To talk DS out of doing GCSE Art

[UnderABridge]

Name changed for this as I'm probably being unreasonable.

DS is about to go into year 9 and this year he has to pick his options, he's dead set on doing Art along with computer science and History.

And although he's good at Art, he isn't brilliant at it. I'd know he struggle with it and honestly I'd rather he put his time and effort into something more substantial, he'll most likely drop Art at A levels anyway.

Would it be unreasonable of me to talk him out it and pick something he'll get a lot more out of and find a lot easier, like PE?

[almondpudding]

GCSE Art is a time consuming nightmare.

It isn't as much aptitude as a huge amount of work, which eats into revision time for other subjects.

[TwatbadgingCuntfuckery]

Art Grad here OP.

Who cares if he's not brilliant. Art offers so so much more even if you are a bit rubbish.

Do you know how valuable creative thinking is in Tech and science? an awful lot of tech/science people have artistic hobbies. They go hand in hand.


maybe this will change your mind a bit blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/from-stem-to-steam-science-and-the-arts-go-hand-in-hand/

and this suggests his interest in art may be a bigger benefit to his science/tech career According to research, students who study the arts show improvement in their capabilities in other areas as well, including in the sciences, math and reading www.huffingtonpost.in/dipin-damodharan/why-the-arts-are-as-important-as-science-or-math/

[lisaneedsarest]

My mum would have been the first to say I want great at art, I loved it though and took it for GCSEs, I got an A, and yes it was a lot of effort but it didn't feel like effort, I spent most of my study time in the art studio as that's where I wanted to be, I also took a level art but was pursuaded not to to an art degree - something I always regret not doing.
Don't choose for him, he should do what he enjoys!

[PeaceOfWildThings]

Haven't rtft. My D could make a living from her art right now it she wanted, but she's dropped it for A level because it's too much work, and she doesn't want to take it forward as a career.
Art is a great practical and creative subject. I'd recommend a creative subject or sport of some form as a creative outlet. It really helps them deal with stress, helps with resilience and emotional maturity. It can help with communication too, is a great additional skill to take into the workforce.

[PeaceOfWildThings]

If he'd enjoy PE more, then he should do PE instead, yes!

[BabboshkaKate]

This is where you let him go and make his own mistakes. If he struggles say "Oh dear that's a shame what will you do about it?" and let him talk to his teachers and sort it out on his own.

Honestly no one cares about GCSEs once they are over.

[MTWTFSS]

Why don't you check the marking scheme for the exam board they are sitting and ensure all the points are being met.

I'm terrible at art but still got an A. Why... as I did what they wanted in the marking scheme! And most of the work I did were the annotations that went with each piece... total waffle!

Basically, YABU!

[Lorelei76]

you don't have a daughter who you don't want to try diving and a father who you've put off learning another subject perchance...?

[randomsabreuse]

GCSE Art, design and technology and the like have a ridiculous amount of extra work. Music composition was fairly time consuming but I sucked (and still do) at it and my decided lack of keyboard skills did not help in the slightest. Practicing pieces less of a problem as I did that anyway. Talented friends who did art and DT did way more work than I did. PE would be in the same time/effort category as the more academic subjects - much easier if you are good at them and mostly contained within lesson/bormsl homework time.

[BoneyBackJefferson]

The most that you should do is explain how much work it is, and it is a huge amount that he will have to keep up with + a practical exam at the end of it (10 hours)

I found on youtube which a video of a GCSE art project + books + final piece.

As an aside you need to find out what the programming language is for computer sciences and get him started now as the 20% for the controlled assessment is no teacher help and no internet.

[Joinourclub]

id definitely chose art over PE. All students do some PE anyway. But the opportunity for free art lessons and free materials and free access to a kiln etc won't happen again. I had no intention of continuing with art beyond GCSE, but I am so glad I did it. I loved the hours spent in the art studio at school, working at a totally different pace to my other lessons.

[YelloDraw]

Ugh GCSE art is a huge tme commitment. For that alone I would try and explain what it realistically entails

[Stopyourhavering]

dd1 initially went to a prep school where art teacher was brilliant and they got to work in loads of different mediums including sculpture which dd loved and teacher thought she excelled in.....she then moved to another independent school where crumbly old art teacher was more interested in the dcs who were 'good at naice drawing'and boringly mediocre She didn't like sculpture and didn't allow dd to continue with it.....needless to say dd got a b at GCSE and then dropped subject because of this lousy teacher.......so make sure you know what kind of work the school allows children to create produces and whether your ds would enjoy fit in

[corythatwas]

BarbarianMum Thu 01-Sep-16 16:07:11

"So what's the worst that could happen? He'll struggle a bit and get a lower grade. And maybe get to know himself better if, as you suggest, he lacks your insight in that department."

I think this is a sensible way of looking at it: as a learning experience. He won't have time for that kind of mistake when it comes to A-levels or uni courses, so now is a good time to make them.

[0pti0na1]

Why is your son "dead set" on art? You've said why you don't want him to do it, but not why he would like to choose it.

Art is a great subject towards a rounded education. Like all academic subjects I think it's worth studying for its own sake, but it will also develop various transferable skills, and quite likely some which will be relevant in an IT career should he go into the visual side of things.

I'm not very up to date on GCSE science subjects but won't he be doing anatomy in these anyway?

