Are we Prejudiced?

Okay, posting maybe after ages in this forum. This was something that has been going on in my head since a long time. I gave my 10th this year, and now I have to choose a stream for myself for +1 and +2.

I asked my friends, what they'd be taking, and they went like, either Science or Commerce. Out of curiousity, I asked them, why not Arts? They were like, what future do we have from arts anyway? My parents would never let me take arts.

One guy's answer really sort of had me thinking. He said, he can't take Arts, cause that'll be an insult to him.

My question is, why is Arts sort of underestimated in comparison to Science or even Commerce for that matter?

Fine, there are numerous options through Science, but Arts has its own specialty as well.

Are people prejudiced over Science? Why is Arts as a subject looked down upon?

I think a lot depends on aptitude and interest.

Originally posted by: Summer3

I think a lot depends on aptitude and interest.

But then studies are not a hobby but a career and a decision has to be made. It is better to excel in Arts then to fail in Science or commerce.

Generally the best brains have always taken Science. Science and Commerce have generally provided the largest job opportunities I think. But I thought taking up arts one can also study law, now law is pretty challenging and pretty rewarding too.

Maybe, but that doesn't mean Arts provides any less opportunities na?
And if someone excels in Arts, they say, what's the big deal? It's so easy to score in arts?
Maybe not all know, but arts is much more difficult compared to science

Originally posted by: utfracks

Maybe, but that doesn't mean Arts provides any less opportunities na?
And if someone excels in Arts, they say, what's the big deal? It's so easy to score in arts?
Maybe not all know, but arts is much more difficult compared to science

These day a lot of people are also going into IT etc. Art can be challenging too but i do not know what subjects are covered by Arts these days. could vary with colleges and countries too.

Yeah, it depends ultimately on what a person wants to do. But if a person wants to do something like maybe Designing, or something like that, Parents still discourage them and force them to take Science and do IIT and stuff. Isn't that called being prejudiced?

Originally posted by: utfracks

Yeah, it depends ultimately on what a person wants to do. But if a person wants to do something like maybe Designing, or something like that, Parents still discourage them and force them to take Science and do IIT and stuff. Isn't that called being prejudiced?

Yes you are right. Often Parents are not aware and it would be good to discuss with some person who can give career guidance.

Conventionally,brighter students opt for Science and Commerce.It is believed that Arts students are non-studious..its a stupid harsh fact which needs to be changed.

Arts Is for babies to play around with.

For those who do not know the Indian system. After SSC (10th grade) you pick a stream for your HSC (11th & 12th grade). These three streams are arts, commerce and science. The optional subjects you get for the next two years are based on the stream you pick. Physics, chemistry, biology, advanced mathematics is in Science. Accounting, Financial management etc is in commerce. Arts has foreign languages and social sciences. (Its arts not fine arts).

Science is best for those who want to pursue medicine, engineering or other science related careers. Commerce is best for those who plan for CA, banking & finance and other related fields. Arts is best for those who plan for law, politics, media etc. Of course this is just a basic list, the career potentials are exponential. Arts is actually the broadest because social sciences has a wider scope than people actually know off.

The bias against arts is two fold.
1) The professions associated with arts are not highly rated. Even though it has lucrative career options in India medicine, engineering or finance related fields are the gold standard.
2) Due to the desirability of science and then commerce getting in is more challenging. Hence these fields are associated with the smartest and brightest scorers. Consequently, even people who actually plan for arts related careers choose science or commerce due to prestige.

Yes, Indians are very prejudiced when it comes to academics. They have a very myopic vision of what a successful career is and tend to be prejudiced against other career choices. Hence 'arts' tends to be associated with the rejects.

I did my 11th and 12th in arts. Why? Because arts appealed to me more. My SSC scores were not fabulous. But they were decent. I applied to both arts and science - because I was not sure if I was able to be the rebel or wanted to be the conformist. I did get into both science and arts at good colleges. (Field hockey did play a part in some of my science acceptances) In the end I picked arts. I picked arts in the best arts college I had applied to, even though it meant giving up field hockey.

My whole family (parents and extended) supported my decision. However, I have never heard the end of it from friends and society. Why arts? You did well in SSC right? OMG! You got into science and did not take it? What will you do with arts? You could still have taken science and done what you want right? In fact years after SSC when I decided to do a bachelors in marketing, I still got flak from people on why I did not switch fields or why I never took accounting & finance as my business major.

But you know what, all those people were just a bunch of ignorant idiots and they all could shove their attitudes up theirs. I'm happy with my decisions. I'm not a science or numbers person, I'm an arts person and have done well with it. And I was not going to be the one wasting a science seat when I knew I would never go into a science field and ruin the chances of someone who wanted science maybe. There are way too many kids in science who are just wasting seats because or parents or social pressure and thats just unfair.

On a broader note - the whole system of science, arts, commerce is bogus. A 16 year old is not in the right place in life to make a big career decision. They should have the ability to take a variety of subjects in various fields so that they can soon find what they enjoy and are good at.

It's all because of the way the Indian system is build up, where there is a subtle showing-off among the people, where the children are the pawns, in a way. People want their children to be doctors, engineers, etc... to prove how prestigious their families are. Arre mera baccha doctor ban, gaya, yeah bana gaya, woh ban gaya, aur aapka baccha, accha accha woh arts mein kar raha hain? However, people at the back of their minds are considering to be the arts to be inferior, maybe because of the type of work done, like painting etc.., how can you earn a living out of that? Basically, they maybe percieving arts as not such a lucrative job, with a type of monotony and little scope, and a bit demeaning, as it does not require much intellgence. Science on the other hand, is very rewarding and has a lot of scope, and is also a measure of how well a person has worked and the IQ. There are exceptions, of course, but for the most part, science is most rewarding because of:

• Family pride
• More opportunities
• More respected in society

However, times are changing, and more people are going into arts than before, but it is still in the making in the prejudiced society, where dowry, caste system etc.. still exists.