In my group, my readings looked at The Edible Schoolyard Project in Berkeley and at school gardens in the Bronx. These videos showed how using school gardens is a great tool for engaging students and offers opportunities for education outside a proscribed classroom-based curriculum. Students in The Edible Schoolyard Project were learning about math, science, cooperation, and community building through their hands-on engagement in the garden. This also provides an opportunity for students who struggle in some academic subjects to show their personal strengths. The video makes note that many of the things they learn in the garden was basic stuff that young people used to learn at home and that it also allows students to reconnect with where their food comes from.
The students from the project in the Bronx come from backgrounds of poverty and broken homes; “the poorest congressional area in America”. Their teacher saw his students getting bigger, sicker, and suffering from poor nutrition; his response was to grow “organic citizens”. The garden project showed them that they could “live, learn and earn” in their own community and witnessed attendance rates grow from 40 to 90%; the first cohort are all in college, as the program gave them opportunities to develop their confidence, their abilities, and a sense of hope in the face of adversity.
Both of these programs seem to succeed by engaging young people through reaching out to them as citizens rather than just students. The approach engenders an appreciation of ecological sustainability and community stewardship. This motivates learners to see themselves as belonging to something greater than themselves and helps them to develop an appreciation of the beauty and value of the world and the people around them. The inclusive and hands-on nature of the program allows for the utilization of organic “teachable moments” which appeals to the learners as they use their senses to connect with their environment and start to see their role as a valued member of their community.
I wonder how this kind of learning could be scaled up and across the range of high-school subjects. I wonder too if curriculum planners and Ministries of Education see the value of this approach or might they see it rather as a threat to the homogenizing effects of regular education which doesn’t pay much attention to creating an engaged, connected, and informed citizenry.
Hi Kieran，
ReplyDeleteI was a little bit shocked by the effects of this kind of education. I know that children are more willing to take part in some extracurricular courses rather than stay in the classroom and listen to teachers. This activity also has its social functions to educate the people not just as students but the citizens which is quite useful and meaningful. I think the education ministry should encourage more schools to organize this kind of activities. It will not affect the regular education mode, but it really help teacher to raise the study passion of students.
Crystal
Hi Kieran,
ReplyDeleteI think the school garden article is a great example of teaching with curriculum as lived experience. I am not sure if this approach will be adopted in secondary education; however, this type of community learning approach is more evident in adult learning for sure.