William Wordsworth (1770-1850) has much to teach about arts education. However, the first question that many today might ask is, Should we listen to him at all? Wordsworth, some members of the postmodern academy have determined, was a bad man. He was unkind to his family and friends, they say, and they are uncomfortable with the politics he espoused later in life. Yet Wordsworth lives on, even in the academy; one cannot explain literary history without him. In this essay, the author discusses Wordsworth's legacy and his value to arts education--primarily through his message about the importance of the arts themselves. (Contains 8 notes.)