▶ Your Answer : Some people think that teaching children art and music should not be mandatory because they think learning them is an impediment to academic progress. However, in my opinion, young children should be required to learn art and music because it helps them to appreciate music and art when they become adults and to achieve academic progress. To begin with, students can learn how much valuable music and art is by learning them. This is crucial because people are likely to enjoy what they enjoyed in their childhood. Having one’s own way of finding pleasure in life really matters in that it enhances the quality of life. For example, I attended an alternative high school which asked all students to master at least one musical instrument. I would not have decided to learn a musical instrument since I considered studying hard for college entrance exams more important than anything. However, as it was a requirement for graduation, I chose to learn the guitar and practiced whenever I had a spare time. It made me feel joy that I had never felt from studying. Thanks to the experience, I still play the guitar for pleasure and sometimes go to guitar concerts. Whenever I am involved in leisure activities like this, I realize how grateful it is to be alive. On top of that, learning art and music is helpful for scholarly progress. Although many people think that spending many hours sitting at a desk all day is the best way for achieving academic goals, it is not true. In fact, students are likely to spend time ineffectively and get stressed out. On the other hand, students can relieve stress when they are concentrated on learning art and music, and better focus on study after the class. According to an article that I read a while ago, students who have their own time to play musical instruments or draw showed better academic performance than others who do not. In relation to the article, experts on the education field analyzed impacts that art classes have. They said practice of drawing and playing musical instruments teaches students how to get better at something. Students learn that practice and improving on errors are necessary for competence and apply the lesson when they study. To sum up, art and music classes are useful for teaching the pleasure of life and enhancing academic performance. In this regard, I firmly believe that the importance of teaching young children art and music can not be overstated. |