导读：Task：Art classes like painting and drawing are important to students’ development and should be made compulsory in high school. To what extent do you agree or disagree?解析：2017年雅思开山之“作”就是一道旧题重现，原题出现在2014年12月20日，似乎预示着2017年雅思写作即将开始2014、2015年原题的重现之旅!本题问，艺术课程
Task：Art classes like painting and drawing are important to students’ development and should be made compulsory in high school. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
解析：
2017年雅思开山之“作”就是一道旧题重现，原题出现在2014年12月20日，似乎预示着2017年雅思写作即将开始2014、2015年原题的重现之旅!
本题问，艺术课程(比如绘画)对学生的发展非常重要，那么是否应该在高中成为必修课?这个问题可能真的见仁见智。赞同者会认为，艺术课程可以帮助高中生走出自我天地(go out of their shell)交到更多朋友，帮助他们锻炼智力从而提到其学业成绩，甚至还可以帮助学生锻炼性格等;反对者则会认为，艺术课程不能帮助学生找工作，因此是浪费时间，而且很多学生不喜欢艺术，强迫他们学习不会有任何好处。那么，就这个问题，我们的观点似乎可以采取折中路线：艺术课程应该成为高中必修课，但应该限制课时数，同时大力发展艺术方面的俱乐部，让那些对艺术真正感兴趣的学生能够得到发展，同时又不过多浪费那些的确没有艺术天分学生的时间和精力。
7分范文:
When the news came that art classes such as music, painting and drawing would be made mandatory in my high school, it was met with both approvals and objections. This mixed response reflects the different attitudes towards the role of art in the education of high school students.
Those who stand up for art classes argue that art is so important to the students’ development that it should be made compulsory. By taking art classes, students may come out of their shell socially and make friends with those with similar interests. Furthermore, rather than a waste of time, taking art classes can actually help students with other subjects such as maths and physics. The theory is that art can help exercise our mental power (imagination, for example) and make us smarter. More importantly, art calls for persistent practice and unyielding stamina, which are also important qualities that we expect our students to possess.
Objections of art classes as required mainly come from those who think art classes are a waste of time because they are not useful to students. Except for the very few who may take art as their lifelong career, the great majority of students will not get a job in relation to art when they finish their high school. Besides, what is the point of compelling a student who has no interest in art to spend many hours restlessly in the art classes?
To my mind, art classes should become compulsory in high school. The objective of education is not just to let students acquire the basic practical survival skills, but to prepare them for the future life, both physically and mentally. With this in mind, we can safely conclude that the time spent on art will be rewarding in the long run. Of course, the schools should be very careful when deciding on the required hours that should be spent on art classes.
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