When it comes to art classes, it seems many are dismissed or overlooked, even though

they are beneficial in many ways for a personal life and school/work life. Art takes many shapes

and backgrounds: music, painting, writing, and dance. They all have one thing in common:

giving you a chance to express yourself.

With art, you can never really mess up completely. You can’t get a piece of art

completely wrong like you can get a math problem wrong, because you are expressing your

point of view on the matter. When learning art, you are also learning culture, and you can’t learn

art by endless lectures; you need get to get your hands dirty and by getting constant exposure.

Art can also help us in our personal lives by “promoting self-esteem, motivation,

aesthetic awareness, cultural exposure, creativity, improved emotional expression, as well as

social harmony and appreciation of diversity.” according to an article by Katy Independent

School District on the importance of art and education.

Choosing art over other subjects is very common, but a lot of people don’t understand

that people can make a living out of art too. There are just as many opportunities for art as there

are for any other subject. Many students overlook taking art classes because they don’t see it

benefitting them in their future, when in more ways than one, it really can benefit any career.

“..and every student benefits from fine arts courses, even when their future career successes

are outside of music, acting, dance or art.” referring to the article ,Students benefit from fine arts

Courses, by Robert Floyd.

Putting your point of view on a piece of paper, clay or movements can release some

unneeded stress in your life that may be overwhelming for you. This includes any other mental

health problems that come with life, including depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder. In a

article written by Marissa Lambert called Art Can Be Good for Mental Health “Art also helps

people to connect with and deal with their emotions. Art can help a person reach into largely

unconscious parts of the mind and experience dimensions of self otherwise buried and

voiceless.” Art teacher Mr. Bird here at Bingham has seen students become more relaxed when

entering his classroom. ”It’s a little, more loose” he says “People can relax a little bit. Just in

general I think people are a little more happy in my class.”

Mr. Bird himself feels that he has balance thanks to art and being able to release stress

by expressing himself through art. When asked if he thinks can become skillful in art if they work

hard at it, immediately he agreed saying “A lot of people have the misconception that people are

only born with that talent (of being an artist), but they’re not. If they work hard and they learn the

right skills and practice… they can be good at art”. He would highly suggest to any student that

they should at least take one art class, so they can experience the balance he has in his life

thanks to the arts.

When taking an art class, there is no need for you to be an expert. The whole reason

why they’re here is so you can learn and understand art and culture, that’s why they’re called

classes. Art is supposed to be fun, but it should also be taken seriously.

Art is beneficial in many, many ways. So don’t just take art because it’s required, take it

because it’s good for you.