This paper was delivered as a response to a presentation by Jan Kronberg MLC, Chair of the Education and Training Committee, Parliament of Victoria that published a report of the "Inquiry into the Extent, Benefits and Potential of Music Education in Victorian Schools." Her presentation and this response were part of a forum conducted by…

When art, music, and poetry are integrated into the art room, children can confront difficult themes in works of art and process information in highly personal ways (Jewitt & Kress, 2003). An arts classroom gives children the time and place to confront images of war and violence and decode the multiple levels of meaning (Arnold, 1997) found within…