From stick figures and smiley faces to detailed portraits all over classwork, drawing in class is common behavior for some students. It often happens when a student is bored or loses interest in their class and others find it to be absolutely helpful. 

How is art defined? It is a form of human expression, through the use of imagination and creative skill. 

Erick Garcia, a junior at WJPS said, “It doesn’t really help my focus, it’s just that my focus is already so lost I just start drawing. I draw if I’m stressed or just lost in my thoughts daydreaming.”

Drawing has been proven to be able to destress people. It allows them to unwind and serves as a distraction from the real world. It allows people to expand their memories, reveal their inner emotions, it can even help improve problem solving skills.

While many of the teachers call out students for drawing in their class, WJPS’s art teacher, Ms. Meneses, said, “For some people, they have to draw in order to concentrate. It depends on the person. They’re drawing in class not because they draw just to draw, because they don’t want to pay attention, there’s people that actually need to draw in order to obtain information and to process it.”