By Anayelly Juarez
Career Pathways are new classes that offer much more information than regular elective classes. They were recently implemented to the school in the 2016-17 school year. These career pathways range from Engineering to Biomedical Science courses.
The Engineering pathway for example, allows the student the opportunity of obtaining college credits by the end of their high school career. Pathways allow students to take courses that will guide them towards their future careers. This way when graduating from high school, students have an idea of what is in store for them in college and or the workforce.
With intensive and rigorous work, these courses take the students to places above and beyond than what they have already learned in the classroom and allow them to expand their knowledge in the careers that await them in the real world.
The Biomedical Science pathway offered in PHS, allows the students to tackle real-life-challenges in the medical field before they reach college. This course allows students to use the same tools any professional working in hospitals, and laboratories would use while they do their day to day tasks. Students have the chance to learn information on diseases like diabetes, extract DNA from plants and animals, and explore the job of forensic scientists as they correctly analyze crime scenes and make autopsy reports.
It is pathways filled with labs like this that allow students to have a taste of what their professions have waiting in store for them. “I like this class because you do interesting things; my favorite part of the class are the labs we do in groups,” said Jennifer Perez, a sophomore who is currently take this class.
The Biomedical Science classes use special software provided by the school that is designed so that students can have access to Project Lead The Way (PLTW).
PLTW introduces students to the fundamental Principles of Biomedical Science. This makes it easy for student to access it through any electronic device with the given username and password assigned by the administrators.
Mr. Caceres and Ms. Russo are the two Biomedical teachers at PHS.
Ms. Russo believes that these PLTW courses are great. “They are hands on and are taught like a college class.
So the students are more independent, as far as the learning process, it is more student driven than teacher driven.”
Ms. Russo added, “Biomedical Science, or Pathway courses are a great experience for students to dive into a field of study with less stress of traditional learning. In these courses, students have a more hands on experience, which allows for him/her to see if the field of study is right for them. The entire course is built on solving the medical mystery of how Anna Garcia died as we explore diseases, analyze autopsy and medical reports and conduct experiments.”
Whether these students are aiming towards going in the medical field or not, they all are gaining a learning experience that will expand their knowledge. In all, courses like these have a different approach to learning while being interactive. Pathways are a great addition to Passaic High School and will help us achieve our goals for the future. These classes are possible thanks to the staff and administrators who want to see us succeed and have the best education.
