You are starting a new school and aside from your core classes such as science, math, literature, you also have to pick out your module. You are stuck because there are so many great choices and you are interested in multiple classes. 

Luckily here at the NYC iSchool, you have a choice! 

Modules are classes specific to iSchool. They are classes related to possible careers you might want to pursue in college or grad school.

These classes are what set iSchool apart from many other high schools because they give an insight into  many careers because they are based off of real-world experiences 

Some modules at iSchool are: iNews, Medical Diagnosis, Wild NYC, Creative Writing, Speak This, Theater Production, and etc. These choices can change over the years as modules are added and removed.

Each of these classes relate to certain careers that one might like to have. So you want to pick the best fit for you; and what might be better than asking seniors and juniors who have already taken multiple modules!

 These classes change once a quarter, so you will have a chance to take multiple different ones by the end of high school and help you learn what you like.

While we were doing the research for this article, we surveyed juniors and seniors on what their favorite modules were over the years. We received multiple results such as Constitutional Law, Graphic Design, Speak This, Nuclear Proliferation, and 3D Modeling.

 Because we received so many answers, we decided to write a bit about all of them. So we interviewed multiple people from each of the modules that juniors and seniors agreed upon as the best modules in the school. Here is what they said about each of them. 

Constitutional Law

In this module, you get to learn about law and lawmaking. You would learn how being a lawyer works or how to make effective arguments that relate to commonly disputed topics. 

Xavier O’Neill, a senior at iSchool said, “I got to learn about the law and our constitution by experiencing it firsthand.” Others who have taken this class describe how they have taken trips to an actual courtroom! 

Students learned how to write their cases and learned how to gather info that can be used for other classes later on, whether it’s for a project in a different class or even for your career (if you’re interested) in the law field. Students do much research on how to write counter-arguments and overall just learn a ton about the law field. 

This type of class can help with public speaking because you have to make your court case presentation. This would even more benefit people who would like to go into a career that requires public speaking such as Politician, Teacher, Actor, Lawyers, performers, marketing, etc. 

This is an extremely engaging module and although at the time this is being written it isn’t an available class, it is likely to open up sometime in your 4 years of being at this school as the teacher for this module still works here. 

Speak This

In this module, students learn how to speak in front of a group of people. They viewed multiple videos of other people telling their own stories and telling their own along the way. As the final grade for this class, students have to create a 5-7 minute presentation of a personal story they have.  

This is a required class but, it doesn’t mean that you wouldn’t enjoy it. It is beneficial for any student taking it.

 One of the students currently in this module, Olivia Karr (Freshman) said, “If you are social you like this class. This class helps you learn to speak more confidently.” 

This type of class is easier for people who are more outgoing and is also helpful for people that aren’t as outgoing. It’s both fun and helpful!

Examples of how both introverted and extrovert people may like this class are : people who already have experience to talking to a large group of people like debate will benefit because they will have more practice at it while people that are more introverted get to learn how to speak to a lot of people all at once. 

Jing Weng, a sophomore at the school added on “I wanted to overcome my fear of public speaking”.

This module helps students with other classes as well. Due to teaching students to be more confident in their public speaking abilities, they can now present information in any class and even learn how to take notes on other student’s work so they can improve themselves. 

Also, Mr Jones, the teacher for this module, is extremely experienced. He teaches iLearn (English), AP English, runs the debate club and teaches Speak This of course!

 He graduated from Kansas University and he has at least 20 years of teaching experience in the English field. He is a great teacher and is extremely passionate about this subject, and I’m sure you will love taking this class.   

Taking this class will improve speaking skills because you do have to study how others present. The mastery pushes people who are more introverted, out of their comfort zone to speak to a group of people. It can show that public speaking isn’t as scary as it seems. 

3D Modeling

For this module, we weren’t able to interview the student due to not enough people answering our questionnaire . But even better, we were able to interview the teacher!

In this module, you learn how to create models of objects on a computer that you see in the real world. This class incorporates a lot of imagination and requires no past experience for designing things digitally. 

In this class, you can be extremely creative, creating whatever it is you want. You use geometry to create 3D models of literally whatever you want. 

The teacher for this class, Mr. Yassin, mentions that, “Sometimes, [students have trouble] putting what they think of into the software and usually need help with that. It is also hard to learn how to use the software.” 

Although the module is harder and more fast paced than others, it allows students to think outside the box and truly put whatever they want into the computer. 

