Essay plan.

Should drama be compulsory in school?

Intro:
Drama - ranging from theatre in education to drama in education, incorporates ideas such as morals and history such as Shakespeare.

Sides: compulsory / not compulsory.


Points:

Positive aspects of having drama as a compulsory subject:

1. Learning of aesthetics and appreciation of the arts.
Learning drama may enable students to understand and better appreciate the arts better making society a more civilized one.

2. Stimulates the student’s minds.
Drama is a subject which is flexible and free style whereby students expressed themselves in ways that they deemed fit engaging their creativity and help to stimulate their minds. In addition, unrehearsed dramas also stimulates students’ critical thinking.

3. Cultural exchange.
By studying other types of dramas ranging from Chinese opera and shakespears” plays, students may be able to understand and appreciate other cultures.


Counter argument:

1. Drama is a normative subject and making it compulsory may go against the objectives of drama as students will be forced to learn through route learning and may be more focused on passing the subject rather than being stimulated and being creative.

2. Though drama may allow students to appreciate the arts better, such skills though important may not be able to help the economy of the country which may be more important especially in developing countries. Shifting resources from drama to other subjects such as maths and Science would be more worthwhile to the country and its economy.

3. Instead of appreciating other cultures, some students may not take the plays seriously and may show disrespect to other cultures and make fun of them.


Exception
4. Raises issues of society.
However, making drama compulsory may actually benefit society as a whole. Students will learn issues mentioned in plays such as Macbeth and Oliver Twist that relates problems of society like poverty and widening income gaps though expressed during the age of industrialization is still being experienced today. Students studying such plays may be more aware of the issues of society and may act upon these issues. But this is only just an exception.

Conclusion :
In conclusion, drama should not be made compulsory as doing so would undermine the learning objectives of learning drama. Students may be less inclined to learn and appreciate the arts, developing countries may have difficulties to kickstart the economy and students may make fun of other cultures which may be detrimental to the country’s reputation and bilateral ties should drama be made compulsory?