'In this smart survival guide for students and teachers—the only book for its kind—James Elkins examines the "curious endeavour to teach the unreachable" that is generally known as college-level art instruction.

Elkins traces the development (or invention) of the modern art school and considers how issues such as the validity of the core curriculum and the intellectual isolation of art schools affect the teaching and learning of art. He also addresses the phenomenon of art critiques as a microcosm for teaching art and dissects real-life critiques, highlighting presuppositions and dynamics that make them confusing and suggesting ways to make them more helpful.

Elkin's no-nonsense approach clears away the assumptions about art instruction that are not borne out by classroom practice. For example, he notes that despite much talk about instilling visual acuity and teaching technique, in practice neither teachers nor students behave as if those were their principal goals. He also discusses types of art that cannot be learned in studio art classes, including art that takes time to complete and art that isn't serious. 

"We know very little about what we do" in the art classroom, Elkins observes. His incisive commentary illuminates the experience of learning art for those involved in it, while opening an intriguing window for those outside the discipline.'-from the back cover