Comments on: Failure to Cultivate: A Response to Caitlin Flanagan on School Gardens http://civileats.com/2010/01/12/failure-to-cultivate-a-response-to-caitlin-flanagan-on-school-gardens/ Just another WordPress weblog Mon, 13 Feb 2012 16:45:09 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v= By: “Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics:” Caitlin Flanagan’s Take on School Gardens « Slow Cooking in the City http://civileats.com/2010/01/12/failure-to-cultivate-a-response-to-caitlin-flanagan-on-school-gardens/comment-page-2/#comment-5250 “Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics:” Caitlin Flanagan’s Take on School Gardens « Slow Cooking in the City Mon, 25 Jan 2010 01:49:58 +0000 http://civileats.com/?p=6049#comment-5250 [...] the Atlantic published Flanagan’s article.  Two great responses can be found on the blogs of Civil Eats and The Center for a Livable Future. They do a wonderful job of debunking a number of [...] [...] the Atlantic published Flanagan’s article.  Two great responses can be found on the blogs of Civil Eats and The Center for a Livable Future. They do a wonderful job of debunking a number of [...]

]]> By: Sharon http://civileats.com/2010/01/12/failure-to-cultivate-a-response-to-caitlin-flanagan-on-school-gardens/comment-page-2/#comment-5218 Sharon Fri, 22 Jan 2010 05:32:25 +0000 http://civileats.com/?p=6049#comment-5218 While we do need to be wary of marginalising the 'poor' kids, I think there is more to life than book learning, especially in a country where disconnection from food and obesity is such an issue. Its drawing a bit of a long bow to equate school gardens with sharecropping! While it should be a societal goal that everyone is literate and adept in at least basic maths, is this aspiring to higher learning the only way to measure success? What about those who are not cut out for/interested in academia? Should all people - whatever their background - aspire to the higher echelons of university study? Or are there people who will be happy to build houses and grow food for a livelihood? Or aren't we going to talk about the people who mine and manufacture computers for all the college students to use, or grow the food they eat? Someone has to do it! It is in fact elitist to suggest that the only kind of education worth having is to read the classics. If tending the school garden is an hour and a half out of a week, well so what? Surely good nutrition and physical ed are just as essential life skills as adding up, writing/reading? Is it just the school gardens to blame for this sorry state? Or is it wider issues of poverty, family breakdown, atomisation of society - fuelled by the very competitive individualism associated with scrambling to the top of the economic pile advocated by Flanagan? While we do need to be wary of marginalising the ‘poor’ kids, I think there is more to life than book learning, especially in a country where disconnection from food and obesity is such an issue. Its drawing a bit of a long bow to equate school gardens with sharecropping!

While it should be a societal goal that everyone is literate and adept in at least basic maths, is this aspiring to higher learning the only way to measure success? What about those who are not cut out for/interested in academia? Should all people – whatever their background – aspire to the higher echelons of university study? Or are there people who will be happy to build houses and grow food for a livelihood? Or aren’t we going to talk about the people who mine and manufacture computers for all the college students to use, or grow the food they eat? Someone has to do it! It is in fact elitist to suggest that the only kind of education worth having is to read the classics.

If tending the school garden is an hour and a half out of a week, well so what? Surely good nutrition and physical ed are just as essential life skills as adding up, writing/reading?

Is it just the school gardens to blame for this sorry state? Or is it wider issues of poverty, family breakdown, atomisation of society – fuelled by the very competitive individualism associated with scrambling to the top of the economic pile advocated by Flanagan?

]]> By: Home grown for the kids. « looking post http://civileats.com/2010/01/12/failure-to-cultivate-a-response-to-caitlin-flanagan-on-school-gardens/comment-page-2/#comment-5214 Home grown for the kids. « looking post Fri, 22 Jan 2010 00:59:24 +0000 http://civileats.com/?p=6049#comment-5214 [...] typical Berkeley fashion, the policy’s got its share of fans and haters. Which mostly makes me wonder what the people being most affected by the policy– [...] [...] typical Berkeley fashion, the policy’s got its share of fans and haters. Which mostly makes me wonder what the people being most affected by the policy– [...]

]]> By: When Foodies Attack at The Core Knowledge Blog http://civileats.com/2010/01/12/failure-to-cultivate-a-response-to-caitlin-flanagan-on-school-gardens/comment-page-2/#comment-5192 When Foodies Attack at The Core Knowledge Blog Wed, 20 Jan 2010 17:50:45 +0000 http://civileats.com/?p=6049#comment-5192 [...] and fueled by animus” fumes one blogger. “Snob-bashing populism,” cries another.  And here’s a third, “baffled by the utter stupidity of this snotty Atlantic [...] [...] and fueled by animus” fumes one blogger. “Snob-bashing populism,” cries another.  And here’s a third, “baffled by the utter stupidity of this snotty Atlantic [...]

