Those of you who have attended TGS in the past may have noticed the influx of new class offerings in the past two years. The school has expanded its curriculum to include classes like Mandarin, Southwestern Geography, Fantasy Writing, Farm & Garden, and more.
This year, Ms. Encila has planned a group of ten explorations that can be taken as a class, called “Ten Things I Wish Someone Would Have Told Me When I Was Younger”. If students attend nine out of the ten explorations, they will be given credit on their transcript, listed under ‘personal development’.
When asked why she decided to do these classes, Ms. Encila said that she originally wanted to create an opportunity for “non-art students to give them a deeper understanding of the power of visual elements in their lives.” However, after she began researching and designing the course, it evolved into something even more complex.
She realized that there were many life-changing things that she wished someone would have told her before she left school. “We all share so many universal experiences, but in our daily, busy schedules, it often seems that there is too little time or courage to think about, reflect upon and/or discuss with each other these common needs or struggles.” The point of these classes is to share her knowledge and start these important conversations in our community.
Ms. Encila wants students to come away from this class with “new insightful life-skills to navigate through daily challenges...a wiser, braver open-mind...and an expanded awareness of how to give themselves permission to live their best life.”
The first two classes, “Thing #1: Secrets Advertisers Know Can Powerfully Influence You Under the Radar” and “Thing #2: Expectations Can Make or Break Realtionships” have already taken place, both of which I attended. As a student, I would say that both of these classes (especially the first one) were very eye-opening. The lessons stuck with me after the bell rang, and I began to notice the things we discussed in my everyday life.
I often hear students wishing that there were more classes that were directly applicable to their lives, in which they would learn some important life skills. While this class doesn’t teach things like how to file taxes or cook a meal, I would say that the skills taught in this class are equally important.
I highly recommend these classes to anyone looking to gain some insight into their life and the world around them or to anyone ready to have a conversation about the things in our lives that are often ignored.
This semester, students can look forward to the following classes: “Thing #3: Perfectionism is Dangerous”, “Thing #4: Creativity is a Superpower And It’s Not Really”, and “Thing #5: Playing is Not a Waste of Time”. The last five will take place during the second semester.
If you would like to take all the classes, but weren’t able to attend the first few, don’t worry! Ms. Encila says that if there is enough interest in the future, she will definitely offer them again, as “[they] are topics that warrant on-going study and practice.”
Written by Avery O'Brien (staff reporter)