Gardening as an approach to education
by Bernice Hauser
Primary Education CorrespondentJohn Dewey espoused that "gardening is a way to avoid the evil of isolated instruction . . . it builds understanding of nature and the nation's agrarian legacy and rouses student curiosity." In the 24 June 1998 issue of Education Week Robert C. Johnston presented interest in school and community gardens as a way not only to integrate the disciplines but also to fulfill the cognitive and psychological needs of young children.
What enticed Arlene Marturano, a sixth grade science teacher at the Summit Parkway Middle School was the added bonus of connecting a nutrition unit to her gardening project. Her students study and identify the nutritional value of produce. Assisted by donations and professional expertise of local nurseries, she has her students use three 45-minute periods a week to cultivate 8 foot by 12 foot plots.
Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education Mary S. Renkeni at the University of Maryland promotes this greening thrust and comments on the benefits of getting students out of the classroom into a natural environment. "Mother Nature," she said, "helps introduce flavor, fragrance, texture, and adventure to the curriculum."
Associate Director of Project 2061 Andrew Ahlgren appears to differ: "From my point of view, gardening isn't the end but an occasion of learning about science or math or history . . . one would want to consider not how interesting it is but what is the payoff in terms of general literacy." As an educator who has worked many years with young children in natural environments and with garden-based curricula as the core of science programs, I beg to differ with him. I feel that gardening is a very disciplined and rewarding activity that is interdisciplinary and draws upon the intellect and five senses of children to their fullest. To downplay the aesthetic response, the fulfillment of seeing a carrot come up or a jonquil pushing through the soil, is a most parochial view of literacy. There are all kinds of literacy in this world. Let's not shortchange what planting a garden can do to one's personal vision, the immediate environment, and the global environment.
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