Bill Maxwell Stadium, originally built for a 2A school holds over a thousand people every home football game. However, the new Performing Arts Center [PAC], built for a larger school, holds fewer people. Though larger than the old TMS auditorium, not every seat will be filled during performances.

While sports have proven to be very beneficial for students who participate in them, many students have found their talents elsewhere. The art programs at Tahoma are very undervalued and overlooked as easy “A” classes or non-strenuous side hobbies.

Many students who are in the theater arts program spend anywhere between 2-5 hours per day, rehearsing, working on lines at school. Then when they get home, even those with few lines rehearse for another 0.5-2 hours practicing lines and working on developing their character. Some even give up to 8 hours of their weekends to help build sets and organize areas backstage.

  Arts are more than a hobby for numerous students. They dedicate a large portion of their time to practice their art and often present it. After we moved to the new high school, there is a lack of storage for art supplies and projects. Junior Kyla Peda argued, “I, feel that if a person is bad at math or science they are claimed to be not as smart, but if you are bad at arts it’s okay because not everyone has that strong suit.”

In academic classes, rigid curriculum structure limits the creative activity of students because their classwork is not always original. Art courses can help boost relaxation and creativity which have been proven to help in academic classes. Writing in school follows strict guidelines and is scored for how well you can follow a rubrics and guidelines. This causes students to dread having to write essays because they feel that they are not good at writing or are bored with them because their writing is, for the most part, all the same as their peers.     

The benefits of art go well beyond a boost in the grade book, in developmental years it is important to be exposed to the many different forms of arts. According to PBS exposure to the arts help children to expand their “visual learning, cultural awareness, and motor skills.” Students who participate in artistic programs are more likely to be “recognized for Academic achievement”(PBS.org). Former Secretary of the Department of Education, Richard Riley said that “the arts can play a vital role in learning how to learn.” Learning and participating in some form of art can help to enrich students minds and enhance academic abilities.

Creativity is hindered by the lack of artistic freedom in common core classes. Students are taught to write and think about problems in uniform ways that make it tough to distinguish between themselves and other students. While math can teach problem-solving skills students lack the ability to think about how to apply those skills they attain to their life because they become so focused to only putting them to the problems they face in class.

Art electives are widely taken, however very few students take art and drama to become well versed in the culture and opportunities surrounding both activities. Despite those who take higher level art electives, people who are in art electives are often looking for ‘easy As’ that boost their GPAs. Students are required to take a year’s worth of fine arts credit, but many opt for the low-level difficulty classes to easily pass the class and boost their GPA.

“On time and under budget,” has become a well-known phrase amongst the Maple Valley community. With the new high school being built so low under budget, multiple students wonder why more money was not allocated to more arts programs. Hollywood has given arts the reputation that those voluntarily involved with them are the geeks and those involved in spots are the jocks. This causes students to disregard the importance of art and some even resent the requirements that are needed for fine arts. They would rather spend time dedicated to sports which are not a required for graduation.