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Electives

We're not exactly sure who determines what are electives and what are "core" subjects, or why. Okay, maybe math is more useful than tracing your family tree because you can't balance your checkbook using scions and second cousins. But what about your family history, and the history of, say, Guam or Haiti? Is there something inherently better about reading "the classics" than learning Mandarin Chinese? Why are physics part of the main coursework for high school students, while robotics is optional?

Unfortunately, we aren't qualified to answer those questions, but we can defend electives on another level. Electives are essentially those subjects best suited to a student's personal interests, talents and abilities. In that sense, they're almost more important than core subjects, though we aren't going to make an argument that you should learn French before mastering English grammar (as long as you live in an English-speaking area, that is). We are arguing for advances beyond the necessary "standards," however, and for a broad curriculum that is child-specific.

Some electives are more important than others. Learning to manage one's money, how to interpret the Bible, and (these days) how to operate and understand computers are all more important than taking an acting class (though the acting class will be very important for some on a different level altogether). Technically, none of these are required courses, though for Christians particularly the first two are essential for a proper education. There are plenty of similarly important topics as well, though each family will need to prioritize.

There seems to be a move toward less specialized education. As our society becomes increasingly homogeneous, we spend less time focusing and more time absorbing "the big picture." We ignore either one at our own risk. We must have a larger framework in which to fit the smaller pieces, but take away the framework and you're left with relativity and chaos; the smaller pieces, and you have only an impersonal and meaningless ideology. Electives are a way to assert the need for both, and to have fun doing it.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he is a husband and father, teaches adult Sunday school in his Presbyterian congregation, and likes weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur.Read more of his reviews here.
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All New Square Foot Gardening
by Mel Bartholomew
3rd edition from Cool Springs Press
for Adult
in Gardening (Location: SS-GAR)
$24.99
At Play: Teaching Teenagers Theater
by Elizabeth Swados
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for 7th-Adult
in Theater, Drama & Film (Location: ELE-THEAT)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Backyard Homestead
by Carleen Madigan
from Storey Publishing
for Adult
in Self-Sufficiency (Location: SS-Self)
$18.95
Bankruptcy Of Our Nation
by Jerry Robinson
from New Leaf Press
for 10th-Adult
in Economics Resources (Location: ECON-REF)
$15.99
Better Homes and Gardens: Annuals Perennials and Bulbs
from Meredith Corporation
for Adult
in Gardening (Location: SS-GAR)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Bible Type
by Jackie Newbrough
from Centruth
for 7th-12th grade
in Typing Curriculum (Location: HAN-TYP)
City Gardener's Handbook
from Random House
for Adult
in Gardening (Location: SS-GAR)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Clothing for Women
Lippincott's Home Manuals
by Laura I. Baldt
1922 Printing from J.B. Lippincott Co.
for Adult
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
Contained Garden
from Viking Press
for 10th-Adult
in Gardening (Location: SS-GAR)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Cutting Garden
by Sarah Raven, foreword by Penelope Hobhouse
from Reader's Digest
for Adult
in Gardening (Location: SS-GAR)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
David Hicks Garden Design
by David Hicks
from Routledge & Kegan Paul
for Adult
in Gardening (Location: SS-GAR)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Don't Make Me Think
by Steve Krug
2nd edition from New Riders
for 9th-Adult
in Career Planning (Location: HSR-CAR)
$27.00
Down & Dirty
by Ellen Zachos
1st edition from Storey Publishing
for 7th-Adult
in Gardening for Kids (Location: SS-GAR)
$19.95
English Garden
by Laurence Fleming & Alan Gore
1980 2nd Printing from Mermaid Books
for Adult
in Gardening (Location: SS-GAR)
Failure to Connect
by Jane M. Healy
1st edition from Simon and Schuster
for Adult
in Brain Development & Learning Styles (Location: HSR-BRAIN)
$17.00 $12.00 (1 in stock)
Garden Almanac
by Penelope O'Sullivan
from Hearst Books
for Adult
in Gardening (Location: SS-GAR)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
God of the Garden
by Andrew Peterson
from B&H Books
for 10th-Adult
in Creating Culture (Location: XCU-CRE)
$17.99
Hollywood Worldviews
by Brian Godawa
from InterVarsity Press
for 11th-Adult
in Culture & Discernment (Location: XCU-DIS)
Home Economics Family/Consumer Sciences - Teacher Edition
from A Beka Books
for Adult
in Home Economics Curriculum (Location: SS-HOMEC)
