Art class, to many students, feels like the one time of day where students can get away from school and let their creativity run wild through their art. 

Art is great because there’s little instances where students feel the need to buckle down and cram for tests or crank out projects and homework for their core classes; instead, many people benefit from the stress relief and creative freedom aspect that art offers. Offering students a whole class period can also make students feel like they’re allowed to express themselves.

“Exposure to art education promotes self-directed learning, improves school attendance and sharpens critical and creative skills,” said Lisa K. Raguso, director of the “Arts for Life!” program. The data this research collected demonstrates how art class can benefit a student’s academic-based classes. When a student graduates high school, they’re let out into a world where they have to figure out life, which is why it’s important to promote self-directed learning.

“[Art] is pretty much my only way of self expression other than music,” said artist and drummer Sam Hayes ‘21. Giving kids the opportunity to freely express themselves through their art proves to be a good mental break, and being in high school, they deserve breaks from the stresses of daily life. Hollis Brookline high school is full of artists of all sorts. Whether it’s in the theater or through their paintings, many students would be lost if they didn’t have the opportunity to freely express themselves.

It’s a privilege for many students to be offered a variety of art courses in school. Whether you prefer painting, sculpture, literature, architecture, music, dance, theater, photography or films, there are so many opportunities to show off your talents.

“I like art because it’s therapeutic and you get to watch yourself improve and it can be frustrating at times but that’s just how you kinda grow in art,” said John MacFarlane ‘22. Many studies show benefits of art therapy, which discuss the importance of art therapy for all age groups, with lots of research to back the point up. Proving how art classes effectively benefit people’s mental health and lowers their stress levels.

The Kinder Institute for Urban Development did a poll with 10,548 students in the Houston area, and discovered that “arts-learning experiences benefit students in terms of reductions in disciplinary infractions, increases in compassion for others and improvements in writing achievement. Furthermore, arts-education experiences improve school engagement and college aspirations.” It’s important that we see the benefits of art classes for students’ mental health, and the fact that art is showing to benefit our youths’ behavior, which proves how important art class really is.