They were using the arts as a language, as a symbol system, to convey what they could not express with words, and the arts became the symbol system of preference for these children. He said, mathematics makes beautiful ideas, beautiful proofs. For him, there was beauty in the symbol system of mathematics. It's a symbol system that's coherent. Mathematics is beautiful.
Equations can be aesthetically pleasing.
In the Basic School all students become proficient not only in the symbol system we call words, but also in numbers and in the arts. Beyond proficiency in language, all students in the Basic School also study a solid general education curriculum with coherence. During our study, we found that often the elementary school curriculum is disturbingly disconnected. Teachers make countless lesson plans, but often with no pattern or broader design that would give students a greater perspective. Children complete the isolated units, they move relentlessly from one grade level to the next, but what they fail to gain is a more coherent view of knowledge and a more integrated, more authentic view of life.