There are different opinions as to whether art should be compulsory for high school students. In my opinion, although art is an essential aspect of people’s lives, it is clear that innate potential is needed to study art.
One of the most cited reasons for learning art in school is because it can boost students’ creativity. As students try their best to draw, they are enhancing their imagination and understanding of what they are drawing. This is also the primary reason why elementary schools make their students take part in art lessons since it is believed that children need to practice being creative from a young age. However, when it comes to high school students, art should be an optional subject.
One of the main points to consider is that high school curricula are at a higher level, which requires a huge amount of time and concentration to perform well academically. This essentially means that students should focus on the core subjects and their dreams rather than being forced to learn art. For instance, students who desire to pursue a career in science may spend time on these subjects instead of wasting their time on what they are not interested in. In addition, it is easier to learn art with natural talent. Take Vietnam’s educational system, as an example, art and music used to be compulsory subjects in high school, which failed a lot of students who may not have potential in these subjects even though they are extremely good at other subjects. As a result, in recent years, Vietnamese high school students are allowed to choose subjects based on their needs for their future.
In conclusion, while art helps train creativity, it should be an optional subject as students are busy with other core subjects and they need potential in order to learn painting and drawing.