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Wayland Student Press

The student news site of Wayland High School

Wayland Student Press

The student news site of Wayland High School

Wayland Student Press

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March 26, 2024
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Fine arts requirement: worth it for the willing

With more students enrolled in Fine Arts courses, the chorus room will see more action next year. (Credit: Jackson Hubbell/WSPN)

Starting with next year’s incoming freshmen, WHS will require students to take at least one year of fine arts courses during high school to graduate. The Wayland community should embrace this change, but be prepared for some backlash.

At their best, fine arts courses are fun, informative and relaxing.

I took metalwork and drawing during my sophomore year, and relished the break from constant instruction. Working with my right brain was a relief after endless “traditional” courses. Ideally, the fine arts curriculum changes will allow more of the student population to have a similar experience.

The danger of this change, however, is the resentment that yet another required course might cause. The new requirement might turn fine arts classes from a voluntary pleasure to a necessary evil.

A math-lover might see performing arts as a waste of time. A talented writer might resent being forced to spend time learning drawing skills he or she will never use.  Until now, if you were taking a fine arts course, it was because you wanted to take it.

Because of this requirement, fine arts teachers will see more of the kind of student they might otherwise have avoided: the uninterested, the uncaring and the bored.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m completely thrilled that at a time where many schools are cutting back on their fine arts or eliminating them altogether, Wayland is growing its program.

Many of the planned curriculum changes, such as the plan to cover functions of Garage Band in the Music Theory class, will start to bring the Fine Arts Department into the digital age.  But if the cost of growth is turning art into another mandatory course, maybe it’s better to keep it small and voluntary.

Get all of the details on the new fine arts requirement »

View Comments (4)
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  • N

    nobodyMar 14, 2011 at 7:54 PM

    I think this is pretty stupid. I know that I personally don't have enough spaces in my schedule to take all the classes I want and if I was a freshman stuck in this situation and then being forced to take a Fine Arts class, I would hate it.

    I also love the Fine Arts classes I am taking, and then if I had to share it with people who don't care at all and are completely in it for the credit, I would hate it. It will turn into a joke. Like PE.

    Anyways, do you honestly think forcing freshman to take a class they don't want to take and don't care about is going to what, make them better and more cultured just becaus eit is a Fine Arts class? Of course not.

    I absolutely think that everyone should be forced to have some exposure to the arts at some point in their life, but this is probably the worst possible way to go about it.

    Reply
  • S

    Sam-e FrawleyMar 12, 2011 at 10:05 PM

    this is reallyy a good idea

    Reply
  • 2

    2011Mar 11, 2011 at 10:09 AM

    What the fine arts tend to do is force your right brain and your left brain to work together, and getting good interhemisphere communication in the brain is an art in and of itself. Most people don't realize that art has a HUGE logic component to it. I like doing theater because of that: you can't bend the laws of physics to make art, you have to deal with the problem solving behind placing people on a stage where they can be seen, not to mention costumes (and moving in them), building sets, research, etc. With writing you have technique and clarity of thought, with art you have anatomy and color theory, etc. It goes on and on.

    Good for the school for doing this.

    Reply
  • A

    artmanMar 10, 2011 at 12:47 PM

    I think that you are being dismissive of the fine arts when you describe them as "fun, informative, and relaxing" at their best. The fine arts are so much more than that, to those that are passionate about art, music, acting, ect. the fine arts are as important and integral as a math class for an aspiring mathematician.

    Reply
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Fine arts requirement: worth it for the willing