Artistic Ambition: The Importance of the Arts Requirement

We are all aware of the two year fine art requirement that every student is mandated to complete to graduate from the School, but why exactly do we have it, and what are its benefits? 

The School’s fine arts program includes four main categories: Music, Theater, Visual Art, and Dance. The Music program is a part of students’ K-12 education, focused on expression and developing skills in lower and middle school, and more advanced opportunities as students go through high school. 

The School’s Theater program is a great opportunity for students to be engaged in the performing arts through Drama and Tech Theater classes, as well as in the two yearly Upper School productions. 

The Visual Arts program is an essential part of the School’s curriculum. Lower School students follow a choice-based program called the Teaching for Artistic Behavior pedagogy. Throughout the Middle and Upper Schools, students refine their artistic interests in more focused, advanced classes. The dance program is offered to all students as a way to explore their emotions and fluid movement. As students reach the Upper School, they gain the opportunity to participate in more advanced courses; they also have the option to join clubs like the Fine Arts Dance Ensemble (FADE). 

In California, the Education Code requires that all schools offer courses in four arts disciplines for all K-12 students. These disciplines include dance, music, theater, and visual arts. The state also requires high school students to take at least one year’s worth of an arts class.

In the Upper School specifically, students are mandated to complete an advanced-level performing or visual arts course. This usually means taking at least two years of a specific discipline. Harry Muniz, Chair of the Fine Arts Department and photography teacher at the School, explains, “This is so that students who plan on applying to a UC college have fulfilled the minimum arts requirement to do so. Other independent schools who want their students to be eligible to attend a UC school have similar requirements.” 

Including the arts in schools has proven to be nothing but beneficial. For instance, the arts have been shown to produce positive impacts on students’ academic performance. Muniz says  “Multiple studies in neuroscience generally confirm that participating in the arts teaches our mind to make complex connections and imagine novel solutions to problems. Visual artists become better observers, music students have stronger listening skills.”

The arts can also have a profound impact on students’ mental health. Muniz describes, “Having a creative outlet teaches you to build focus in a fun environment that can clarify your thoughts, lets you process your emotions, and engage with friends in a meaningful way.”

In recent years, it has been debated whether the School gives enough attention and funding towards fine arts. Initially, the new South Campus project was intended to include a new performing arts center; however, somewhere during the planning process, this was cut out. This begs the question of whether the arts get highlighted, given that the current performance space, the MEW, is a 100+ year-old gym…Meanwhile, the School’s sports teams are playing on a fresh turf field and in a modern gym. STEM classes already have over six labs built on the current campus. That is not to say the STEM and athletics departments are not deserving, but do the arts get the attention and funding they deserve?