The Gryphon Gazette

By Sydney G. ‘27

By the time this article is published, we will be in the quiet period of the course selection process. For the most part, classes will be locked in for the next year. However, students can still make last-minute changes at their conferences or initiate a schedule change after attending classes, by using an add/withdraw form. This article, sharing experiences with the course selection process from both teacher and student interviewees, hopes to offer varying perspectives on the sometimes confusing process of course selection.

As a new freshman, I personally have never done a course selection process like this before. At my previous school, everything was predetermined except for the elective course, which was chosen on a Google Form at the end of the school year. I have found this process to be very streamlined and organized, and other new freshmen agree. “It was a simple process. It could have been more complicated, but they made it easy by giving lots of information on how to do this,” fellow freshman Isabella G. commented. But how does course selection work?

To begin the process, everyone has a meeting with their advisor to discuss their classes, and also start thinking about the years ahead. “I like how in the process, we use this course planning grid,” Señora Gutierrez-Therre, a Spanish teacher and advisor, said, “We map out the four years of school on paper and the extracurriculars too, that to me is important because it allows students to think about their classes and their future. You might say, ‘Oh, I’m going to take classes X, Y, and Z.’ But once you start thinking of it, it is more tangible and you are forced to reflect on your decisions by filling out the form.” Studies show that when people hand-write their thoughts, they retain knowledge and reflect on that information, which is what the course planning grid hopes to help students accomplish. (Ask Mr. Bell for more learning science tidbits!) Additionally, thinking about extracurricular activities will allow people to consider how much free time they have.

Then, people log onto MyCrystal and open their course registration window. This is a significant change, because before students would use a form from an outside source. “I found the new user interface to be very straightforward and clear,” Leo K., a ninth grader, said. “The course planning chart and giant packet also made things pretty easy.” After getting acquainted with the new format, the students choose their classes. Both freshmen I interviewed agree that this process is easy and makes a typically overwhelming task simpler.

What surprised me was the sheer number of courses one could take, a number that I know will open up even more once I become an upperclassman and am not bound by prerequisites and graduation requirements. “There weren’t many options to choose from because we’re freshmen, but it was still a lot more than at my old school,” Isabella remarked. However, having all these freedoms does come at a cost: one cannot simply take every single class at Crystal; they would have to make decisions, barring acquiring a Harry-Potter-like Time Turner. Personally, I am very indecisive, and I know that when I am eligible for science and history electives, I will agonize over the course selection form because I want to take all the classes. However, this is the beauty of Crystal; they have a class for nearly everything.

Sometimes these decisions of what classes to take are made of one’s own volition, but other times they are because of other factors, such as colleges. “There’s a lot of pressure from college,” a junior who wished to remain anonymous said. “I’ve heard of people doing things ‘just for the colleges’ and I would not recommend that.” That being said, there are some ‘implicit rules’ about trends that colleges like to see, which are outlined in all of the CCO meetings leading up to the release of the course selection form. Overall, when deciding on classes, it is important to do what you want to do and resist the peer pressure that could build up. “Peer pressure isn’t mentioned that much when talking about course selection, and I feel like it should be mentioned more,” the junior said. If there is a class that sounds interesting, take it, even if only a few friends are in it or none at all. You never know the next time you will have access to a darkroom or robust ceramics studio, or take classes like CogNeuro, or who you will meet taking those classes. That being said, following people’s past decisions can be helpful. When choosing classes, I talked to older students who had similar interests and classes as me, and they advised me on how to best proceed.

Overall, in course selection, the world is your oyster.  As many advise, such as the CCO, Ms. Kowal, and Señora Gutierrez-Therre: It’s high school. You have no need to specialize in classes. If you want to be a doctor, doubling up on History won’t hinder that plan. Don’t create absurdly rigid multi-year plans for what courses to take. Enjoy yourself. College is the time to specialize, while high school is the time to take classes in whatever interests you.

Note: The CCO is an amazing resource that can be located in a hallway adjacent to the Café on the side closer to the Mansion. Please visit them if you have any questions regarding colleges or course selection.