People have different views as to whether art classes are as important as other subjects; therefore, they should be mandatory in high school. While there are clear benefits to painting and drawing that are associated with cognitive thinking, I believe that making art classes mandatory is not a good approach.
Proponents of implementing art classes in high school often cite various reasons to support their stance. If schoolchildren participate in art lessons, they are required to think deeply to create a masterpiece, which broadens their horizons. As a result, they start to come up with different innovative ideas, thereby enabling them to solve problems more effectively. In a world where many students scroll social media, binge-watch TV shows, and play video games, which do not require significant mental engagement, art can make a big difference when it comes to widening cognitive thinking and developing unique ideas.
However, in my view, forcing students to pursue art lessons is not a reliable method. If schoolchildren are forced to participate in art activities, they feel depressed and waste their time, which leads to a decline in academic progress. In turn, they lose their motivation towards academic studies. This is especially detrimental for students who focus on a subject only and climb the career ladder. A case in point is my home country of Uzbekistan, where students are supposed to take a course in all subjects, which, therefore, causes them to stop studying with their full potential.
In summary, although art classes offer a range of benefits, such as cognitive development, making them mandatory in high school is not a reliable approach since it causes schoolchildren to lose their passion for academic studies.