Art is loosely known to be a stress reliever for most people — this is especially true for me. I’ve been drawing, painting and coloring for as long as I can remember and I had high hopes for the art classes I enrolled myself in freshman year.

But, much to my dismay, when I walked out of the Drawing I my first day  had no ambition of ever going back. I was hoping that the teacher would allow us to draw whatever we please and guide us when we needed help, but instead we were given objects to draw and homework to complete.

None of these assignments ever struck something inside of me that encouraged me to draw. Instead of giving art students assignments and homework, the subject and manner in which students create their art should be up to them and simply facilitated by the teacher.

Similar to most activities that rest on the idea creativity and enjoyment, output of art cannot be forced. Some of the greatest artists of our generation and of generations’ past, their art was created from an emotional supernova of feelings, not from an assignment their instructors gave them.

This isn’t to say that all art classes are bad and a waste of time. It is necessary to teach the basics of drawing such as, achieving form, color theories, and sketching styles. But the cutoff for ‘teaching’ should end there and then students should be allowed to create art on their own, from whatever motivations and inspirations strike them.

Lastly, most art classes are graded by how well the artist did on his or her piece. This form of grading can seem frightening to students that aren’t as well developed as others, but if art students were given guidelines for their art projects are graded based on participation and completion, then many more students would be willing to take art classes and practice their art and abilities.