Jonathan Huang ’19, Nishant Thangada ’19, Aantorik Ganguly ’19: The beginning of the 2016-2017 school year welcomed students back to their classes with peers, but Brook Baxter ’17 was to begin a one-person art class. Baxter explains how she misses the “sense of collaboration and practice of peer review that a large art class offers.” But, Baxter explains, “I am actually fine with being the only student in my art class. I get a lot of individual attention from Ms. Hutchison, and I feel that it has benefitted my artwork. There are also minimum distractions when it is just the teacher and yourself, which has been beneficial as well.”
Scheduling is a key matter in this issue. Cheryl McLauchlan, IV Form Dean states that art class scheduling issues arise “only when students want a specific art class after the schedule has been made for the upcoming year.” She continues, “specific art classes are difficult to schedule because they have to fit into the rest of the student’s schedule as well as the teacher’s schedule.” Adam Kovacs ‘18 added, “I wanted to take art this year, but it didn’t fit in my schedule because I take physics and AP Computer Science Principles.”
However, upon closer inspection, the root of the issue expands far beyond this simple scheduling issue. McLauchlan explains, “Many students have decided to drop art to take double science or extra math classes. When the schedule is made up, it’s made up of people getting most of their first choices. The minute you choose to take two sciences, you can’t take seven classes – you’re done. If you choose to take AP U.S History or AP Science, you can’t take seven classes – you’re done.”
Sal Toure ‘17 provides his own explanation as to why enrollment in the visual arts has decreased. He says, “Most students stop taking art classes when their art credits are completed. Only students that really like art keep doing it. Personally, I wanted to take another art class, but I fulfilled my credits with choir, which is why I never did.”
McLauchlan does, however, explain that efforts have been been to increase participation in arts at EA as she states, “The EA graduation requirements have actually been changed to make it easier for visual art students to earn all of their art credits. In addition, next school year’s new schedule format will make art courses more accessible to students because there will be eight blocks instead of the current seven.”
Despite the few number of students choosing to take 3D art classes, many students have high praise for EA’s art program. Amy Chen ‘19 says, “The art program is really amazing. The teachers are very knowledgeable and the students are amazing at what they do.”
Pia Singh ‘19 also says, “EA offers a wide variety of classes from photography to ceramics to 2-D design and that really gives students a great opportunity to explore their interests along with the support from the art teachers. Having the resources and the support early on is something that we are lucky to have here, and students who take creative classes learn things that they carry with them for years.”
In Baxter’s case, Hutchison was willing to work during her own free block to make it possible for Baxter to take the class. Responding to this McLauchlan states, “This reflects EA’s big commitment to the arts – that they are still able to have the class even when it is under enrolled.”