School Gardens

Oh boy, I tried to be good, I tried to be quiet, but a couple of things are really just upsetting me this week to the point of eating Tums for a snack.  One of those things is this article HERE, take the time to read the whole thing, it's worth a read at least.  I'm thinking the "Attack Of The Killer Tomatoes" might be an option.  I mean really, blaming school gardens for the lack of academic achievement is like a fire fighter aiming his hose at the top of the flames, instead of the bottom.  Comparing a public school to a private school is, well in gardening terms, comparing apples and oranges.  




We cut P.E. (I loved P.E. in HS it was last period, I just wore my stinky clothes home), Music, Art, Home Ec, Drivers Ed, and we still can't add.  Do you want my 2 cents as to why?  You have cut the creativity and fun (yes, learning is SUPPOSED to be fun) out and why the heck would our children want to attend, let alone succeed and excel?  You want to know what the problem is?  Let's start looking in the mirror and start smarting up our standards instead of dumbing them down.


I told you I was upset, and BTW, MY SITE, MY RIGHT, just sayin'.


You cannot seriously believe that an hour and a half is the reason why the kids in this school are not performing as well as kids in a private school who are not gardening.  


Check out this voice of reason HERE.  At least she acknowledged a problem but did not blame it on one simple 1 1/2 hour project.  Yes, the kids do use the experiences of gardening in Math, Science, and other subjects, but at least the schools are trying to stimulate all 5 senses, which has been proven to be a BIG help in RETAINING knowledge vs REGURGITATING.  Most of what I learned in school I was just regurgitating instead of learning.  I was blessed, I had a few GREAT teachers that were passionate about teaching, AND what they were teaching, AND who they were teaching.  They created in me a passion for learning, and I continue to learn today.


I was quiet until I read Garden Now, Think Later's post on this.  Please stop by, follow FNTL and mention that I sent you.  Hearing the passion in GNTL's post re-fired my dumbfounded reaction to this.  I mean come on even First Lady Michelle Obama don's a pair of jeans, rolls up her sleeves and digs in the dirt, taking a stance on child hood obesity.  I'll take it a notch further, we are a FAT & LAZY (yes, me included) nation, raising a generation that is for the first time a generation that has a life expectancy shorter than the previous one.  Sounds to me like Algebra won't to any good at 30 if you drop dead at 28 due to weight related health problems.  This brings to mind the old saying "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure".  


As for stereotyping our Hispanic brothers and sisters, when I do shop at in the produce section, who do you think I stalk follow around and take note of what looks good and what doesn't.  My husband and I have even started patronizing local Hispanic stores, we pay more, but we get good quality product and WONDERFUL service.  I wish I could find an older more experience former CA picker to show me how improve my garden, I would set them up in a chair with an umbrella and a never ending glass of lemon aide (or iced tea) and let them bark out orders to me.  I could not afford to pay them, but I would send them home with bushels of stuff.  One of the reasons I want to learn to speak Spanish is so I can eavesdrop overhear the discussions about roma's vs regular (tomato) and how the limes are looking, not to mention the avacados....


Oh, I could go on but I will simply sum it up with one statement....

AND THAT MY FRIENDS IS WHY WE HOME SCHOOL!!!!!

Update, School Adds Weeding to Reading and Writing There is HOPE!!!