The Public Curriculum of Orderly Images

Abstract

There is a public curriculum inherent in the orderly images, and in the order in which these images are presented and seen in art museums. This voluntary public-access “curriculum,” selected differently by each visitor, offers both interesting challenges and useful metaphors for educators working in more structured settings. School educators, like art museum educators, help to develop students' abilities to see and hear the stories visible and accessible in the world around them; at our best, we develop skills for a lifetime of learning, learning that is sometimes most effective when it is unexpected and informal.