--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Over the last forty years, many…" description: "\"“Over the last forty years, many educators, decision-makers, and even some parents have come to regard the arts as peripheral, and let’s face it, frivo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb2/betty-edwards-38897_art_over-the-last-forty-years-many-educators_1980335.jpg" --- # Over the last forty years, many educators… ![“Over the last forty years, many educators, decision-makers, and even some parents have come to regard the arts as peripheral, and let’s face it, frivolous—especially the visual arts, with their connotation of ”the starving artist” and the mistaken concept of necessary talent” quote by Betty Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb2/betty-edwards-38897_art_over-the-last-forty-years-many-educators_1980335.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb2/betty-edwards-38897_art_over-the-last-forty-years-many-educators_1980335.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb2/betty-edwards-38897_art_over-the-last-forty-years-many-educators_1980335.jpg) > ““Over the last forty years, many educators, decision-makers, and even some parents have come to regard the arts as peripheral, and let’s face it, frivolous—especially the visual arts, with their connotation of ”the starving artist” and the mistaken concept of necessary talent”” [Betty Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-edwards/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The arts are often dismissed as nonessential and frivolous, especially visual arts, due to stereotypes about talent and the “starving artist” myth. **In simple terms:** Arts are seen as optional and trivial because of talent myths. Key Takeaway Recognize and support the intrinsic value of arts education. Themes education arts perception stereotypes Mood reflective concerned Type educational advocacy When to use this quote - school curricula - community programs - parental attitudes - policy decisions Key Concepts cultural value creative development talent myth Questions to Reflect On - How can schools integrate arts without sacrificing core subjects? - What evidence shows arts improve overall learning? A Different Perspective Artistic skills also develop critical thinking and emotional intelligence, which are often overlooked. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Artist Mistaken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist-mistaken-3377047/) [Arts Connotation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arts-connotation-3377046/) [Arts Peripheral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arts-peripheral-3377048/) [Drawing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drawing/) [Educators](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/educators/) [Public schools](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-schools/) [Starving artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/starving-artist/) [Talent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talent/) [Visual arts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/visual-arts/) ## Related quotes > [I was a starving artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erika-jayne/i-was-a-starving-artist/) [Erika Jayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erika-jayne/) > [I didn't really go the starving-artist route. I kind of went and did massive, commercial things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashton-kutcher/i-didn-t-really-go-the-starving-artist-route-i-kind-of-went-and-did/) [Ashton Kutcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashton-kutcher/) > [“If you see me sitting at a dining room table with a clean plate and bowl in front of me, you’ll know it’s because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/if-you-see-me-sitting-at-a-dining-room-table-with-a-clean-plate-and/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [In college I took an acting class as a joke. It sounded like something fun and easy at the time. I had originally wanted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-graziadei/in-college-i-took-an-acting-class-as-a-joke-it-sounded-like-something/) [Michael Graziadei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-graziadei/) > [“People who enjoy the struggles of a gym are the ones who run triathlons and have chiseled abs and can bench-press a small house.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-manson/people-who-enjoy-the-struggles-of-a-gym-are-the-ones-who-run/) [Mark Manson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-manson/) > [In my early days, I was about 145 pounds. I was really a starving artist; the poster child for starving artists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/creed-bratton/in-my-early-days-i-was-about-145-pounds-i-was-really-a-starving/) [Creed Bratton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/creed-bratton/) > [I don't want to give people the wrong advice to follow their dreams no matter what, because it's not fun to be a starving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjorie-liu/i-don-t-want-to-give-people-the-wrong-advice-to-follow-their-dreams/) [Marjorie Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjorie-liu/) > [“I think that most artists scorned would prefer to be known as the one with the genius brain risking no career over the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/i-think-that-most-artists-scorned-would-prefer-to-be-known-as-the-one/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [“Sometimes the gap between what you are and what you want to be is a little piece of paper called your college degree. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-rachelle/sometimes-the-gap-between-what-you-are-and-what-you-want-to-be-is-a/) [Joyce Rachelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-rachelle/) > [I'm an entrepreneur, a businessman. I've got a lot of money, and that doesn't go very well with the whole 'starving artist in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-dennis/i-m-an-entrepreneur-a-businessman-i-ve-got-a-lot-of-money-and-that/) [Felix Dennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-dennis/) > [“ I was born, slipping on a symphony of broken melancholy; created of pencils and crayons; i was not supposed to be this way.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-sturgill/i-was-born-slipping-on-a-symphony-of-broken-melancholy-created-of/) [Emily Sturgill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-sturgill/) > [For the starving artist, opportunity is a must - for the weary dreamer procrastination is disgust.