Recently, it has been debatable whether art education is necessary for children at high school. From my perspective, I partly agree with this statement as learning arts may bring about some merits, it is not compulsory to be taught at high school.
On the one hand, schools are the place for students to learn new knowledge as well as cultivating their own interests, especially for some students with an art gift. It is apparent that doing recreational activities in a stress free environment not only helps pupils to enhance their creativity and imagination but also to refresh their mind after learning academic subjects, which is more efficient for them to make progress in those subjects. Moreover, arts lessons are conducive to schools’ career paths as the information gained from these lessons are able to provide a great insight into the art-related professions, such as graphic design or painting, for individuals to discover their talents.
On the other hand, art-related subjects should not be imposed as a requirement in high school curricula due to the fact that most high school students have self-orientations toward specific professions to pursue in the future. Thus, it is time-wasting to force them to learn arts as there are other academic subjects to prioritize. Therefore, arts should be taught as supplementary subjects and only be focused on by those who consider this field as their future career path. To illustrate, in high schools, there are some arts clubs provided for students to chase their dream or some extra classes for the talented.
In conclusion, despite the benefits of teaching arts at high schools, I am firmly convinced that they should not become compulsory subjects.