We live in a culture of letters and numbers; educators focus on developing “literacy” and even “numeracy” in students. Education in art is left behind or marginalized, and we have no word signifying the artistic equivalent of “literacy”. Few people are comfortable talking about art, or have confidence in their artistic tastes. Recognizing this, Philip Yenawine, former Director of Education at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and Abigail Housen (Ed.D.), developed an art education curriculum focused on developing abilities to think about and discuss works of art. In 1995 they formed VUE, to study aesthetic and cognitive development that results from interactions with art, and to develop a program for schools and museums in aesthetic development, but also critical thinking and language skills, called Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS). Their work is not only excellent and gaining broad acceptance on its own terms, but it has huge implications for education generally—getting kids to think for themselves on the basis of evidence, and to express those thoughts effectively with others. That is why George Soros’ Open Society Institute supported the dissemination of this curriculum in former Soviet Union countries. See it on VUE’s website, and you may want to support it yourself.