I believe that fifth and sixth-graders should be offered electives similar to seventh and eighth-graders instead of taking general art and drama classes.
Students would be placed in a different elective each semester. These electives could vary from a variety of art classes: studio art, ceramics, and drawing and painting to other creative classes such as psychology. In addition, we could look at the high school electives for ideas as well.
In the high school, students are offered other types of classes such as art and code and 3D studio art. There could also be other classes where you would learn about the art that is in London, and learn to draw maps and buildings.
I think that it is beneficial for students to have a balance between their standard educational classes such as math, science, and English, and other elective classes that relate to art, drama, and tech. Many students enjoy these elective classes and feel that it is a way to take a break from the stress they experience with their work from educational classes.
Eighth grade student Danielle Hajjar said, “There is a decent amount of electives and some of the ones I’ve had have been like a breath of fresh air. It’s not a graded class which is nice because everyone is always stressed about grades. They’re a great way to learn other skills without being critiqued.”
If this change takes place, I believe that kids will grow to be more interested in their creative classes because they will be exposed to more choice and freedom in the activities they participate in whilst attending that class. This is beneficial for students because they will feel as if they have more power in their classes.
If kids are happy and satisfied in their classes, they will most likely be more successful in all their classes, which will ultimately lead them to be better seventh and eighth-graders, and then high school and college students. I also think that fifth and sixth-grade should be able to have this chance to prove that they can make decisions for themselves about what they like to do and are good at. Another beneficial factor of these electives is it will prepare students in fifth and sixth-grade for their higher middle school years, seventh and eighth-grade.
