Five new courses may be added to Radford High School’s existing curriculum. Advanced Placement Art History, Advanced Placement Macroeconomics, Baking and Pastry, Introduction to Human Sexuality, and Forestry: Papa La’au 3 were offered to students during the school’s annual registration in November.

Art History
Librarian Beverly Vallejo-Sanderson, who plans to teach AP Art History, sees the class as a valuable opportunity for discovery.

“I want to appreciate the art world further and to share moments of discovery with my students. The opportunity to teach art history to Radford’s best students will make it very worthwhile.”     

Vallejo-Sanderson said students will “learn how to fall in love with art, learn how important art is, and what messages it has given us through history.”

Students will examine at least 250 art and architecture examples to talk about their meanings and functions, their maker’s methodology and the ways it reflects and affects its historical and cultural context. There are 10 cultural units and students will practice daily questioning techniques, methods of discussion, analysis, guided discovery and independent learning.      

“These skills will enable students to develop critical thinking and visual literacy skills with which they can mine meaning from any artwork they encounter throughout their lives,” she said.

This class relates to Vallejo-Sanderson on a personal level.

“I’ve been blessed to have seen the Mona Lisa with my own eyes many times at the Louvre, got close to the Sphinx and the Pyramids, looked up at the oculus of the Pantheon, been in awe of Michelangelo’s statue of David that he seems to breathe, and passed by enough art work to recognize a specific artist,” she said.

Students will use college-level resources, including diverse primary sources, secondary sources and a college-level art history textbook.

Vallejo-Sanderson said, “Don’t let this, however, discourage you. Take it for the challenge within the nurturing, kind and inviting environment of the library; take it for opportunities to learn organization and take it to learn something about yourself.”

Macroeconomics
Social studies teacher William Sankey will teach AP Macroeconomics because “every decision we make has an economic impact to our lives. I saw a lack of financial literacy or understanding of economic reasoning, so when I became a teacher, my goal was to promote these two concepts.”

Students will cover basic economic concepts and investigate the economy as a whole.

“This includes the nation’s total sales, wages, inflation, money supply, currency exchanges, foreign investment, and the Fed,” he said.

He thinks it’s important for students to take this class because of real world applications.

“Anyone planning to earn money, invest money, get a loan, buy a home, have career, pay taxes, or  vote we will be gaining a greater understanding of each of these,” Sankey said. “Economics is part of everyone’s life, whether aware of it or not and this class prepares a student for improved decision making as a result of understanding the world around us.”

Baking and Pastry
Career and Technical Education teacher Jamie Kahalewai believes there is so much to learn in baking. She encouraged advanced culinary students who want to learn proper baking techniques and hints to take Baking and Pastry.   

“Students who enjoy baking or have the passion should definitely take this class so they can earn a credit while doing something they love,” she said.     

Kahalewai has been baking for a long time. “As a teenager I would bake at home and share my baked goods with my friends as  I do now as an adult. So if baking is a passion for any student here at Radford or something that they would enjoy they should join.”

Human Sexuality
Physical Education teacher Bo Frank’s class Introduction to Human Sexuality is meant for a mature audience. Only seniors serious about the subject were encouraged to enroll.

“I am interested in teaching this course because sexual literacy is important. Gender and sexuality influence our world and our everyday lives yet we aren’t taught about either in school. Sexual literacy is the knowledge needed to advance and protect one’s sexual health and well being,” he said.

“Intro to Human Sexuality will focus on sexual literacy, inclusive of medically accurate information with regards to sex, sexuality, sexual orientation and gender,” Frank said.

Frank said taking this class will guarantee that “students will become confident with their own sexual and gender identities. They will gain the knowledge needed to advance and protect their own sexual health and well-being.”

Forestry
Career Technical Education teacher Kapuni Patcho is adding a third level to his Forestry: Papa La’au program.

He will continue to teach extensively about planting, harvesting, and delving more into depth about Hawaiian culture. It is a combination of natural resource lessons, with a focus of Polynesian culture as well.

“I was raised in agriculture with Polynesian influence, mainly Hawaiian culture,” he said.  “I felt the need to share what knowledge and resources I could offer to those willing to learn.”

Patcho said he created this class “in hopes to bring awareness to our natural resources and how important it is for individuals for basic survival. I also fused Polynesian aspects into the class.”

Patcho wants his students to make an impact at the school.

“Students can leave campus and always feel they have something they can call their own, they can really say they have left an impact at Radford High School,” he said.