It has been debated as to whether taking art classes in high school is beneficial to students. An article by Tamara Henry (here)goes over a report done by the Arts Education Partnership on how taking art classes are tied to improvement in other subjects. The report is an analysis of 62 studies done on many different categories of art, from the preforming arts to visual arts, and it makes comparisons as to how taking these classes improved academic achievement, social skills, and student motivation. Over all taking art classes in high school can be important in helping make a well-rounded student.
Art classes are meant to allow students to explore their creativity. In most classes the teachers give the students a general prompt or theme and it is up to the students to interpret it in their own way and make something based on that. This means that the students are free to create and use different mediums such as a simple drawing or a complex painting if they wish to. Most art teachers understand that art is a stress reliever, and so they will allow students to listen to music or talk among themselves. Art classes are not meant to be another tedious subject a student must sit through while they wait for the end of the day to come, it is a fun class that can provide a great mental break for them.
On top of being stress reliving, art class can teach students valuable skills that can be applied to most jobs. In Tania Dworjan’s article (here) “Art Class Benefits for High School Students” she lists several skills that can be gained from taking art classes. Skills that include problem solving, improved hand eye coordination, attention to detail, and how to focus and concentrate. In art it can be easy to mess up so students must find a way to fix the mistake without ruining the rest of their work. This type of problem solving teaches students how isolate the issue and deal with it in a way that won’t jeopardize the rest of their work. when it comes to improving a student’s attention to detail, focus, and concentration; a common assignment given is drawing a “still life”. This means that the student will have to draw an object around them or a scene the teacher sets up. Students are meant to take their time and focus on what they are drawing, they must concentrate on the object and think about the lines that make up its shape as well as its shading and other details. Improved hand eye coordination comes from all art tasks, much like in sports where the main goal is to get a ball where the player wants it to go, students must learn how to get the lines and shapes that they want.
For students interested in becoming artists it is very important to start early in learning the basic skills that are needed for college classes. It also allows for students to find what they enjoy creating most; whether it be drawing, painting, sculpting, sewing, or doing digital art. Finding this out early can help with scheduling classes and deciding on a major. Starting early can also give students an advantage over their peers, many teachers will tell students about contests they can enter to earn scholarships and money or recommending them for special projects that will look great on their college applications. Some high schools even offer AP art classes that can give students credits in college classes. Art classes in high school are invaluable for future artists, they offer the building blocks that all artists need to succeed and can provide a head start for students towards their careers.
Despite all the benefits many people are against taking art classes in high school. On debate.org (here) the main argument being used is that not everyone likes art or is good at it and that is understandable. No one expects every student to be good at art or even want to be in that class, but once students realize that the class can be relaxing and fun, they may end up looking forward to going to that class. Most teachers also understand that most of their students do not want to be artists and will grade their works with that in mind. This means that students do not have to worry about being good at what they are doing they just have to have fun doing it. Once they see that they can have fun with art they may choose to continue doing art as a stress reliving hobby.
Another argument is that art is not something that can be graded easily. An article by Isabel Togoh (here) mentions how people have different opinions on art and that what one person may think is fantastic another may disagree. This is true, no one has the same way of doing things or viewing art, however art teachers get around this by giving students prompts to follow. This allows students to take it their own way and gives teachers a way to grade the art based on how creative the students were while also sticking to the prompt. Teachers also grade based on effort and technique, they can tell when students take their time on their projects or do it the night before. It may seem unfair that someone who has no interest in art is forced to put effort into a project, but it is the same with other subjects, not everyone likes English, Math, Science, or Social Studies; yet it is expected that students put effort into their projects for those subjects.
With all things considered high school art classes provide many wonderful benefits for all students, from learning job skills, being a stress reliving class, to being a base for future artists. Not all students will enjoy taking the class but, in the end, they will undoubtedly have fond memories of talking to one another, having fun and being able to look back on what they made with pride.