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rukiya-productions/for-the-starving-artist-opportunity-is-a-must-for-the-weary-dreamer/) [Rukiya Productions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rukiya-productions/) > [When I was writing my first novel a friend told me I should apply for a grant from the government that was offered to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-flynn/when-i-was-writing-my-first-novel-a-friend-told-me-i-should-apply-for/) [Vince Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-flynn/) > [I'm transitioning from being a starving artist. My producers had success outside of the Daniel Caesar brand, so they invested money, time and resources.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-caesar/i-m-transitioning-from-being-a-starving-artist-my-producers-had/) [Daniel Caesar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-caesar/) > [Starving artist' is acceptable at age 20, suspect at age 40, and problematical at age 60.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-genn/starving-artist-is-acceptable-at-age-20-suspect-at-age-40-and/) [Robert Genn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-genn/) ## More by Betty Edwards > [In early childhood, children develop a set of symbols that 'stand for' things they see in the world around them... Children are happy with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-edwards/in-early-childhood-children-develop-a-set-of-symbols-that-stand-for/) [Betty Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-edwards/) > [An individual's ability to draw is... the ability to shift to a different-from-ordinary way of processing visual information - to shift from verbal, analytic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-edwards/an-individual-s-ability-to-draw-is-the-ability-to-shift-to-a/) [Betty Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-edwards/) > [Be clear in your mind why learning to draw well is important. Drawing enables you to see in that special, epiphanous way that artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-edwards/be-clear-in-your-mind-why-learning-to-draw-well-is-important-drawing/) [Betty Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-edwards/) > [As a teacher and parent, I've had a very personal interest in seeking new ways of teaching. Like most other teachers and parents, I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-edwards/as-a-teacher-and-parent-i-ve-had-a-very-personal-interest-in-seeking/) [Betty Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-edwards/) > [Art has this long history, predating even language, of expressing nonverbal information.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-edwards/art-has-this-long-history-predating-even-language-of-expressing/) [Betty Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-edwards/) > [As parents, we can do a great deal to further this goal by helping our children develop alternative ways of knowing the world verbally/analytically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-edwards/as-parents-we-can-do-a-great-deal-to-further-this-goal-by-helping-our/) [Betty Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-edwards/) > [As each new skill is learned, you will merge it with those previously learned until, one day, you are simply drawing - just as,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-edwards/as-each-new-skill-is-learned-you-will-merge-it-with-those-previously/) [Betty Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-edwards/) > [Creativity is the ability to find new solutions to a problem or new modes of expression; thus it brings into existence something new to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-edwards/creativity-is-the-ability-to-find-new-solutions-to-a-problem-or-new/) [Betty Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-edwards/) > [“Paper: Some inexpensive plain bond paper A pad of Strathmore Drawing Paper, 80 lb., 11" × 14" Pencils: A #2 ordinary yellow writing pencil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-edwards/paper-some-inexpensive-plain-bond-paper-a-pad-of-strathmore-drawing/) [Betty Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-edwards/) > [Clearly the work of a master teacher who has deep knowledge of his subject and enormous empathy for his students and his readers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-edwards/clearly-the-work-of-a-master-teacher-who-has-deep-knowledge-of-his/) [Betty Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-edwards/) [Explore all 11 Betty Edwards quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-edwards/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) [Taf Teh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/) > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Over the last forty years, many educators, decision-makers, and even some parents have come to regard the arts as peripheral, and let’s face it, frivolous—especially the visual arts, with their connotation of ”the starving artist” and the mistaken concept of necessary talent”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Betty Edwards" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-edwards/over-the-last-forty-years-many-educators-decision-makers-and-even/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-edwards/over-the-last-forty-years-many-educators-decision-makers-and-even/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb2/betty-edwards-38897_art_over-the-last-forty-years-many-educators_1980335.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb2/betty-edwards-38897_art_over-the-last-forty-years-many-educators_1980335.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb2/betty-edwards-38897_art_over-the-last-forty-years-many-educators_1980335.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Over the last forty years, many educators, decision-makers, and even some parents have come to regard the…” — Betty Edwards", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Betty Edwards", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-edwards/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Over the last forty years, many...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-edwards/over-the-last-forty-years-many-educators-decision-makers-and-even/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-edwards/over-the-last-forty-years-many-educators-decision-makers-and-even/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```