Entrance Slip (Oct 5) - Multicultural School Gardens

In "Multicultural School Gardens: Creating Engaging Garden Spaces in Learning about Language, Culture, and Environment Amy Cutter-Mackenzie investigates the value in educational garden spaces for ESL students. An interesting thing she noted was how school gardens are often designed and maintained by adults. Although this may often be true, the school examined gave students the independence to design their garden with adult support. The reason this stuck out to me was because I feel students often learn best when they explore and experiment on their own, so if adults are doing all the work and students simply visit and get glimpses of participation then the purpose of school gardens is completely diminished. So I liked the fact that the project valued student ideas and views, as I feel they are often underrated and dismissed. I think giving students the power to voice ideas, make choices and conduct research is a powerful tool to build students who will be more confident and well-rounded learners. Although the program was aimed at English second language (ESL) learners, I think this practice brought value to all students as it used individual experiences to help develop practical competencies, cultural awareness and cultural sensitivity. It also gave students a space that cultivated belonging and inclusivity. I truly appreciated the fact that students got to share their own cultural practices with the group. This gave them the opportunity to bring in their own heritage to their learning, while it also gave others the opportunity to learn of different cultures and relate those practices to their own. When the Sudanese student related the Afghanistan hand washing ceremony to their own similar practice, I felt this was truly a beautiful and touching interaction. Despite the students' different backgrounds they were able to establish a connection between the two. The article also mentioned having an educational garden was something student's had never experienced before. Many of the students were accustomed to traditional in the classroom methods of teaching, which could often be less engaging and less memorable. So I wonder if learning through the means of a garden was a welcomed change for the students. I feel it provided an atmosphere which was more inviting, exciting and motivating for students. I also found it interesting that students found the learning atmosphere much slower, which is extremely important for ESL learners because increasing processing time, by slowing down, could give students the ability to learn at their own pace. Overall, I have seen the many benefits to learning in a school garden and wonder how place based learning can play a larger role in education. What other places might provide a meaningful environment rich with experiences for students to benefit?