Being "Artsy Fartsy" Kind of Stinks

After listening to Sir Robinson in class I've been pondering Art even more than usual. It was refreshing to hear an adult speak the way he did, and his speeches inspired me to contemplate many things: going to Art school, finding a job, what it means to be creative, and creativity's value in school. It even made me feel like doodling all over my papers and not getting A's in math wasn't a neccesarily a terrible thing.

Junior year has been difficult. With a full schedule I'm unallowed to take any electives (with the exception of AP Psych, which hardly counts as one anyway) which means no Art classes all three trimesters... Both freshman and sophomore year I either had a study hall or an Art class, to which I could retreat and clear my mind for just one hour of the day, but this year if I were to try and make room for Art in my schedule I would be shirking an AP class, and you know-- that just doesn't look good. Nowadays we're all told to take as many AP classes as possible, but why? Coming into high school I was told that AP classes were special, they meant advanced placement and were college level, but now the mindset seems to be that if you don't take them then you're slacking. The same goes with Art. If one has room in their schedule and takes an Art class its almost seen as a joke. People usually sign up for these courses with the expectation that it'll be for fun and an easy A. And they're right. Basically if you come to class regulary and do most of the assignments you'll have no problem getting an A in Art even if you have no interest in it and aren't exactly talented. This is great for those part-time seniors and confused little freshmen who want to take Ceramics for shits n' gigs, but what about the people who are truly passionate about computer design, painting, drawing, or acting? This means that those artsy kids who put the same amount of thought, effort, and pride into their final project as someone in AP Bio does won't get the GPA boost that they do and they'll probably get the same A on their piece as the person who sits in the back of class and cranked his out the night before. To be frank-- it just isn't very fair to those who want to pursue Art.