by Jessicca Carrera ’13

Art departments across the country are fighting for their survival as the U.S. Department of Education, school districts, private organizations and companies continue to prioritize STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) classes while de-emphasizing the arts and music.

Exxon Mobile has aired its “Let’s Solve This” commercials for the last seven months and the statistics that the ads report are intended to startle audiences. According to the commercials, the U.S. ranked seventeenth out of 31 countries on a science test and twenty-fifth in the world when math scores were compared.

The company, along with other private donors including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Michael and Susan Dell foundation, is a sponsor of the National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI). NMSI’s mission is “to [improve] the current and future math and science teachers in the K-12 system and to [raise] the achievement of American students from the first grade through college,” as stated on its website.

This push for more intense math and science courses aims to give current students the opportunities to become serious competitors in the global job market once they graduate from college. Schools’ resources are being put towards improving these programs, meaning there is less to go around for other departments.

Art departments around the country have been getting the short end of the stick when it comes to raising budgets and teaching standards, while some programs have even been cut altogether.

Bucking the recent trend, Sherwood has not had to undergo drastic changes to the art department. “We have strong administrative support at [Sherwood] who work with the department to determine what is needed to help [it] grow,” said fine arts resource teacher Angela Praisner. “It is my belief that our administration shares [our] values and encourages our young artists to excel in their strengths.”

However, the possibility of modification to the art department and programs may not be too far away. “At local and state levels, we are seeing cutbacks in resources which in turn will inevitably affect us at the school level,” said Praisner. What those changes will be remains to be seen; they could range from an increase in required course fees to potential faculty cuts.

The shift in greater attention being given to math and science classes, “is warranted in terms of preparing students for trending careers; however, resources in the arts must remain in order to continue the development of visual, performing and vocal artists,” said Praisner.

She also says art classes expose students to innovative methods of communication not found in content-based courses. They are there to break the mundane essay writing or problem solving that is a part of the curriculum in almost every other class.

“Even if you’re not good at art, taking a class helps broaden your imagination and increase your creativity. This can help you in other areas such as writing, class presentations, speeches or solving a really hard math problem that calls for [thinking] outside the box,” said senior Janet Mansaray. She is currently enrolled in Studio 1 and is an officer in the National Art Honors Society.

Fine Arts classes also offer students the opportunity to expand their horizons and display their work in shows, a chance that students who see art as a hobby would not have normally pursued. Senior Kristy Garcia had her artwork displayed last year in a show sponsored by Johns Hopkins University.

“I have taken art all four years of high school and am currently taking AP Studio because drawing and painting are two of my favorite hobbies. I do plan on minoring in art in college, but I mainly am trying to keep it on the side in the future,” said Garcia, who plans to pursue an anthropology major.

Instead of cuts to the department, there could potentially be reasonable grounds to increase the importance and requirement of the art credit. To graduate, students must complete one credit of art, which could be anything from Foundations of Art to Digital Art. “The arts promote a higher order thinking process that encourages students to analyze ideas in innovative ways. Another year gives you the opportunity to begin developing conceptual & analytical problem solving skills that produce masterpieces,” said Praisner.