I once heard a story about an art teacher who “would seriously grade works as “P” for pretty or “NP” for not pretty”. It is safe to assume that everyone who had her as a teacher was very discouraged when it comes to their artworks. There was no middle ground; the students’ art was either “good” or “bad,” which is not what we are taught here at Tallwood. We are taught that all art is art and that everything is unique in its way, and that there is no such thing as “good” or “bad.”
When it comes to grading overall, students are often comparing themselves to one another, seeing who is better at a certain subject, and it is no different in art classes. Art students, especially at Tallwood, like to share their art with others and look for some sort of encouragement. Oftentimes they get this, but other times the student they are showing will pull out their art and start to compare. This tends to get very discouraging, and the students start to feel self-conscious about their hard work. And this is why art should not be graded in art classes. Each piece is made using each individual’s emotions and style, and there should be no grade attached to that. Each drawing and painting is “good” in its own way, and there should be no grade to tell them such.
Emotions are something everyone feels, and those are often translated into art, even when it is unintentional. As high school students, emotions are always running high, and art can be a great way to express them. The only issue is that, with the way the curriculum works, your emotions are being graded alongside the art. If you are one of the many students here who work to get A’s in school, then you won’t express your emotions but rather draw for the grade, and that is not what art is meant to be. Art is “the ability to show and tell what it means to be alive.” And with art being graded, it is taking away the core value of the class.
Lastly, everyone has a bias. Everyone views things in different ways, and it is something that can’t be controlled. With art, everyone has a preference on style, including the teachers. Although art teachers do their best to stay unbiased, they still tend to grade art styles they favor more highly. Because of this, it is causing students to have to change their style to be more liked by the teacher, taking away the uniqueness of their style.
Some teachers claim that when grading work it is “about giving students feedback”. Whether it be because of shaky lines or poor shading, it helps the student know exactly what they need to work on. But that really depends on the teacher. Some teachers are able to give constructive feedback without discouraging the student. They go into detail on what needs to be worked on and highlights what was done really well. Other teachers simply slap a grade on the art piece with little to no explanation on what the student had done right and what they had done wrong, which often leaves the student frustrated and sometimes causes them to quit.
Art is not something that should be graded and viewed as either “good” or “bad” but rather as a form of self-expression. With artwork being graded, it takes this away from the students and can discourage them from continuing to create art whether it is because they compared themselves to other students or their teacher disapproves of their art style. Art classes should not be a graded course but rather a safe space to have creative freedom.
