To think that Art is a very important subject?

[malificent7]

I adore Art however i wasn't brave enough to pursue a career in it due to stories of financial insecurity etc..however i do it as a hobby.
I think that it is massively undervalued as most things have been designed and it's a good outlet for creativity. Aibu to think that it's important as it requires skills such as maths, dexterity and problem solving aswell as creativity?

I agree, I’m mainly just sad for her that this talent isn’t actually particularly useful on its own without the digital aspect of this makes sense? Also that art as a subject is so free and creative, with the majority of it all practical, and media and many of the other such subjects are only 30% practical based.

I’m talking about the actual A Levels by the way

Art is important if it's what you're into. You'll never be good at it if you aren't enthused by it.

This. I think most children probably know from primary age whether they like art or not. I doubt anyone who doesn't like drawing and painting by year 6 is going to be converted at secondary school. Being taught art is of very little importance and enjoyment to people who don't like doing it.

My 14 yo dd adores drawing and does it almost constantly in her free time. She didn't like art in year 7 and 8 and is really glad she's not doing it for GCSE because she hates being told what to draw, and the workload for art is huge according to her friends who did choose it.

The workload for GCSE can’t be compared to say English - there is nothing to memorise and revise for, it is all about planning your next project, practicing and trying out ideas. You need to have a solid idea that makes sense, and you need to be able to describe it, the materials and the purpose of it. You also practice a lot of art forms but you can work how you want - DD really hates watercolours and drawing humans so just doesn’t do that at all

DD has her mock GCSE very soon and has had her plan for weeks, now she is just tweaking it. Compared to maths, it’s a doddle for her because it’s hours and hours of just simply creating and moulding your ideas

University has changed a lot over the past few decades. It used to be rather fewer than 10 per cent of people who went to university. For me, it felt far more about education being worthwhile in itself, rather than employability-based. Arts and humanities weren't second-class subjects a few decades ago IME.

Obviously many other people learned a lot beyond school as well, such as learning a trade in the workplace. Technical colleges and polytechnics offered most of the vocational courses. Once these alternative educational routes were all re-branded as universities, and Tony Blair decided 50 per cent of young people should go to university, it altered the expectations and definitions of 'value' in education.

Pure academic achievement for its own sake, and employability and earning potential, used to be more complementary. These days they are alongside, and in competition with, each other in a much more direct way than they used to be. Other societal changes may also have changed our priorities.

Yanbu. Art helps keep us sane. Schools being forced to spend less curriculum time on the arts is pretty closely correlated with the rise in school mental health problems... Obvs not caused by lack of art, but doing creative stuff helps people destress...

Artists tend not to make a lot of money so only the really dedicated stick it out without having a day job.
It isn't valued because of this. Just look at once it becomes popular and is worth Millions in some cases.
From an educational pov it should be encouraged especially those who have a flair.

Access to arts are vital to creating well-rounded people in society. You don't have to be "good at them" to benefit.

Fine motor control is essential to surgeons and it has been observed that for various reasons, dexterity amongst medical students is declining. Time spent wielding pencils and paintbrushes is good for it. Many other occupations need dexterity and multifunctional dexterity remains a human advantage over mechanisation/ robotics.

It's appreciating culture and history.

Self expression. (Particularly important as an outlet for healthy mental wellbeing)

Trying, experimenting, trying again in the face of "failure", developing and evaluating a concept; vital personal skills for buisness and creative skills for product development.

DS isn't "good" at art in the conventional, educational sense. His dyspraxia means holding pencils is painful and his poor motor co-ordination means his markings are irregular and messy. But he has his own style of drawing at home of busy line drawings of lots of little features added to bit by bit, and they have their own joy, and every minute that he voluntarily holds a pencil or pen is a good thing for him and supports his development in difficult areas for him. Cartoony style books make age-appropriate literature accessible to him rather than being overwhelmed by a wall of text squirming around the page.

I did GCSE art as I thought it would be light relief from options in MFL, additional science and a humanity. It was a healthy change of gear. I actually enjoyed the 10 hour exam, and the silent time to create my exam piece, I can't say that for any other subject! I have no great talent, but got a respectable grade through working through the processes of design development. I developed a pleasing style. In adulthood, I've had creative phases such as card and jewelery making. When I created resources for teaching, visual presentation was important for making information appealing and accessible.

Reducing education purely to its direct financial benefits is a massive folly.

