“America needs its artists and intellectuals, and they need to re-establish their rightful place in the general culture.  If we could reopen the conversation between our best minds and the broader public, the results would not only transform society but also artistic and intellectual life.  There is no better place to start this rapprochement than in arts education.  How do we explain to the larger society the benefits of this civic investment when they have been convinced that the purpose of arts education is to produce more artists, which is hardly a compelling argument to the average taxpayer.  We need to create a new national consensus.  The purpose of arts education is not to produce more artists, though that is a by-product.  The real purpose of arts education is to create complete human beings capable of leading successful and productive lives in a free society.”

-Dana Gioia, “The Impoverishment of American Culture,” 2007.