Teaching Students to Create and Appreciate Beauty

I greatly appreciate art, music, and live theater, but I am not an artist, musician, or actor. In fact, I think I appreciate the arts even more because I do not have these gifts. When people ask me about the fine and performing arts, I often joke that I am called to be in the audience ... but, to be honest, I am not really joking. Audience member (patron of the arts) is a vital role for a flourishing society. Schools have a crucial responsibility to encourage the appreciation of the arts in addition to teaching the creation of art and music.

Plato identified truth, beauty, and goodness as essential elements for a virtuous life and a flourishing society. However, beauty lights up our life in ways that truth and goodness do not; in fact, I can know truth and act with goodness, but still live a life of despair. Humans need to create and appreciate beautiful things, and one of the best ways to do that is through the fine and performing arts. 

The False ROI Mindset

Schools should lead the way in helping students and the overall society appreciate beauty and the arts. Unfortunately, since the No Child Left Behind Act in 2002 and its over-emphasis on test scores, schools have neglected the arts in favor of the more "measurable" subjects, like math and reading. This is a "Return on Investment" (ROI) mindset that has infected education. In short, subjects that lead to higher test scores, better school ratings, more college admissions, and, ultimately, higher alumni salaries are valued above subjects that do not provide those returns on investment. Although we often blame school districts and administrators for cutting the arts programs, blame falls more on our society as a whole ... and our ROI mindset with education.

The ROI mindset is killing the arts and, ultimately, our appreciation of beauty (and joy). We are economically rich and emotionally poor as a nation. It is no wonder that Bradley Birzer, a professor at Hillsdale College summarizing American culture in the State of the Nation report (2025), concluded, "We're so wealthy but so unhappy." 

Here are a few ways that schools can help bring back beauty and joy into our world.

Acknowledge God as Beauty Creator and Appreciator

First, we need to recognize God as the first and ultimate beauty creator. God's first quality on display was his creativity as he made the heavens and the earth. Educators should take seriously the call to train up students to be beauty creators, in reflection of our creator. God also was the original beauty appreciator as He paused at the end of creating each day, observed everything, and stated, "It is good." Teachers and students should regularly pause to look at God's creation around us and state, "wow, that is beautiful!" 

Additionally, we know that God wants us to create beautiful things. In Exodus 31, the Spirit of God fills Bezalel, giving him the ability to make beautiful artistic designs and various crafts for the tabernacle. Interestingly, this is the first time recorded in scriptures where the Spirit of God filled a human, and God fills and empowers an artist. God also gives intricately detailed (and beautiful) designs for the temple over multiple chapters (I Kings 5-7; 2 Chronicles 2-4). God cares deeply about beauty, and as we are made in His image, we also should strive to create beautiful things.

Schools should follow this rhythm of creating and appreciating beauty.

Led by an exceptional Christian teacher, beauty can be created and appreciated in any subject. I know that the words on a page, the cell in a microscope, and a complex math formula are all beautiful and bring God glory. All subjects can be involved in beauty creating and appreciating; however, I am going to continue to focus on the fine and performing arts in regards to beauty. 

Creating Beauty

Students creating art and music is something that is inherently imago dei human, and the process in itself is beautiful. With the expansion of AI generated art and music, schools must continue to provide opportunities for students to reflect God's image in these ways. This involves investing in qualified instructors in these areas to teach students both the knowledge and skills to create beautiful music and art. It also requires a time and schedule investment. "Specials," like music and art, are often relegated to the periphery of the elementary school day, and converted into "electives" at the middle and high school level. I understand that school districts and administrators have a difficult task balancing all that can be taught, so if beauty creating is not one of the core values, the school-wide investment may not be present. However, individual teachers can integrate music and art into the other subjects. 

Classroom teachers passionate about beauty creation can add enrichment activities to each unit. Thankfully, most of the top curricula have activities in each unit to help teachers incorporate art and music. Additionally, AI can assist teachers in crafting lessons that highlight music and art. e.g. ask one of the AI platforms to "develop an enrichment activity for a 6th grade marine biology unit that incorporates student created music." 

In addition to developing this aspect of God's image, beauty creating adds joy to learning. Teachers who integrate music and art will see their students' eyes light up and smiles beam when they take 20 minutes to enrich a lesson with music or art.

