Not that history, English and other staples of American education aren’t interesting in their own right, but if Lawrence students wanted to branch out in their class selection, what might they choose? Here are five courses that offer students a different sort of classroom experience.

Medical Careers program, Free State High School

Aspiring physicians are exposed to plenty in this five-year-old program. In five courses, students get the chance to visit simulation labs at Neosho County and Johnson County community colleges, enroll in a Certified Nurse Aide class at NCCC and tour facilities at Lawrence Memorial Hospital.

Jane Rock, a medical careers teacher, said the courses are known to be demanding — two tests on medical terms almost weekly — but still are relatively popular, with an average of 27 students.

“It allows them to see early on if (a medical career) is a good fit for them,” she said.

Lawrence High School has a similar program.

Lawrence High school automotive and welding instructor Luke Lang also teaches a class on robotics. Students have constructed robots and competed in area robotic competitions.

Automated Systems, Lawrence High School

If you’re going to learn the process of designing and crafting machinery, perhaps a good way to start is by building a robot designed to crush others.

That’s what students focus on in Luke Lang’s Automated Systems course. The class builds its own remote-controlled terminator — it must weigh less than 15 pounds — and sets it loose in a battle-bot competition in Minneapolis, Minn.

In years past, Lang’s class has employed such devices as a lawn mower blade and a bulldozer-like blade with varying degrees of success in the ring.

“We learn how to program a machine and all the processes it takes to have a finished product,” Lang said. “It’s been a lot of fun. The kids learn a tremendous amount.”

Engineering Design, Lawrence High School

It’s been around for more than 20 years, but Charlie Lauts’ Engineering Design course only recently saw its popularity soar.

Over the past five years, Lauts’ course has doubled in size, she said. She attributes that to the quality of jobs available in the field, as well the competitions she signs her students up for.

They go to several a year — some mandatory, some optional — yet 90 percent of the students attend them all, she said.

In the meantime, they’ll perfect their projects, such as building a car with reliable brakes.

“I really like teaching it just because I can see so much progress over the period of the year on each student,” Lauts said.

Culinary 2/3, Lawrence and Free State high schools

Cooking courses are a fixture in schools, but in this class taught by Sandra Lawson students also learn how to manage a restaurant.

Building a menu, evaluating prices — all of that is accompanied by lessons on sanitation and basic sauces. Students get bussed to the city’s Holcom Park Recreation Center for the two-hour, semester-long course.

“It gives them skills to go out and get a job,” Lawson said.

Digital Media Production, Free State High School

In many ways, the Free Press of Free State High School is just like any other news source. It’s an online-first publication, printing not as often as it once did, with a presence on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Laurie Folsom, who teaches the course, guides her students through all that digital media have to offer.

“(People) might still think of the yearbook and newspaper like it was in the ’70s and ’80s,” Folsom said. “These days, our yearbook and newspaper staff do everything digitally.”