$21.00 (1 in stock)
Illustrated Encyclopedia of World Costume
by Doreen Yarwood
from Dover Publications
for 9th-Adult
in Diversity & Multicultural Books (Location: HISMC-MUL)
$22.00 (1 in stock)
Interpretation of Dreams
by Sigmund Freud
from Basic Books
for 12th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$12.99
Kate Greenaway's Language of Flowers
by Kate Greenaway
from Gramercy Books
for all ages
in Poetry Anthologies (Location: POET-ANTH)
Language of Flowers
by Kate Greenaway
from Dover Publications
for all ages
in Poetry Anthologies (Location: POET-ANTH)
$6.95
Life of Fred: Financial Choices
by Stanley F. Schmidt
from Polka Dot Publishing
for 10th-Adult
in Life of Fred Math (Location: MAT-FRED)
$24.00
Lifepac: American Literature - Book 1
from Alpha Omega Publications
for 10th-12th grade
in American Literature Curriculum (Location: LITCUR-AM)
$11.50
Lord of the Rings The Two Towers Visual Companion
by Jude Fisher, introduction by Viggo Mortensen
from Houghton Mifflin
for 9th-Adult
in Lord of the Rings (Location: LIR-LOTR)
Meaning at the Movies
by Grant Horner
from Crossway Books
for Adult
in Culture & Discernment (Location: XCU-DIS)
Mind Over Media
Focus on the Family Life on the Edge
by Stan Campbell & Randy Southern
from Focus on the Family
for Adult
in Clearance: Christian Books (Location: XCLE)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Money Matters Family Night Tool Chest
by Allen Burkett, Jim Weidmann, Kurt Bruner, Larry Burkett
1st edition from Chariot Victor Publishing
for Kindergarten-Adult
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Money Matters for Kids
by Larry Burkett
from Moody Press
for Adult
$10.99 $7.50 (1 in stock)
My Dinner with Andre
by Wallace Shawn and Andre Gregory
from Grove Press, Inc.
for Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
My Family Tree Workbook
by Rosemary A. Chorzempa
from Dover Publications
for 4th grade-adult
in Genealogy (Location: XFA-GEN)
$2.50 (2 in stock)
Nanook of the North
by Robert Flaherty, edited from the film by Robert Kraus
First Printing from Windmill Books
for Kindergarten-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$24.00 (1 in stock)
Open Door to Independence: Making Money from the Soil
by Thomas E. Hill
from Hill Standard Book Co.
for Adult
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$23.00 (1 in stock)
Orchard Mason Bee
by Brian L. Griffin, illustrated by Sharon Smith
1st edition from Knox Cellars Publishing
for 10th-Adult
in Gardening (Location: SS-GAR)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Outside Hollywood
by Isaac Botkin
from Vision Forum
for 10th-Adult
in Creating Culture (Location: XCU-CRE)
$10.00
Performing Literature - Student Textbook
by Diana Smith
from Bob Jones University Press
for 10th-Adult
in Theater, Drama & Film (Location: ELE-THEAT)
$46.11
Personal Finance Packet
by Curt & Jenny Bumcrot
from Basic Skills
for 9th-Adult
$24.00 $13.00 (1 in stock)
Reel Spirituality
by Robert K. Johnston
from Baker Academics
for Adult
in Clearance: Christian Books (Location: XCLE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Revolt Against Maturity
by R. J. Rushdoony
from Chalcedon / Ross House Books
in Presuppositional Apologetics (Location: XAP-PRE)
$18.00
Rock Gardens
Master Gardener
by John Kelly
from Ward Lock
for Adult
in Gardening (Location: SS-GAR)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Secret Garden Notebook
from David R. Godine
for 7th-Adult
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Silent Clowns
by Walter Kerr
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Small Garden Planner
by Graham Rose
from Simon and Schuster
for Adult
in Gardening (Location: SS-GAR)
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from Rodale Press
in Gardening (Location: SS-GAR)
$12.00 $8.00 (1 in stock)
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for 6th-Adult
in Theater, Drama & Film (Location: ELE-THEAT)
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Sunset Western Garden Book
8th edition from Oxmoor House
in Gardening (Location: SS-GAR)
$34.95 $20.00 (1 in stock)
Sunset Western Garden Book
from Sunset Publishing Corp.
in Gardening (Location: SS-GAR)
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Sustainable Vegetable Garden
by John Jeavons and Carol Cox
from Ten Speed Press
for Adult
in Gardening (Location: SS-GAR)
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Through the Eyes of Your Ancestors
by Maureen Taylor
from Houghton Mifflin
for 6th-Adult
in Genealogy (Location: XFA-GEN)
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Time-Life Understanding Computers -24 Volume Set
from Time-Life Books
for 9th-Adult
in Computer Literacy (Location: ELE-COMP)
$120.00 (1 in stock)
Treasury of Gilbert & Sullivan
by William Gilbert & Arthur Sullivan
from Simon and Schuster
for 8th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Wonderful Windowboxes
by Derek Nimmo
from Ward Lock
for Adult
in Gardening (Location: SS-GAR)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Writer's Garden
for Adult
in Gardening (Location: SS-GAR)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
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