Emma Croxford | Reporter

Many people believe that art is not an important part of high school education, but some teachers would strongly disagree. There are numerous lessons that art classes provide to students that other classes, like math, science, and English cannot. The skills learned in art class cannot be picked up as easily in other courses and are essential for the skills that high school students need to learn. Art can help with a student’s creativity, problem solving skills, and attention to detail. All these skills can be applied and useful in the world today.

Creativity helps students think outside of the box, which is an extremely important quality and prepares students for the real world. Being creative makes one think outside the box which is important when applying for jobs. Creativity can often be thought of as making something, but that’s not always the case. Creativity can also be how a person acts and grows from the world around them. Learning and adapting is a form of creativity.  The most creative people find ways around hard obstacles because they view them as opportunities to learn and not hardships.

Problem solving is also a very reliable skill. When the art doesn’t work the way its supposed to or it gets mess up, the use of  problem solving would help the person fix it. This also applies to things in life. Dealing with art can be messy and it can be  easy to make mistakes. When a mistake has occurred, a student has to use problem solving skills to fix their art, which will benefit later in life when something has gone wrong.  As a student continues to solve one problem after another their confidence builds and new problems don’t seem so daunting.

 Lastly, art teaches  attention to detail. Paying attention to small details in art is important but it is also important in life. When paying attention to smaller details people are more efficient and accurate. Being efficient is a skill that helps manage the time one uses. Time management gives order to ones  life and can help them be more organized. 

“Art washes from the soul the dust of everyday life.”

— Pablo Picasso