There may be such courses, but my kid in middle school has been happy taking robotics, scientific illustration, and other languages as electives.

My feeling is that algebra may have excellent indirect effects of helping students think in a logical progression so could be worthwhile for many students. Similarly, literature courses help students write in a clear, expressive way (as you say) that again, helps a wide range of students. I think math courses could use some re-invention, though. I'd rather see a deeper understanding of a smaller number of principles rather than learning 20 variations of a formula.