The students who entered college in the fall of 1985 will have working careers spanning the years from 2001 to 2039 and live in retirement from 2039 to 2053. In the current preoccupation with preparing graduates of 2001 to get jobs using the technology of 1985, seldom is a distinction made between what makes life possible and what makes life worth living. Mistaken assumptions that seem to be commonly accepted include: the purpose of education for society is to contribute to the nation's economy and to the gross national product; the most urgent need in the curriculum is more science, math, and computing; and the arts are essentially frills to be offered as time allows. The failure of the National Commission on Excellence in Education to include the arts among its "Five New Basics" reflects the commission's obsession with the computer and its view of children in terms of their future roles in the marketplace and their potential contributions to international competition. Three goals developed by Music Educators National Conference for serving the needs of the class of 2001 include: (1) By 1990, every student, K-12, shall have access to music instruction in the schools, with the curriculum of every elementary and secondary school, public and private, including a balanced, comprehensive, and sequential program of music instruction taught by a qualified teacher; (2) By 1990, every high school shall require at least one unit of credit in the arts for graduation (the arts being defined as music, visual arts, theater, and dance); (3) By 1990, every college university shall require at least one unit of credit in the arts for admission. (LH)