The Arts and the Creation of Mind

"Eloquent."Library Journal The 2005 University of Louisville Grawemeyer Award in Education "Elliot Eisner is long regarded as one of the most eloquent and best informed of those critical of the technicism dominating so many schools. At once, he is known as a trailbreaker in contemporary efforts to make the artistic-aesthetic dimension of experience central in public educations classrooms. This book reimagines the kinds of reforms needed in education, as it brings together Eisners generative notions about learning and teaching, arts-based research, and (climactically) a conception of mind as process, a way of being in and acting upon the world. Encounters with the arts, Eisner tells us, can nurture and enrich mind in its becoming. The very idea of 'creation' in this context opens perspectives on ways of making 'mind' the beating heart of live and humane schools."Maxine Greene, Teachers College, Columbia University "Elliot W. Eisner is the preeminent spokesperson for the arts in education. Not since John Dewey has an American scholar written with such insight, power, and grace about the arts and the development of mind. Professor Eisner reveals, through the art of his own thought, the exciting role the arts can play in the education of the nations youth. This sensitive vision explains why the arts are justified in education on their own merits."Michael Day, professor in department of visual arts, Brigham Young University, author of Children and Their Art "This book is an eloquent addition to any art educators library. Eisners greatest gift is his ability to perceive and capture, making the ineffable richly apparent. This book represents his lifetime achievement in the arts through compelling discussions by many prominent arts educators. It resonates with Eisners work and provokes us to re-think all that we may take for granted. I highly recommend this volume for anyone interested in promoting or studying the arts in education."Rita C. Irvin, Professor, Department of Curriculum Studies, University of British Columbia "By illuminating the various ways that making and appreciating art are cognitive endeavors, Eisner invites us to celebrate the uniqueness of art education and entices us to explore the rich connections between thinking and learning in the arts and in other areas."Shari Tishman, Harvard University "In straightforward, accessible language, Eisner takes us deeply into the realm of the arts, a realm of unique, powerful meanings available nowhere else. A life without these meanings is a life impoverished, Eisner explains, and an education that neglects them is similarly impoverished. The arts, here, receive a cogent, richly argued justification as basic in education and in life."Bennett Reimer, author of A Philosophy of Music Education: Advancing the Vision

Elliot W. Eisner is Lee Jacks Professor of Education and Professor of Art at Stanford University.