“When am I going to use these skills in the real world?”
This is one of the most important — and frequently asked — questions that a high school student could ask. Students know more than anyone that education needs to be relevant and applicable. Two of the new courses offered here at Denver Christian High School equip students with the skills and knowledge that they’ll need in the ‘real world.’
Math Applications: Numbers for the Real World
What do budgeting, banking, building credit, owning a car, renting, filing taxes, and the stock market have in common? These are ‘real world’ scenarios that require the ability to apply mathematics.
Math Applications is a new Junior/Senior level math course designed to prepare students for scenarios they will face in the real world. As instructor Mrs. Lia Buchanan explains, “The best part about this course is the conversations that are happening between students and the connections they make to their lives.”
I am seeing students think about the decisions they will have to make after high school and start planning for the future they want to have.
Through courses like Math Applications, students are able to advance academically and practically at the same time.
Product Design: Connecting Minds & Hands
Similarly, students in Mr. Boyd’s product design class learn about how products are developed and brought to market. Developed with future entrepreneurs and makers in mind, this course connects the data driven science of an engineering class with business development topics often found in business and economics courses.
In connecting students’ minds and hands, they are able to see the ways that businesses find a need in the market and creatively design a product to meet that need.
It is an incredible blessing to be inventive creative image bearers of our God.
“My deep hope is that students learn to appreciate how products are made and businesses operate so they can either better support makers in our local, national and international economies or that they would gain the confidence to create their own business,” explains Mr. Boyd.
Math Applications and Product Design are examples of our school mission in action: equipping students with the practical skills and knowledge needed to engage and thrive in the real world.