Art should not be a mandatory class. Majority of high schools in America require students to take at least one semester of art to graduate. Ever since 2010 the Ohio Department of Education has made it mandatory that all students must get a fine arts credit, but is that really fair?

   High schools shouldn’t make this a requirement for a number of reasons. While art can help boost creativity, it isn’t exactly a necessary life skill unlike the other required classes such as personal finance, health, and the core classes; English, math, history, and science. If a student doesn’t plan to pursue art later in their life, they shouldn’t be forced to take it in high school, especially if they don’t like it.

   Students have said that they wouldn’t have taken art if they didn’t have to because they don’t have an interest in it, or they don’t think they are very good at it. Especially for a class that is supposed to be enjoyed and meant for people who have a love and passion for art, there are a lot of people who don’t try and don’t like going to art classes and this does not only impact students, but also school art shows.

   In a students’ every day schedule, they have nine classes. That might sound like a lot, but if you consider the fact that they need to to take four core classes and a lunch for all four years of high school, along with the other required classes, there isn’t a lot of space for students to take classes that they enjoy or classes that will help them in their future. Art takes up one of the few spots that students have to take classes to help them succeed. Majority of colleges, look at the classes you took in high school to see if you took any that could impact your career positively. By forcing art on students, this could possibly hold them back.

   Don’t hold our future generations back. If you think that art shouldnt be required, contact your state legislature about this and help make a change.