The Student Newspaper of Oxford Academy

The Gamut

The Gamut

The Gamut

Oxford pathways stifle creative potential

Oxford+pathways+stifle+creative+potential
Sam Salubre

As one of the top-ranked public high schools in California, Oxford Academy is recognized for its college-and-career focus, yet lacks support for students pursuing the arts and humanities. Four Career Technical Education (CTE) pathways are offered — biotechnology, engineering, entrepreneurship, and computer science — however, with three STEM pathways and a business pathway, there is an evident absence of any pathways focusing on the arts. 

 

This lack of diversity restricts students whose passions lie in creative disciplines, and it doesn’t provide the true career-preparatory education Oxford promotes. The school should broaden the variety of pathways offered to include arts and humanities pathways that would fully encompass the interests of students.  

 

Out of the 11 high schools in the Anaheim Union High School District, Oxford is the only school that does not offer any arts or humanities CTE pathways. Pathways involving film, culinary arts, law, and design are commonplace at other schools within the district, yet are underrepresented at Oxford. 

 

The lack of creative pathways marginalizes individuals with genuine interests in arts and humanities subjects, deterring the exploration of pathways that aren’t STEM-oriented. The current pathway options undermine the potential of students pursuing creative disciplines, disadvantaging students who cannot access career education that reflects their interests. 

With a lack of resources and opportunities, creatives have to explore outside of school for education that supports their endeavors. 

 

The current CTE pathways do not wholly represent the array of pursuable career paths, as creative pathways such as film and design are present in many colleges; Oxford should add a pathway that demonstrates the prevalence of creative disciplines in higher education. Moreover, college institutions value students with a liberal arts background; both UC Berkeley and MIT mandate that students complete an art and literature course regardless of their major. Prestigious universities are more impressed by well-rounded students who have experience in arts and humanities than those whose experience is limited to STEM subjects. 

 

Although small class sizes may be a concern, high schools with similar class sizes have implemented art-based pathways. Whitney High School in Cerritos, a college preparatory school with a 179-student class size, has five CTE pathways, four of which are art pathways: digital media, dance, performing arts, and design/media arts.  An arts and humanities pathway is not impossible for Oxford—in a survey regarding career pathways at Oxford, 168 student respondents indicated that Oxford’s pathway options were limited and not representative of industries that don’t involve STEM or business. 

 

If Oxford promises to foster the growth of future doctors and engineers, there also should be support for future filmmakers and artists. Whether it be film, design, or law, one thing is clear: an art or humanity pathway will amplify the creative expression of students. 

About the Contributors
Nathan Perera, Staff Writer
Nathan Perera will be beginning his second year in Gamut as a writer. He enjoys writing A&E, alternating between scathing reviews to praiseful columns. Writing is at the heart of Nathan’s passion, having first joined the Gamut to become part of a group of people that shared his love for writing. In addition, he is also the Vice President of the Creative Writing Club at Oxford Academy. Outside of school, he enjoys thrillers and dramas in the form of both books and TVs. “Cruel Summer” is among his favorite TV shows. He also enjoys alternative rock and pop. Lana Del Rey is his favorite artist, and his favorite album from her is Norman F. Rockwell. When asked what he likes most about her songs, he admitted he loved everything about it, ranging from their attractive visuals to heartfelt lyrics. Nathan is excited for the rest of his time in Gamut and Oxford, and he will continue to follow his passion for writing. 
Sam Salubre, Senior Staff Artist
Sam Salubre, or Wild, joined the Gamut staff as a freshman who was approached by our previous advisor, Mrs. Galvan. Sam is one of our illustrators at the Gamut and they were inspired by minecraft youtubers and Undertale as a third grader. Since they were inspired by Undertale, it's only obvious to guess that they love video games, such as Genshin Impact and Pokemon. Not only are the games fun to play but they’ve learned about different artstyles from the animation. Salubre is from the Philippines but hates a certain Filipino sour soup even though they like sour candies. Funny, imaginative and a good role model, Salubre can often be found sipping on a mango shake or a peach-flavored soda from 89 ranch market. Now as a senior at Oxford Academy, they’re looking forward to working with the new staff members and improving on the Gamslam the most!
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Oxford pathways stifle creative potential