The NY Times is reporting on a growing trend in education to incorporate art into the physical structure of the school building.  The featured system, in New Haven, has renovated or built schools that are more than eye-catching, they are indeed works of art.  The idea behind the structures is to encourage creativity, inspire non-traditional thought, and to appeal to the senses. When I was a student in high school, I looked forward to Spanish class every day.  Yes, I liked learning a new language but the truth is, I loved looking at the posters on the walls.  Where other classrooms were filled with "teachery" primary color posters containing prepositional phrases or the quadradic formula, this room was filled with the sights of Puerto Rico, Spain, Bolivia, and Mexico.  While we discussed how to conjugate -ar verbs, my mind would wander to the top of the Macchu Pichu or to the sands of Cozumel.  Granted, these posters were not what I would consider fine art, but they managed to inspire a love to travel and language I think the same idea applies to music.  Incorporating complex musical rythms and chords can help develop critical thinking.  Music can also be a tool for memorization.  Setting vocabulary words or formulas to music can help students remember the concepts.  Listening to various forms of classical music can also inspire creativity and produce tranquility. Incorporating the dramatic arts is also a helpful tool in education.  Students who act out the material they read in literature class have a much more profound understanding than those who simply read the words.  I believe in incorporating all forms of art into today's classroom.