About Ashbrook: Enrichment and Opportunity
Electives offered by our Staff Promote Relationships and Learning
Ashbrook Independent School offers an electives program that is as joyful as it is enriching, thanks to the passion, creativity, and diverse interests of our staff. These classes are not simply filler or disconnected from our regular curriculum, they are dynamic, interest-driven experiences that give students the chance to explore new subjects, hone specific skills, learn directly from teachers sharing their passions beyond the subjects they teach, and build relationships with their teachers.
What makes Ashbrook’s electives program exceptional is that teachers are encouraged to offer courses inspired by their hobbies, pastimes, and personal passions, not just their professional specialties. A math teacher might lead a class on chess strategy or poker probabilities, a science teacher might teach creative photography or golf, or a literature instructor might run a Dungeons & Dragons campaign or a Lord of the Rings forum to explore storytelling and problem-solving. These are opportunities for authentic connections between people drawn together by common interests, they are always engaging, and teachers are often surprised by the wealth of knowledge their students bring to these sessions.
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Students benefit from this approach in myriad ways. They get to see their teachers as multi-dimensional role models, pursue their own niche interests, and discover new interests. Electives change each term, keeping offerings fresh and responsive to both student and staff member interests and curiosity.
Middle School students look forward to electives as a time to explore without the pressure of grades or being evaluated. It’s a time for creativity, curiosity, and connection, a break from the core curriculum that also builds real-world skills, confidence and relationships.
At Ashbrook, this is just one more example of how we don’t just “teach English,” or “teach math”; we teach kids. Because of our program design, this means that we are given the autonomy to share not only what we studied as a part of our professional training informed by our calling to work with children, but also those avocations, pastimes, and activities that bring us personal joy. Having a chance to share these topics, through the Elective program, allows us to model for our students the importance of balance in life, and to see us in 3 dimensions, yielding the side effect of stronger student engagement beyond the Elective program.