It also gives me great personal satisfaction to know that through the Gardner textbook I am teaching high school as well as college students. Now to answer the other aspect of your question, namely what students should glean from an introductory course in art history, if one is offered at their school. I think instructors should have two paramount goals. A global history of art can also be a tool for teaching students about such other subjects as geography, history, religion, etc. I can't begin to count the number of times in my own life that I've become interested in a place, person or event through a work of art that first appealed to me on purely aesthetic grounds.
Art is one of the first things dropped from school budgets.
But I would add that although I never aspired to be either a professional artist or a professional musician or singer or actor, I can't imagine having grown up with a curriculum that excluded art, music and drama. Music and drama teachers and studio art teachers have articulated a host of arguments why these subjects belong in a K-12 curriculum. The Texty goes to the best college textbook of the year in the humanities and social sciences and the McGuffey is a special prize for a textbook that has demonstrated excellence over several editions. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you.