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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)
$21.24
At Play: Teaching Teenagers Theater
by Elizabeth Swados
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for 7th-Adult
in Theater, Drama & Film (Location: ELE-THEAT)
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by Carleen Madigan
from Storey Publishing
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in Self-Sufficiency (Location: SS-Self)
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by Jerry Robinson
from New Leaf Press
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in Economics Resources (Location: ECON-REF)
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from Meredith Corporation
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in Flower Gardening (Location: SS-GAR)
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by Laura I. Baldt
1922 Printing from J.B. Lippincott Co.
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in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
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in Gardening (Location: SS-GAR)
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in Gardening (Location: SS-GAR)
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in Gardening for Kids (Location: SS-GAR)
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in Gardening (Location: SS-GAR)
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God of the Garden
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from B&H Books
for 10th-Adult
in Creating Culture (Location: XCU-CRE)
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from Sasquatch Books
for Adult
in Flower Gardening (Location: SS-GAR)
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for Adult
in Gardening (Location: SS-GAR)
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from InterVarsity Press
for 11th-Adult
in Culture & Discernment (Location: XCU-DIS)
Illustrated Encyclopedia of World Costume
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from Dover Publications
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Interpretation of Dreams
by Sigmund Freud
from Basic Books
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in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
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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)
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Life of Fred: Financial Choices
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in Life of Fred Math (Location: MAT-FRED)
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in American Literature Curriculum (Location: LITCUR-AM)
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in Culture & Discernment (Location: XCU-DIS)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer & Cinerama Present How the West Was Won
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from Dover Publications
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in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
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Open Door to Independence: Making Money from the Soil
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from Hill Standard Book Co.
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in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
Orchard Mason Bee
by Brian L. Griffin, illustrated by Sharon Smith
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in Self-Sufficiency (Location: SS-Self)
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Master Gardener
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from Ward Lock
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in Gardening (Location: SS-GAR)
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in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
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in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
Small Garden Planner
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in Gardening (Location: SS-GAR)
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in Gardening (Location: SS-GAR)
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by The Editorial Staff of Lane Publishing Co.
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in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
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in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
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from Ward Lock
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in Gardening (Location: SS-GAR)
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in Gardening (Location: SS-GAR)
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