ABSTRACT
Is this a typical statement by one of the many these days who regard the arts as unnecessary frills in education? One of the enemies of the arts in education? On the contrary, this is precisely what many teachers of the arts, arts-educators, and theorists of arts-education have been saying for years. That is, surprising as it may seem, in their attempt to support the case for the arts in education, many arts-educators continue to insist that the arts, by their very nature, cannot involve learning at all. In case you think that I exaggerate, let me cite a well known and influential artseducator who has stated explicitly that teachers who see drama in terms of learning are distorting the nature of the art form.1 I have every reason to believe that he holds similar views about the other arts. But I do not want to criticize any individual in particular, because the conception to which I am drawing attention is widely prevalent, although it is more usually an implicit consequence of what arts-educators say and write than stated explicitly. It is part of the rampant tide of subjectivism. Even those who are beginning to recognize the educational damage done to their own case by continuing to purvey this subjectivist thesis tend to fail to see how radically they need to change their fundamental thinking.
