Online community for ornamental horticulture
School Gardens: Yea Or Nay?
On its surface, that seems like a no-brainer question. I just read the controversial Atlantic Monthly article about gardens in schools, and I still don't buy that it's a bad thing (see article here: http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/201001/school-yard-garden)
But I thought I'd see what others thought about having gardens in the schools as part of the curriculum. Any thoughts?
But I thought I'd see what others thought about having gardens in the schools as part of the curriculum. Any thoughts?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Donna Kutil on -
Ok- first, a little too long to read right now :) got through the first page and i gotta run. BUT who is this guy? Second, hopefully further he would explain that the children are not just out there all day picking vegetables, but rather spend one class session a week (like a gym class) learning about organic farming and the benefits of organic farming. i highly doubt this school is running slave labor. he is a very angry man. actually comical to read how he rants.
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Permalink Reply by Mark Soxman on -
I am actually working with a local high school which built a greenhouse through a gov. grant. It is in the beginning stages and they need a lot of help. They know nothing. The teacher responsible for the project gave one word of warning, "The hard part will be getting the kids here when school is not in session". I personally think it is a great idea but as I live in PA, our summer is the growing season and kids are not going to work. I have a hard time getting kids to work, for pay, in these months. I know of a few programs in California but their growing season is during school and they are generally elementary grades. I think it is worth the effort but I am just guiding this school. I am not going to do it for them.
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Permalink Reply by Tom Broome on -
I read the article and it is obvious he just doesn't get the whole idea of why they have these gardens in schools. He also doesn't understand gardening and why people garden as a hobby.
I agree with him, going to a class where you can work in a garden will not help you pass your math exam. So, who expects it to? A horticulture class that would have a garden is just one class. If I had a class like this when I was a senior in high school, I would have taken that class, but in the same semester, I would have been taking pre-calculus and advanced physics amoung the rest of the classes I took. Gardening doesn't have to be what you do for a living, but working with plants gives you a whole different look at life. I don't need to tell anyone in this forum about this, most of you already understand how much caring for anything alive makes you a better person. Being able to take a class that includes a garden makes you a more rounded person. Your not going to go out there and live in the garden. You can take that class and take a good math class, and a good science class, or anything else. I'm sure learning something in the garden class would also help you in most science classes. For me, I got straight As in high school in chemistry and physics. I also got As in economics classes and ended up getting a finance degree in college so I could become a stock broker or bank president, Certainly one of those jobs would make the author proud, but, what did I end up doing? I have a nursery and I grow plants, and you know what? I'm way better off by doing something I love, and since most of the plants I am propagating are on the endangered species list, I am giving a lot more back to the world than the guy who wrote that article. Lastly, if any of you have your own nursery and you have to do all the work yourself, you understand what kind of discipline it takes to make sure your plants stay alive and look good day after day, month after month, and year after year. If you have that kind of discipline, you should be able to buckle down and learn your math you need to take a test. Where did you learn that discipline in the first place? The class that had the garden in it!
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