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"From Seedlings to Scholars"
Written by: Yocasta Pena

A garden in an urban school seems a little unusual and maybe not part of the curriculum. However when I was asked why I had the idea of starting a garden in our school, I wanted a peaceful, comfortable place where children can learn. This has been beautifully accomplished by my students in my bilingual CTT class. They are learning English, writing and reading, as well as applying mathematics skills in their garden.

“Our garden has four trees and may different colors of flowers. The trees are little but in the future they are going to be big like the trees that are in the park. The flowers that we have are beautiful. They are yellow, red, white, orange, and pink. Some of them didn’t grow yet, like the bulbs, because they grow in the Spring. We are so happy because we never had a garden in a New York City school.”

To me, this is education that makes sense to children. When they are involved in activities that show them the daily application of what they learn, they get involved. Then the children show responsibility for their learning, and for their environment. I believe that when we help raise scholars who have an understanding of their surroundings and nature, we will have a better chance of, in the future, having adults who will care for our planet and for their fellow citizens.

If you would like to be featured in our next newsletter, please do not hesitate to contact me at vcohen@classlink.com Next month, we are featuring best practices using student inquiry and differentiation. If you have a lesson, teacher or administrator that demonstrates extreme expertise in this area, please contact me at your earliest convenience.