Six Reasons To Study The Arts

"You want to do what?"

The above is the reaction the average Malaysian straight As-in-PMR student ellicits from his or her parents after announcing the intention to enter the Arts and not Science stream at the upper secondary level.

Most 'dutiful children' falter and succumb to their parents' wishes that they join the ranks of their 'brainy' peers instead of pursuing their artistic interests. "What could be worse than being stuck with the under-performers in the Arts stream?", the student reasons.

Being stuck in a career that you hate at age 50 because you didn't listen to your inner voice when you were 15, for one.

I'm not a big fan of streaming, I think students should be exposed to the arts and sciences regardless of their academic abilities. But I do believe that students should be allowed to choose their own life path (I certainly did), regardless of how well it goes down with parents or peers.

Which is why I was delighted to read a post in today's The Answer Sheet that supports the teaching and learning of the arts. Clearly the biased view towards the sciences is universal, but as the blogger writes, this doesn't have to be the case.

Read the full story here.