You have raised interesting and worthwhile questions for all of us in the museu
m field to ponder. Let the dialogue begin! I have recently been asked to
participate in a dialogue with many other museum educators by Project Zero
at Harvard School of Education. Project Muse is designed to help art museums
become integral to education and not just a field trip extra. The philosophy a
nd attitude you presented is part of the initiative which changes the focus of
the museum visit from subject/content orientation to the activity of learning.
The theory of multiple intelligences is also in evidence in the first project
they are asking professionals to evaluate. It is a "game" based on a series
of prompter questions which can be used in a variety of settings either by a
single person or a pair or a group. It seems like an excellent point of
departure for us all. I'm looking foward to hearing from museum people about
how they feel about this important shift in approaches to learning.