Art With Coles

Journey West 
Staff Writer
  At Bonneville High School (BHS), students have many electives they can take to brighten their school experiences. From sports to the fine arts, students can find ways to express themselves. One class that is mostly about expressing themselves is the art class taught by Jason Coles. Coles received his masters degree in art and education, so he could follow his passions of teaching and creating art. Coles believes the importance of art class is to let students creatively express themselves, which he believes helps them become more well-rounded people. He also believes that by taking art classes, students can enrich their lives. By showing his art and examples Coles inspires creativity in his students' work. Coles explains that the most fulfilling thing about taking the art class is students being able to create and express their own original ideas.  To help students let the creative juices start flowing, Coles teaching philosophy is “just to have fun”.
  Coles has been teaching art at BHS for eight years. In his several years of teaching, he believes that the most difficult part of teaching art is getting students not to compare their work to somebody else's because art is subjective. Due to the fact many students do not have enough time to finish projects during class, Coles wishes the period was longer. Like many fine arts teachers, Coles feels that the fine arts, which are art, music, and theater, are underrepresented compared to other electives at BHS. 
   A student taking Coles' class provided a few of his opinions regarding his experience. He said that he is taking the class because he enjoys drawing and wants to improve his skills. The student’s favorite thing about the class is that he gets to draw with his friends. He enjoys the multiple options that students can choose from to inspire their art. His only downside about the class is the lack of extra credit activities and the lack of time that students have to complete projects. Overall, it seems that the art class seems to be favored by students because it is a break from normal school work and many use it as a chance to express themselves.

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