If you become interested in this field, there are multiple careers that this class is useful for such as: Electrical engineer, mechanical engineer, civil engineer, computer science, animation, film, video game design, and physics. 

Nuclear Proliferation

Unfortunately, this module is not taught anymore, though it was favored by many students  when it was around. 

In this module, you get to learn all about nuclear politics. For instance, nuclear radiation, A and H-bomb construction, nuclear power plants, different times in history where these weapons were either tested or used or created, and what to do with nuclear power. Sounds interesting right?!

According to Ewa Knapik, a junior at iSchool who took this module at the end of the 2023-2024 year, the mastery (final) for this class was, “To make a PSA either for or anti nuclear proliferation or power plants” 

You also get to learn a ton of fun facts involving the history of nuclear weapons and how they relate to the school and other crazy things you never even knew about.  For example, one of the most famous superheroes, spiderman, had relation to nuclear physics! 

Students in the class got to learn instances where nuclear radiation was negatively affecting the world/showing the misuse of it. This includes topics such as the Chernobyl incident and the bombing of Hiroshima. Additionally, this class poses the question, What do we do with Nuclear Power since we can’t uninvent things?

It is overall an extremely interesting and engaging class. Much of this was written just based on two people’s responses. So you can tell they really enjoyed it!

Unfortunately, as we said before, this class is gone with no signs of it returning. You could introduce the idea of bringing it back to the school though and who knows, maybe it will return! 

Global Commodities 

This module is mostly focused on economics and learning about how food and ingredients that we consume regularly are sourced. For example, how did the apples that you used to make pie make their way to your local supermarket?

Students also learn about how food is wasted and come up with ways to decrease the amount of food that is thrown out. 

Angela Rosendo, a student who takes this module (and my senior buddy!) stated that, “People who like research and also people who like to do art [will like this class] because you have to draw diagrams for some of the projects in the class” this class requires people to research the steps taken before the food researches the store and how it is made so you have to do an investigation.

Calla, a freshman added on “it makes you think about things that don’t normally come to mind” you normally don’t have to think about where the things you buy are from and the long and meticulous process it takes to even reach your house. 

There are two masteries in this class. The first one is making a presentation about your breakfast and how each of the ingredients for the breakfast was grown and transported. The second mastery for the module is creating a podcast. 

This module allows you to be very creative and artistic. This module is also more meaningful than others because you discuss current problems with the economy and food related issues.

One of the masteries for global commodities

iNews (We’re writing this article in this class right now!)

This module is journalism. In this class, you get to write multiple different articles and types of articles about literally anything. It is a very independent class, in the sense that you go off to do your work the whole class without being guided by a teacher. 

You can work either with or without a partner (I’m working with a partner on this article!). 

Students in this class get to learn the positive and negative sides of journalism for example how journalism can sometimes be deceiving. This class teaches students how to find reliable websites and sources for accurate information. Additionally students learn when using AI can be beneficial and when it can be harmful. 

It is a faster paced class than most. You need to be able to manage your time well and do your work without reminders. This class is a chance for you to discover more about how journalists get their information and put it into articles. 

You learn how to write multiple types of articles with different leads. You learn about how professional journalists interview people and use quotes from these interviews in their writing. 

This module is a mix of interviewing, writing, and collaboration of ideas. 

A student in iNews, Maesie said, “I wrote an article about another student [and] I put together a presentation about AI videos and how they affect journalism. Right now I’m writing an article about iNews.”

This module helps you with tons of other classes and life skills such as: how to interview someone, writing, citing evidence and quoting, article writing, essay writing, and researching. These skills help you in English classes and any class where you need to go online and into articles to find information. 

Most people hate writing essays but this class is an opportunity to make a long piece of writing about anything (There is one article you have to write about iSchool but you can get creative with it!). Commonly teachers give you a prompt that you have to go off of but in this class you don’t have one. 

Overall this is an extremely useful and fun class that will expand your writing skills and definitely puts you on a path for a career in journalism or any other literature related career. 

iNews student working on mastery assignment

Join the Module that fits you best!

Choosing the right module at iSchool can greatly shape your high school experience and put you on track for your future career. Whether you’re drawn to law, public speaking, design, or global issues, exploring different classes will help you discover your passions and strengths. 

Just remember, you can take multiple different modules in your time here at iSchool so if you don’t get in one of your top selections there will be multiple other chances for you!