Comments on: Booker T. Washington on School Gardens and the Pleasure of Work

By: Sarah O'Neal Rush

Sarah O'Neal Rush — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 06:22:46 +0000

Hello,

I returned earlier this month from an environmental conference in Kansas City, KS, where I was the keynote speaker as the great-granddaugher of Booker T. Washington. With all of the information I have, this was something I missed. Very inspiring. Thank you!

By: SaticoyRoots

SaticoyRoots — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 20:17:48 +0000

Starting a garden is relatively easy, but making it a meaningful part of a curriculum and a successful part of a child’s life is much more challenging that many proponents recognize. I favor and support garden based learning, but I do think care needs to be taken to avoid over-hyping its potential. At the root of Ms Flanagan’s piece (wildly overstated and oddly angry though it was) is a concern that educators will be pressured into offering a program that they don’t really understand that diverts time and resources from existing program mandates. A “Check the box” school garden will not achieve much. Educators and parents and the community all have to be involved to make a school garden work. To be frank, we should recognize that this is not the case everywhere.

I’ll also add that despite growing up on a farm, and having fresh eggs, fruits, and veggies readily available, my oldest son didn’t really care about it much. But you should have seen how quickly his attitude changed once he got a vegetarian girlfriend!

By: Emily

Emily — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 13:27:03 +0000

This is lovely.

I don’t think training to become a doctor is at odds with Mr. Washington’s words — rather, there is much to be learned about society through the natural world. The most valuable and far-reaching lessons I learned in elementary school were on camping trips and play rehearsals in the park next door. Regular old public school, even. Those days are long gone for most kids — 150 years ago, and today.

By: LivingSmall » Which Work is Work?

LivingSmall » Which Work is Work? — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 22:02:18 +0000

[...] it’s time to take another look at what Mr. Washington had to say. Civil Eats » Booker T. Washington on School Gardens and the Pleasure of Work: Above all else I had acquired a new confidence in my ability actually to do things and to do them [...]

By: Heather Johnston

Heather Johnston — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 03:51:34 +0000

I read Ms. Flanagan’s article, and while I do not at all agree, she illuminates some of the resistance that I see in my own community. When you have a kid struggling in school or have difficulty meeting the rent or getting services, a garden can, at first, seem like a luxury that will offer little help. I’m for school gardens, we are building one at the school where my kids attend. But when people don’t understand the resistance, I think that can be even more polarizing.

Nice to see Booker T. Washington quoted, but I’m reminded that he stood in contrast to WEB Dubois on the issue of education for recently freed slaves. He believed that a good way out of slavery was manual labor and starting on lower rungs if you will. Not necessarily bad advice at all, unless you had aspirations to be a doctor, a lawyer, or say, WEB Dubois. Or unless that rhetoric was embraced by those who merely wanted to continue oppression and exploitation.

There is no black and white in anything, school gardens included.

By: cybercita

cybercita — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 03:15:17 +0000

as a pediatric occupational therapist, i love the garden for so many reasons. first, because developing children need to move much, much more than they have an opportunity to do when living in cities, gym classes are going by the wayside, and city kids spend way too much time indoors, divorced from nature. how can they learn to appreciate the earth and want to protect it when it’s only an abstraction? second, because gardening can be very calming, organizing, and regulating for the body, which helps the child maintain the correct mental alertness needed for learning. third, because our children have such poor nutrition. it is a well known fact that children are much more likely to try new things, even vegetables! if they have invested the time in preparing them.

i read ms. flanagan’s piece in slack jawed amazement and wondered if she was harboring some secret mental illness.

By: Bobbie Stacey

Bobbie Stacey — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 13:31:20 +0000

Another nice response to Flanagan.

Last night my 14-year-old daughter made the unsolicited statement that no matter what academic course she pursued, she wanted to balance her adult work life with “meaningful physical labor” as she thought that would lead to greater satisfaction.

Flanagan’s frame of reference was so very limited – her world view so narrow.