According to the Program of Studies, Scituate High School “fosters students’ reading, writing, calculating, problem-solving, critical thinking skills, and creative expression” to prepare students to become “contributing members of their community and of the multicultural, global society.” With the recent elimination of studies, students now have more opportunities to take classes that are interesting to them.

As you scroll through the Program of Studies, there are long lists of business, English, science, music, and history class offerings. However, the art department is severely lacking. In order to graduate, students must earn four credits from fine or performing arts classes. The options available are not nearly enough. Some students pick the easiest art classes and dedicate minimal effort to their work. If there were specialized art classes appealing to more students, the effort and interest would increase. Students may even take more than the required art credits, furthering their important education in the arts. In addition, students would have more opportunities to express their creativity. 

One course that could be offered is fashion design. 

It is clear that fashion is something students are interested in. The results of a survey asking about interest in a fashion class expressed that 54% of students were interested in fashion and the idea of a fashion class, and out of the remaining 45%, 36% said they wanted to learn more about it.

The teachers of SHS surely remember the outrage that dress codes provoked in students only a few years ago. One of the leading philosophies of Scituate High School’s art department is to foster self-expression. Expression through clothing is one of the most important things to many teenagers, often generating fights with parents over what they can and cannot wear. Learning the basics of clothing design, as well as having an opportunity to design their own clothing would undoubtedly be valued by students and give them a new and different media for creativity in their artwork.

SHS art teacher Jessica Maguire commented, “The creativity we nurture in art classes will help students in other parts of their lives.” Increased interest in art classes and more involvement will also allow students to develop critical thinking skills and think outside of the box–both benefits of creativity. If a student can also explore an interest in fashion design, options for college majors or jobs after graduation can be opened. A student’s life path could be discovered just through one new class, allowing them to become contributing members of their community. 

Both Mrs. Maguire and Mrs. Hickey teach their own children how to sew, a beneficial skill to learn, not just in art class but for everyday life as well. Learning to sew provides many advantages in life. For one, it saves money. Families won’t have to spend as much on new clothes as small rips and tears can be repaired quickly. Having students learn how to sew their clothes can also help with the fast fashion problem in the world as they can sew things they like and want to wear, rather than buying clothes made by children in sweatshops, only to be worn a couple of times before falling apart or out of trend. One fascinating benefit is that sewing helps students with math. The preparation for sewing involves lots of calculations involving fractions and geometry. Measuring out fabrics and seam allowances can only help students in their education. 

Of course, there are always downsides to having specialized classes. Mrs. Hickey brought up two important points: there would need to be an Intro to Design class, and one hour isn’t enough to get things done. An Intro to Design class would have to focus on the basics of design; however, this class could also appeal to students interested in graphic design and interior design. Mrs. Hickey and Mrs. Maguire both said they would be happy to teach this class (as long as they had time for it). A one-hour period isn’t enough time to work on projects being designed in a fashion class, but the skills learned in the design process could be separated into different levels to take over the course of high school.

Quincy High School does something similar: they offer Fashion Design 1, Fashion Design 2, Fashion Major 1, and Fashion Major 2. Offering multiple classes introduces the students to fashion first–instead of compressing everything into one class. This allows more time in the higher classes to design and less time for learning the process. 

A fashion design class sounds expensive. However, quality sewing machines cost around $200, and a SHORE grant could buy five of them. Not every student would need to be at a sewing machine at the same time. The fabric could be brought in by students and provided by the school. But the fabric doesn’t just need to be used for these classes–it can also be used in 3D and 2D art. 

The skills learned in art classes have a positive influence on every aspect of a student’s life, and it’s important to encourage teenagers to get involved and motivated to express themselves and develop their creativity. Quincy is the only school on the South Shore that offers classes of this nature. Scituate could be at the forefront of fashion design for the rest of the region and state. It has been clearly shown that students want to take this class, teachers are available to teach it, and the downsides are minimal compared to the positives.

As plans are developed for next year’s Program of Studies, please consider the addition of design and fashion design classes to the Scituate High School curriculum.