SHOULD FINE ARTS COURSES BE

Fine Arts Should Be Required

OPINION BY LIZZY EDWARDS

Students at Wadsworth High School have many different course requirements they must fill in order to graduate. One of these requirements is that each student must take one credit of fine arts courses. Although some people believe this is not necessary, fine arts classes are beneficial to students and should be required.

Many people think of drawing sketches or painting portraits when they hear the term “fine arts.” In reality, fine arts consist of much more. Along with traditional art classes, fine arts courses at WHS also include things like newspaper and yearbook, band, choir, and speech. This gives students a wide range of options to choose from.

“Most students find courses that satisfy [the fine arts credit] that they’re also interested in,” said Lauren Ross, a guidance counselor at WHS.

Taking fine arts courses is a great way for students to go out of their comfort zone and try new things. For college-bound students, this can be beneficial in applications. Colleges like to see students that are wellrounded and have a wide range of interests. The most common criticism of this requirement is that it is not necessary for every student to take fine arts classes, especially if they are planning to go straight into a career after high school. However, the requirement is flexible. Accommodations can be made for students who have no feasible way of meeting it.

“For students that are exploring a career technical pathway, those programs can actually exempt them from needing a fine art,” Ross said.

Even students who have to follow the requirement shouldn’t worry about not being able to meet it. One credit is only two semester-long classes or one year-long class. This is only a small fraction of the classes students take throughout their four years of high school.

REQUIRED?

Fine Arts Should Not Be Required

OPINION BY LUKE HOUSER

What classes count as fine arts?

High school is a time for students to learn general skills to help prepare them for college, trade school, or just life in general. However, some of the classes that students are required to take in order to graduate should not be mandatory. Classes such as fine arts, for example, are usually an unnecessary requirement for high school students.

would have gone into band if fine arts wasn’t required because I enjoy it.”

Core classes, such as math and English should be required.

With there being such a wide range of fine arts classes, students are more than likely to end up meeting the criteria anyways. But with them being required, students who really want to place a focus on a certain subject are forced to still set aside a portion of their time at high school for a class that may not help them.

“I think just knowing that there’s different options for students who don’t want to feel forced into something more traditional makes me absolutely feel like it’s a good requirement,” Ross said.

Overall, the fine arts credit is a very reasonable requirement for students at WHS.

Most students take some type of art class through middle school. These art classes generally teach students the basics of drawing, painting, and basic types of art forms. However, students who are more artistically inclined will usually gravitate towards art based classes on their own.

“I don’t think it should be required, but there should be an emphasis on it,” said Thor Nagel, freshmen. “I still

Juniors and seniors who put off taking an art class may have to take them in their junior or senior year, which could cause conflict with something like a CCP, AP, or compact class. This, paired along with other required classes, could be the cause of unnecessary stress for students. And with such a wide range of classes counting as a ‘fine art,’ it is hard to justify that these classes will provide the student with any real positive impact.

Forcing students to take certain classes just to meet a criteria should not be how high schools are run. It is fine to require core classes, but since art classes are more similar to extracurriculars being that they are more ‘fun,’ it should be left up to each student to decide whether or not they want to take certain fine arts classes.