"[My sophomore] and I were talking about Fine Arts Options. Can you give me an idea of classes that would fill that roll? We’ll do Greek Playrights this coming semester, but I think he would like to know what other options he would have to fill this slot."
The graduation requirements for Fine Arts and a list of courses can be found on the STAA Diploma Program page. The courses offered by St. Thomas Aquinas Academy are:
• ART PRAC & APPREC (AR3-B)
• GREEK PLAYWRIGHTS (GPW-B)
• ART & ARCHITECTURE I (AA1-A)
• ART & ARCHITECTURE II (AA2-A)
• SHAKESPEARE II (EL4, not EL1-B)
• Old World Art
Let us know what the brainstorming session with your son generates. Which courses from the catalog look appealing? What community-based activities that fall under the Fine Arts umbrella is he interested in?
"I remember a conversation we had a while back about community activities that would fill the class requirement. Music lessons and is it correct that art lessons would fill that as well? I don’t see Art Lessons listed, but I have a vague memory of discussing this with you. If they do in fact fill the requirement, are there any stipulations for an Art Class to fill the requirement?"
Formal art lessons will work. The regular stipulations for Non-STAA Courses apply to art lessons: The course needs to be formal and rigorous enough to be considered appropriate for high school, it earns credit according to time tracked in course activities (75 hours = one semester), and it needs to have an instructor that gives lessons or an adult that supervises working through instructional materials and grades assignments. A good benchmark for what qualifies here is the book Artistic Pursuits from the Art Prac & Apprec (AR3-B) course. The lessons or coursework in all art courses need to be at least as structured and challenging as Artistic Pursuits.