The Importance of the Arts in our Day to Day Lives

By ELLA O’HANLON ‘21

Despite their importance, the arts are slowly dying in our larger community outside of Milton Academy. At almost every school around the country, students take music lessons on just one day and visual art classes on just one day. However, classes such as Math and Science, which are part of the “core curriculum”, are given more importance and frequency in a student’s schedule. The Milton public elementary schools are running out of classroom space; thus, they are considering turning art and music rooms into classrooms. Rather than adding more kids per classroom or renovating the school buildings to make them bigger, the schools are considering taking away the students’ arts and music classrooms; schools seem to think that those classes are less important than the classes in the “core curriculum”. What these schools don’t know is that an art class could be the most important class a student takes.

Art is very important for a highschooler, especially in order to relieve stress. Between stressing out about getting good grades, going to a good college, and participating in a plethora of extracurriculars, students have no time to express themselves and get an escape during their stressful days. Furthermore, these repetitive, stress-filled days take away all aspects of creativity in a student’s life. Here is where the arts can come in! People have a natural desire to express opinion, but with all the stress on students, they don’t have the chance to. According to bebrainfit.com, “Activities like painting, sculpting, drawing, and photography are relaxing and rewarding hobbies that can lower your stress level and leave you feeling mentally clear and calm.” In a long and stressful day--as most high school school days are--the arts are very much needed in order to relieve this stress and add the creativity and expressiveness needed for one to express themselves.

Though some people may be annoyed by the mandatory arts requirement, Milton does a very good job at encouraging the arts. 43 of the 69 high schoolers surveyed said they would’ve taken an arts course had they not been required. 23 people (33% of my survey!) would’ve missed out on the arts had they not been required at Milton. Only 66% of the surveyed students would have taken an arts credit, yet 80% of students said, after taking an arts course, they were very glad they took it. Had Milton not required mandatory arts courses, 24% of students would have missed out on a class they so very much enjoyed. In addition to relieving stress, the arts open up a lot of doors, in students’ lives. Given all of the Scholastic prizes awarded to Milton students, students clearly strive in arts and creative writing, thanks to Milton’s encouragement. After taking their required year of an art, many students continue to pursue art at Milton even though it is no longer required; students must simply take the first class to realize their love for the arts! 42% of the juniors and seniors I interviewed who take advanced arts courses said they didn’t like art before Milton, and they could never have imagined themselves where they are now. This required year of Milton’s arts program sparked an interest in these students that they could have gone their entire lives without realizing.

Arts are crucial in a student’s life, whether in the form of creative writing, drawing and painting, music, performing arts, sculpture, or any other type of art. Though you may hear a few students complaining about the year of required arts courses, Milton Academy does a very good job in encouraging the necessary arts in a larger community where the arts are dying out.