Quote:
Originally Posted by Lamplighter
Of course, there was a lot of discussion about science and math courses.
But I advocated for the requirement for arts and music based on the idea that once
entered medical / dental school, there was little or no time left for students to explore the fine arts.
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I disagree. By the time med students, or engineers, get into college, they usually have a good idea on what they want to do and the classes they take are on their dollar. Instead of art or music classes they could get out a semester early, and avoid a semester worth of loans, or take more classes that will (hopefully) make them better at their profession. Even if they are forced to take those classes, which my classmates and I were, we took them pass/fail and did just enough to pass. I have an interest in a lot of the liberal arts classes but I'm going to choose studying structural design over John Locke any day of the week. I would recommend liberal arts classes that do have medical or engineering relevance though (drawing, powerpoint stuff, public speaking, etc).
In elementary school, I would agree with art classes if the budget allows but there should also be an emphasis on problem solving in the curriculum. If we are just going for creativity, problem solving takes just as much as art. But, I think there is more reasons to teach art at a young age than just creativity so I wouldn't cut it out all together.