Youngest, 12 yo, is getting ready to register for classes at middle school next year. The new school has what they call "elective wheel." It sucks for her, because she was planning to take orchestra for one set of credits and then use a truly free elective to branch out and experiment with new stuff. Unfortunately for her the 'elective wheel' contains no electives. There is a set of 4 9-week courses the kids take. Three are good courses, one of them is just health. They're not what she wanted to take, but they're good courses.

I understand her objection and I think she has a legitimate gripe. OTOH, I'm not opposed to the school's idea. However, I do object to calling this an "elective" wheel when there are no electives. This is reminiscent of the INS term (which they used to have and may still use for all I know) "temporary permanent resident."

k