By Graham Armknecht ‘18
The ROUNDUP

With the breadth of experiences that Brophy has to offer, it’s hard to say that the Arts aren’t important to students.

The arts are a quintessential part to learning, considering that it’s the main creative outlet for most students.

And being creative helps to build problem solving into our brains, which is useful later on in life.

Brophy seems to agree; with plenty of different clubs and electives to choose from, the arts come in all shapes and sizes.

Some schools might argue that the arts aren’t important as the core subjects. Some cut budgets for their arts programs, arguing that the core curriculum is more important than the arts.

However, this is a major fallacy to think that the arts aren’t at least as important or more important than the core subjects. The arts help students build problem solving skills, but they also give students a much needed break in their days. The mental shift from core classes to a creative topic is a huge relief for students and is needed in our everyday lives.

“As the director of Brophy Student Theater, an actor and a musician, I think that it’s a great way to express myself in who I feel,” said Derby Reeves ’17. “It also helps me communicate things that can’t explained as well as with words.”

And there are many great ways on campus to express ourselves: the Fine Arts Extravaganza is a great outlet for students to express themselves, whether it be reading a piece for BLAM, putting photography and art on display in the Great Hall, or performing with a band in the Blackbox Theater.

“I use the arts, whether it be acting, writing, or drawing.” said Jack Rose ’16. “It’s a great way for me to express myself, and it’s a great experience for the mind and soul.”

Today, being able to think critically and creatively is becoming more and more of a requirement in the classroom with teachers trying to engage in discussions more often instead of relying on lectures to drill information into students’ heads.

The arts also help students learn to rely on each other, and learn from each other. With technology making things more accessible, learning from each other has become much easier, since communication now happens with a few simple keystrokes.

With learning and technology evolving at the rate it is, the arts are becoming more and more important to gain critical thinking skills, and learn how to solve problems in the evolving day and age.