Middle School Beauty and Art

I have bought into the idea that beauty is in the eye of beholder for a long time, but this TED talk has shifted my beliefs in this area. There is universal beauty, and we are doing students a disservice in elementary and middle school art classes by claiming differently. It seems very important for us to level with students that it takes hard work, possibly 10,000 hours to become good at something. Our art classes are space and time to work toward these expert levels as well as enjoy the act of creating art. Please be honest with your students that there are beautiful things that aren't open for opinion, and we are on a mission each day to find them. The debate will erupt and that is good.