5
*Students can enroll in Independent Electives for any of the following activities (activities not on this list must first be approved by the course mentor): Sewing, Cooking, Carpentry, Animal Husbandry, Construction, Work Credit (for a job where they are learning vocational skills), Business Management, Cultural Exchange (living in foreign country), Modeling, Legislative Internship, Executive Internship, Judicial Internship, Lobbying Internship.