BUT - i do think it suffers in the same way PE/sport does at school - it becomes about who's 'good' at it rather than giving the student the means to make their own relationship with the subject

Agree totally with this. It could be very important, it should be very important but the way it is taught in schools today, it's not really a lot of cop.

Nope. It was always known as the easy option for GCSE through to degree level. I know 3 art graduates and they all in careers not tested to Art whatsoever.

No its boring and pointless if you are a leftie with no talent for it. About the only thing worse would be being forced to study it for nine years or being made to play a musical instrument like a poster up thread said.

Mine will gain the best results at GCSE and A level in Music and Art.
The academic will/ is a struggle, so they are both very important subjects to some.

Agree with you 100 percent, OP

I was persuaded to drop art & do all academic subjects by my parents when it came to picking my options, I had to do a subject that I hated & failed the exam instead of getting a grade in art. I loved drawing, painting & design, I am only just starting to get back in to it now at 53.

I adored Art in school. Was encouraged and supported throughout. I went to Art college. Got a 1st class degree.

I'm now 47 and have been a freelance illustrator for over 26 years. I earn a comfortable salary.

My husband is an Animator and earns a good wage too.

From studying Art, I personally know people who have gone on to be

Graphic Designers
Film Directors
Architects
Animators
Art Conservationists
Owner of greeting card companies
Owner of clothing label companies
Interior Designers
Product Designers
TV producers
Teachers

Art springboards so many different careers just like other subjects. I get very angry when I hear that Art is unimportant and is narrow for job prospects.

I'm a school governor at my dcs school. I'm glad that as a school they champion the arts still - the standard of art they produce is stunning (as well as drama performances). Long may it continue.

It's important to be on offer and well supported, but it's not important or useful for every individual. It's very dependent on the type of person you are, your passion and aspirations.

I enjoyed it at school, pre gcse but it wasn't my thing at all for further education. I really don't find that much interest in it now either. I've been too and walked out sharpish a few art galleries as it just doesn't interest me. My dh on the other hand loved art and love galleries.

DD did English, Art and Music at A level. The workload almost destroyed her mental health.

She got A*, C, D respectively. She is studying English at uni and makes her living teaching English as a foreign language.

She adores art and music, and is good at them at a hobbyist level - they will give her joy in her life, now she is past the study stage.

The workload for the Arts as A level subjects is stupidly high, the rules for submission are very restrictive and destroy the will to study further.

I couldn't agree more.
Unfortunately these days education is valued only in relation to jobs.
Degrees are marketed on the kind of jobs they will get you and the amount of money you can make.
It's a terrible shame. Education has a value for its own sake.
Art has a value for its own sake.
Creativity is one of the things that make us human.
A world without art in it would be a very dull world

For me, art was a nightmare. I was really bad at it and no amount of teaching helped. I got my only detention for being accused of doing my art homework on the bus. I hadn't, I had spent hours on it.

So fine, include it as a curriculum lesson but always remember there are some who just don't want to do it and don't make them feel bad about it.

I think it's too vast a subject to be covered properly in school

Art is not unique in that respect. It's true if pretty much any subject.

Children should have 9 years of art and music lessons at school before they start to specialise.

Children can find out they are good at these things without being forced to do it for 9 years.

Saw this on Facebook recently & completely agree!

Dd is off to secondary school next Sept & there are no schools locally that let you take art & music which is such a shame.

Dd has said she'll probably do art because she has music lessons already but it's disappointing she can't do both.

I think it's really important to have the arts available in schools. I work with schools and some of the students we see have no achievements in school until we get them into the arts. For those students, many of whom are not being taken to the theatre or museums or anything by their families, it can really change how they apply themselves in school.

Career wise, you don't need to grow up to become a painter or whatever, but skills you learn in the arts can be applicable across industries. And having interests in the arts can give you a hobby as an adult. I'm terrible at drawing but I love to do it when my anxiety is high, and it really does help.

I wasn't great at art at school (I got an F in my gcse, basically because I did all my course work the week it was due to be handed inand it was shit!)

I have twins doing GCSEs now, both very into sciences and maths, which will probably be their A Level choices, but both chose to do Art GCSE, and one is also doing music (but both play violin)

I think both art and music are very valuable things to learn. My two may not make a career out of either, but they will have learned something that will stay with them their whole lives, and may continue to be a hobby.

Unfortunately their primary school was amazingly crap at teaching anything that wasn't Maths or English. Everything else got pushed away because the focus was all about getting those SATs results.