[Stormtreader]

I have a degree and career in IT, and I did Art and Drama at GCSE even though I was terrible at it! Its a nice mental break from the other subjects to get to be creative for a bit.
If it was A Levels then the subject is more important, but GCSES are really not career-critical. I still wish I'd done History rather than the very dull Geography I took because it would be "more useful".

[OneFlewOverTheDodosNest]

GCSE art is very time heavy so I would make sure he's not taking it because he wrongly perceives it to be an easy subject. However, as long as he's aware of course requirements then I say go for it.

[oneofthegiantsisme]

What does his teacher say? My DD wanted to choose Art for GCSE, which I knew was totally wrong for her, because she had illusions of becoming a fashion designer (n.b. she never, ever, picked up a needle voluntarily, and would struggle to sew on a button) and thought she needed to do art to be able to do that. I pointed out to her that perhaps it wasn't the best option, but made sure we went to talk to the art teacher at the options evening. Art teacher asks "what else were you thinking of if you don't do art?" - DD says "German" - teachers suggests "I should do German then", pointing out how much work (of the sort that she knew DD didn't enjoy) art would be.

For the record, she's just got an A in her German, and the design ambitions vanished long ago. If she'd really stuck to her guns, I would have supported her, but I'm relieved that she was dissuaded from it.

OP, I'm guessing you've got a few months yet - options didn't really rear their head until after Christmas in DC's school. Time for him to have a really good think and, as others have suggested, find out what it entails.

[MoosLikeJagger]

20 years later, I'm pissed off with my parents re: GCSE choices. I wanted to do subject A, they thought subject B would look better on my CV.

Subject B was dull as fuck and not well taught in my school. I seriously underperformed.

Subject A, it turns out, would have been useful in my chosen career.

[Pangur2]

I've taught GCSE and A level Art for 10 years, as well as BTEC in the past (shudder).

Art will complement Computer Science if he plans to go into App Design or any sort of computer based special effects or video games, so in that respect it would be better than doing PE. There is a massive crossover and it's where a lot of the money is.

Art is a lot of work though, so he needs to make sure he is fully committed. I agree with posters saying that he should chat to the current GCSE cohort to get a student perspective on the work load. If he is the type to get annoyed about having to spend the odd hour in the art room after school or at lunch he shouldn't touch it with a ten foot barge pole.

I don't agree with the posters saying that if he doesn't like it he could switch after 2 months. Be careful of this assumption; most schools would never let you switch subjects that far into a course as it is extremely disruptive and it would be hard to catch up on the new subject. 2 weeks yes, 2 months naw.

Obviously Art should be fun and enjoyable, but I am slightly worried about the amount of posters saying it could be his fun or de-stressing subject. The current GCSE course is very different to the course of the 80s and 90s and has a lot more criteria to fulfill in regard to sketchbooks. As an art teacher that is the main problem I have encountered in the 4 schools I've taught at; students being dismayed when they realise they can't just draw Manga/ horses etc. I explain the course until I'm blue in the face in year 9, but there are always still 1 or 2 who start completely unprepared for what is actually involved.

In saying that, if he loves Art it won't seem like work and the course can contrast nicely with essay heavy subjects.

Any other questions, let me know!

[TranquilityofSolitude]

I'm going to say YANBU because although neither of my DDs did Art GCSE I have read the Secondary Education board on here and every year in March/April/May there is total despair over getting the coursework in while they're supposed to be revising for other subjects. It seems like an awful lot of work.

As a vaguely-related aside, DD2 did GCSE Dance and it nearly killed her love of dancing, which she'd be enjoying out of school since she was 3.

[APlaceOnTheCouch]

Hmm, I'm another one whose parents wouldn't allow to study Art although tbh I was good at it and both the Art teacher and the HT asked them to reconsider. They didn't.
What I did instead was pick up short courses in art throughout the rest of school. They tended more towards the practical application of art eg designing furniture; designing jewellery.
Support your DS to talk to people who have studied GCSE Art so he knows what to expect and look into other ways he could indulge his interest in Art without taking a GCSE if he decides it would eat up too much time.

[Katarzyna79]

I think you should let him do art we do lots of subjects in gsces that aren't relevant when doing A-Levels but we are told we must do them. My brother was terrible at art,but I recallmy art teacher saying it has nothing to do with artistic ability in exams. It's all about showing what inspired you,showing all the prep work up to the final piece.The final piece does not sum up 90% of the grade rather all the otherart work in his folder I;ebrainstorming,collecting materials,images,photography etc.

Mybrother was estimated a D because he had given up, my art teacher happened to be his she explained all this to me.Soi helped him he did it all himself though I sketched nothing for him. He got a B in the end, that's a super grade for someone apparently rubbish at art?

[Katarzyna79]

art was a favourite of mine. now middle aged I wish I had stuck to my guns and followed my heart and pursued a career in this field. But parental expectations forced me on another subject. not too late I suppose only I lack time

[DullUserName]

Another one piling in to say that it is HUGELY time consuming. DC1 is highly academic and chose art to be a contrast to the other 11 subjects. It takes up two evenings and a chunk of the weekend.

Forecast a C when everything else is As. Would they have been better to do a different subject and have the time to turn some As into A*s? Only time will tell. It's been their choice... but they tell anyone who asks that they should NOT do art.