Educators are obliged to stand up for children--to point out when the self-declared local "education emperor" (or mayor or governor) has no clothes. The so-called reform government has turned some local districts into a Wild West where schools share no common or sequential curriculum and all that matters is test scores. Music educators must join hands with others who are concerned about the direction of public education, to convince legislators and school leaders that all students in publicly funded schools must receive a balanced education. It should not matter whether children attend a science magnet middle school, a for-profit elementary charter school, or a technical high school specializing in left-handed pipefitters: "every child has a right to master the core curriculum." This right is the most important non-negotiable in education. In this article, the author focuses on children's right to study music, a core subject. Children simply cannot achieve success, much less lead full lives without balanced education that includes music and the other arts. (Contains 1 figure, 1 table, and 18 notes.)