Do I have a future with arts?

Dec 18, 2007

<b>Dear Jamesa,<br>I am a Senior Six student, taking an arts combination. My choice of subjects is worrying me deeply. Shall I have anything productive to do with these subjects in life? Sometime back, a government official made a statement that there will be no jobs for teachers of art subjects. I

Dear Jamesa,
I am a Senior Six student, taking an arts combination. My choice of subjects is worrying me deeply. Shall I have anything productive to do with these subjects in life? Sometime back, a government official made a statement that there will be no jobs for teachers of art subjects. I am beginning to regret why I took this combination. Do I really have a future with these subjects? I need your help.
Collins, Masaka


Dear Collins,
Your preference for art subjects was not a mistake worth regretting. You must have made this choice on the basis of your ability and career prospects. Did you have any particular career in mind while choosing this subject combination? One question that bothers many students but you have not asked is: What makes some students take art subjects, while others do a science combination? There are several factors which determine the subject choice for students in A’ level.

Academic ability
You cannot choose subjects you are weak at. In fact, no school would allow you to choose a subject unless you scored a reasonable grade in it.

Preference and interest
Some students choose certain subjects because they have interest in them. Being good at a subject does not make you have interest in it.

Career direction
Did you know that by choosing subjects at A’level you are already sowing the first seeds in your career garden? The subjects you choose at A’level should be in line with the career you intend to pursue in life. For example, it is not proper for you to take an arts combination if you plan to pursue a career in medicine or engineering.

Pressure from parents
Although it is not proper, some parents dictate to their children to take particular subjects. Such children get frustrated and eventually lose their career direction.

Now that you have decided to take an arts combination, do you really have a future? The answer is ‘Yes’! A combination of art subjects is not a recipe for failure in the same way taking sciences is not a highway to success as some people might believe.

There are several career avenues which you can take with art subjects and teaching is just one of them. Even in teaching, the doors are not shut yet and teachers of art subjects still scale professional ladders if they are determined. Success in your career has nothing to do with arts or sciences; it all depends on your determination and how serious you are in your chosen field. There is no career that can be classified as ‘worthless’.

Anything you choose to do in life can push you to the top if you give yourself fully to it. What it takes for you to succeed in your chosen subject lies within you and not on the subject combination.

Do you have confidence in yourself? Do you believe in your ability? If you do, then a negative statement made by a government official should not discourage you. How can the dreams you have built over the years be shattered by a single statement?

You need to get more focused in order to make the best out of the subjects you have chosen. Remember, winners never quit and no faint-hearted fighter ever wins the battle.

Compiled by Jamesa Wagwau
Send your questions to
Education Vision, P.O. BOX 9815, Kampala OR
jwagwau@
newvision.co.ug
Any question received in
whatever form is deemed to be for publication


(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});