]]> By: LivingSmall » The School Garden flap … http://civileats.com/2010/01/12/failure-to-cultivate-a-response-to-caitlin-flanagan-on-school-gardens/comment-page-2/#comment-5191 LivingSmall » The School Garden flap … Wed, 20 Jan 2010 17:38:22 +0000 http://civileats.com/?p=6049#comment-5191 [...] Chef Kurt Michael Friese’s response was probably my favorite, in part because I find the contempt for manual labor among the upper classes both incomprehensible and odious. [...] [...] Chef Kurt Michael Friese’s response was probably my favorite, in part because I find the contempt for manual labor among the upper classes both incomprehensible and odious. [...]

]]> By: School Gardens Across the Nation, and a Resource List for Starting Your Own - Santa Cruz Local Foods http://civileats.com/2010/01/12/failure-to-cultivate-a-response-to-caitlin-flanagan-on-school-gardens/comment-page-2/#comment-5183 School Gardens Across the Nation, and a Resource List for Starting Your Own - Santa Cruz Local Foods Wed, 20 Jan 2010 08:07:31 +0000 http://civileats.com/?p=6049#comment-5183 [...] ago and dozens of school gardens have followed suit. With a recent critical article in The Atlantic getting people talking about the value of school gardens again, it seemed an opportune time to take a peek [...] [...] ago and dozens of school gardens have followed suit. With a recent critical article in The Atlantic getting people talking about the value of school gardens again, it seemed an opportune time to take a peek [...]

]]> By: Chef Ann Cooper : Renegade Lunch Lady » Victoria Tatum’s Response to the Atlantic http://civileats.com/2010/01/12/failure-to-cultivate-a-response-to-caitlin-flanagan-on-school-gardens/comment-page-2/#comment-5178 Chef Ann Cooper : Renegade Lunch Lady » Victoria Tatum’s Response to the Atlantic Tue, 19 Jan 2010 16:07:36 +0000 http://civileats.com/?p=6049#comment-5178 [...] fast-food style school lunch, and too many hours in front of the television or video games. As Kurt Michael Friese points out in his own Civil Eats response to Flanagan’s article: “Throughout most of human [...] [...] fast-food style school lunch, and too many hours in front of the television or video games. As Kurt Michael Friese points out in his own Civil Eats response to Flanagan’s article: “Throughout most of human [...]

]]> By: Chef Ann Cooper : Renegade Lunch Lady » Edible Education: It Really Does Make Sense! http://civileats.com/2010/01/12/failure-to-cultivate-a-response-to-caitlin-flanagan-on-school-gardens/comment-page-2/#comment-5176 Chef Ann Cooper : Renegade Lunch Lady » Edible Education: It Really Does Make Sense! Tue, 19 Jan 2010 15:41:15 +0000 http://civileats.com/?p=6049#comment-5176 [...] food chefs, food policy wonks, garden teachers, and sustainable ag advocates had to say over at Civil Eats, Serious Eats, Grist, ChewsWise, Salon, and La Vida [...] [...] food chefs, food policy wonks, garden teachers, and sustainable ag advocates had to say over at Civil Eats, Serious Eats, Grist, ChewsWise, Salon, and La Vida [...]

]]> By: Civil Eats » Blog Archive » School Gardens Across the Nation, and a Resource List for Starting Your Own http://civileats.com/2010/01/12/failure-to-cultivate-a-response-to-caitlin-flanagan-on-school-gardens/comment-page-2/#comment-5166 Civil Eats » Blog Archive » School Gardens Across the Nation, and a Resource List for Starting Your Own Tue, 19 Jan 2010 09:01:35 +0000 http://civileats.com/?p=6049#comment-5166 [...] ago and dozens of school gardens have followed suit. With a recent critical article in The Atlantic getting people talking about the value of school gardens again, it seemed an opportune time to take a peek [...] [...] ago and dozens of school gardens have followed suit. With a recent critical article in The Atlantic getting people talking about the value of school gardens again, it seemed an opportune time to take a peek [...]

]]> By: Booker T. Washington on School Gardens and the Pleasure of Work - Santa Cruz Local Foods http://civileats.com/2010/01/12/failure-to-cultivate-a-response-to-caitlin-flanagan-on-school-gardens/comment-page-2/#comment-5164 Booker T. Washington on School Gardens and the Pleasure of Work - Santa Cruz Local Foods Tue, 19 Jan 2010 06:51:36 +0000 http://civileats.com/?p=6049#comment-5164 [...] a former slave, then, could be instructive. One commenter on Kurt Michael Friese’s thoughtful rebuttal (“Not “enjoy,” Ms. Flanagan, respect.”) suggested that Flanagan should read Booker [...] [...] a former slave, then, could be instructive. One commenter on Kurt Michael Friese’s thoughtful rebuttal (“Not “enjoy,” Ms. Flanagan, respect.”) suggested that Flanagan should read Booker [...]

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