Appreciating Beauty

Some teachers may feel unqualified to lead "beauty creating" in the classroom, but pausing to appreciate beauty is God-glorifying and may be an easy on-ramp. It doesn't take much to begin the class by listening to a song or looking at a work of art. These "bell-ringers" can simply be a pause to say, "wow, that is beautiful" or it can be a more complex analysis (here's another good use of AI ...  Ask AI to come up with art appreciation discussion questions for Edvard Munch's "The Scream" for a 9th grade English class). 

If your school values beauty and is within driving distance to a metropolitan area, incorporate field trips for all grade levels to museums, theaters, concert halls to allow students to experience beauty in person. These venues understand the importance of introducing students to the arts, and most have very affordable or free programs. Students see so much manufactured beauty that you will blow their minds by taking them to see art and music in person. You may need to train them on "how to eat a [painting]" (reference to Eve Merriam's poem "How to Eat a Poem"). Here are a few tips for enjoying a painting:   

1. Stand back to take in a wide angle, appreciating its fullness and considering what is beautiful about the painting.
2. Focus on different quadrants so you don't miss any part of the painting.
3. Slowly move closer until you see the brush strokes and consider the skill of the painter.
4. Read the title and caption, reflecting on what is written by the curator.
5. Return to the back to take in the whole masterpiece again before moving on to the next painting.

I have fortunately taught and led schools in communities rich with museums, concert halls, and theaters, so this has always been a part of my experience. It has been a joy to take students to these and just watch them find joy in the beautiful. Sometimes it takes longer for some to appreciate, so finding the right level of exhibit or concert is important. I remember taking a group of high school students to a classic Italian opera (sung in Italian). While this would be a stretch for many adults, the students were captivated after the first 20 minutes. What a joy to watch their faces turn from furrowed brows and scrunched up noses to wide open eyes and mouths in awe of the beauty. (Yes, some students fell asleep as did some adults in the audience, but only a few).

I want to end this section where I began this article, honoring the role of an audience member. Our society needs individuals who value beauty, and I believe schools should be training up students to appreciate art and music (created and performed by fellow humans). As the Boomer generation passes away, we need the next generation to take up the role of patron of the arts, supporting beauty creation in the fine and performing arts. Educators and schools have a unique opportunity to show students art and music and declare together ... "wow, that is beautiful!"

But ... how do we know if something is beautiful? 

What is Beautiful?

When I am hiking in the Rockies and come to a breath-taking vista, I just know that view is beautiful, but when a student creates something in art class, how do you know if that is beautiful? Isn't it all just subjective? Here are three principles to consider.

1. Professionally trained art and music teachers must lead the learning. Unfortunately, some schools do not have the resources, conviction, or ability to staff these positions well. Students suffer if they don't have an expert leading them in beauty making.
2. Students must be educated in what is "beautiful" in the specific genre, medium, style, or expression, and this takes time studying exemplars and imitating beauty in art and music. 
3. Students need to enter with a humility, willing to take constructive criticism well. This must lead to working hard to improve. 
• btw, I do think a student's effort and improvement is beautiful and God-glorifying ... a consideration in grading (for another blog)

Actually, The Voice and The Great British Baking Show have helped me understand these principles better over the years of watching these shows. Clearly, the judges on these shows are professionally trained and have put in hours of work becoming experts in their craft. I know this because I sometimes hear a beautiful voice that doesn't get a chair to turn, and I'm sure that I could not tell if a cake was slightly over-baked. The judges are experts, know exemplars, and see the gap between what is produced and what is truly beautiful. Likewise, the contestants that ultimately produce beautiful things are willing to take constructive criticism and work diligently to improve.

Both teachers and students can learn a few things from these shows. 

First, exemplars are helpful learning tools. Contestants on The Voice use exemplars of the song, professionally sung and produced, to prepare for their auditions, and can you imagine the improvement if the bakers could see the exemplar in the technical challenge? Exemplars help students learn. 

Second, criticism should be constructive. While I hope that teachers deliver criticism with more grace than some talent show judges, students must be willing to take the criticism (even in front of their peers) and learn from it. Sadly, many students today wilt under criticism; hopefully, students can learn from these shows about how to take criticism and grow from this feedback. 

Plato was correct in identifying truth, beauty, and goodness as essential elements to a flourishing society. As these elements become more rare today, educators need to step in to shift our focus.

Helping students create and appreciate beauty will bring joy to their life and to the society as a whole. 

If you liked this article, check out the other article in this series on Truth, Beauty, and Goodness.

• Teaching Students to be Truth Discerners