This is in response to an Auburn man who was quoted in the story (May 7) about the vote on Auburn’s school budget. He felt that courses such as photography and stained glass should be removed from the high school curriculum because they are stupid, noneducational and a waste of his tax money.

One of the goals of the visual arts curriculum is to learn how to create an original product. That is a very cerebral activity. Through art courses such as photography and stained glass, students are actively engaged in observing, perceiving, comparing, contrasting, composing, analyzing, critiquing, studying, planning, organizing, and working cooperatively. Besides developing strategies to accomplish those skills, students are constantly involved with problem-solving with regard to using materials, working within limitations, and using time efficiently. Those skills are necessary for any occupation.

Students also experience the intrinsic values of culture, community and aesthetics. The arts validate the emotional and spiritual journey of what it means to be human. The arts afford us the opportunity to enjoy a wonderful “natural” high. It’s the wholesome feeling that accompanies the creation of something that touches our hearts and souls. It’s the wholesome feeling that accompanies the knowledge that our work has enriched the lives of others, even if it is only displayed on the refrigerator door.

Linda Pomerantz, Auburn