ABSTRACT
Art educators must earn curricular status, then convince the public that the arts deserve that status. The process of achieving curricular status for the arts will be long and difficult, but the very survival of arts programs depends upon the success of arts educators in attaining this goal. Curricular teachers evaluate a student's effort and progress in relation to the objectives of the course and assign a grade based on the student's work. Arts educators must replace "the arts are fun" with "the arts are curricular," then make their high-quality artwork enjoyable through high-quality teaching. Arts professionals can consider themselves to be successful if they share equally in budget reductions, rather than bearing the brunt of those reductions. Arts curricula must address the needs of the general as well as the exceptionally talented student and of both the future consumer and the future artist.
