Education that recognizes the interconnectedness of body, mind, emotions, and spirit. Enabling students to express perceptions, feelings and ideas through reflective shaping of media including paint, clay, music, spoken or written words, and bodies in movement. Also known as aesthetics education.
The focus of aesthetic education is to move beyond including the arts in the curriculum only because they pass on the cultural heritage of society or because they train students in skills that might lead to a worthwhile occupation such as a carpenter, musician, or painter in adult life. Many educators believe that aesthetic education should be infused in all classes, providing another hook for visual learners as they endeavor to incorporate new information into what they already know. Since students can learn to critically view art and relate it to their own lives, the emotional experience evoked by art can facilitate students' ability to remember newly learned material.