The Notion Of A Garden As A Metaphor For Curriculum

It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity”, these are the quotes of the famous German physicist Albert Einstein in relation to how the world has become overly reliant on technology. As a result, we have taken nature for granted while also ignoring the adverse effects of technology. The making of steam engine, the usage of fossil fuel and the creation of chlorofluorocarbon are all technologies which has benefited us greatly and are continuing to do so, but like everything on this earth there are always negatives to counter the positives This is the balance that we must find between nature and humans.

The garden is the vehicle in which the narrator reveals her reluctance to leave behind the imaginary world of childhood and see the realities of the adult world. The evidence supporting this interpretation is the imagery of hiding. The narrator uses the garden to hide from reality and the

From the Rusken College speech in 1976, a whole new approach to education was to be invented and from this came the introduction of the craft based qualifications, his idea of the government putting money into education and seeing very little return, made him concentrate on making people fit for work, in turn helping the economy and paying the government back on their investment. This is the main model used in my specialised curriculum. One of the attractions of this approach to curriculum theory is that it involves detailed attention to what people need to know in order for it to work. Lesson plans are produced with the main theme of ‘by the end of the session the learner will

“ There are your radish seeds everyone.” Said Mr. Susick. The whole class looked around at each other with a blank confused face. It was the first day of junior year in my English class. Mr. Susick started talking about how our first assignment would be to grow radishes. We were all thinking, how in the world does gardening relate to English class. I had heard about this project from previous juniors but none of them said what the real reason was. All Mr. Susick said was that you need to let the project teach itself and get into nature. He left us with one bit of information along with the requirements to start. The main goal of the assignment was to extract your own universal truths. For the first time in English class,

When exploring water and gardens, it is important to apply the EYLF to children’s learning and development. Outcome two, children are connected with and contribute to their world allows children to develop a sense of belonging to groups and communities, respond to diversity with respect, be aware of fairness, and show respect for the environment (DEEWR, 2009). By developing these outcomes children begin to broaden their understanding of the world they live in. This can be explored by providing children with opportunities to explore the environment through gardening or water play and promote positive responses

Corn, potatoes, tomatoes, these are all foods that are located and purchased from our local grocery stores on a daily basis but what we don’t know when we purchase these foods is if it’s just a regular vegetable or a genetically modified frankenfood. In “Playing God in the Garden” by Michael Pollan, Pollan heavily researches genetically altered food more specifically genetically modified potatoes. He focuses on what it is how it's grown what the F.D.A thinks of it, how it looks and compares and contrast it too other non-genetically modified potatoes. Pollan was growing his own genetically modified potatoes while researching the subject and at the end of his essay after doing all the research he decided against eating his genetically modified

Looking around Columbia State Community College with the stunning zinnia gardens throughout the grounds, with ample land space and seeing recycling bins placed around the campus, and non smoking signs on the doors, CSCC is on the right path toward being a green campus; we can do more with a starting a community college garden. Imagine a community garden at CSCC where the students, faculty and the community show off with pride, not only because of its beauty, but because it enables a new set of learning experiences for students and our neighbors. CSCC should be willing to fight for a healthier campus. With CSCC deciding to make a conscious effort to encourage, a healthier way of eating by having a community college garden that will encourage students to make the right food choice.

Gardens offer science and mathematics lessons in enjoyable, hands-on situations that permit children to “think with their hands”. Gardens help teach communities and endorse sustainable, local foods while also providing critical science and mathematics lessons to elementary students. Gardens also teach children life lessons such as patience and accountability as they nurture plants. Research done by the University of Alabama demonstrates that children’s participation in gardens leads to healthier food choices, more compliance to try or eat vegetables, improved plant knowledge, greater interest in learning, and increased reading and math standardized test scores. Students who participated in gardening had a six percent lower body mass index, an average of eleven percent higher standardized test scores, and twenty-seven percent more vegetable consumption (Grider). For many students, school can be a uninteresting but required exercise where paying attention and retaining information becomes a tedious endeavor. When an active teacher decides to teach science through gardening and hands-on experience, they will discover that students are more engaged with a higher voluntary participation rate. NWFSC should start a garden because of the possible learning opportunities that can be available to local elementary

“Who am I?” is the question Maxine Greene asked, as she looked around the room, before she answered herself: “I am who I am not yet.” This bold statement sums up Maxine Greene’s philosophical concept of education that stems from her self- proclaimed ideas of existentialism. In this article, Greene discusses how combining curriculum and consciousness in education can evolve into continuous growth and rediscovery for us as educators.

Developing a curriculum is a difficult process, moreso when an educator has to keep in mind the number of students they are trying to reach. At the secondary level, it is not uncommon for a teacher to be responsible for 150 or more students. Each of these students presents a unique and trying task for educators who want to help students learn. Students have different modalities for which they gain knowledge, and it is the teacher’s job to engage those

Brady and Kennedy (2010) define the term curriculum as ‘the means by which young people and adults gain the essential knowledge, skills and attributes they need to be productive and informed citizens in a democratic society.’ However the term has many varied definitions, it can be described as being the subject matter, the overall plan for teaching or the outcome of what is taught (Wiles, 2005). Marsh and Willis (cited in Marsh, 2009, p. 3) break curriculum down into three individual areas of ‘planned curriculum’, the objectives and aims, ‘enacted curriculum’, how the objectives are

Finding ways to keep students interested in schoolwork and increasing their cognitive abilities has been a constant struggle for teachers. It is common knowledge that when a child’s interest wanes, it becomes harder for them to learn and retain knowledge on the subject. One tool that can be used to combat this issue would be the use of an outdoor classroom or learning outdoors. During the late 60’s and 70’s outdoor education was highly recommended in curriculum guidelines to enrich educational experiences, but later declined in the 80’s (Eaton, 1998). Today, outdoor education only plays a small role in children’s education experiences, despite the benefits it could provide. Teachers should take advantage of outdoor education to increase children’s cognitive skills, provide physical and emotional benefits, and decrease the bio phobia many children seemed to have developed.

In order to teach successfully teachers must learn about first learn about their students. Teachers must assess the student’s capabilities and interests. Some students are visual learners, while others learn from hands on activities, or verbal communication. Not all students can learn through memorization, rather they learn through interest and relation to the topic. “To realize what an experience, or empirical situation, means, we have to call to mind the sort of situation that presents itself outside of school" (Democracy and Education). The curriculum should encompass material that is most useful for a student to learn. It seems that in the majority of schools, students are not given the flexibility to guide their own learning, but rather follow rigid instructions that destroy the student’s imagination.

Being literate in English is being able to read and write proficiently, but what if you wish to be literate in a specific thing? Being literate can mean being proficient in a specific thing or learning to be. Both of the authors of this paper are very literate in gardening. We both are passionate about it, so we like to become more literate in it. There are various ways that someone can become literate in gardening from knowing how it affects your health to understanding how to maintain the plant's health, patience, and taking the time to enjoy gardening can help one to become a successful gardener.

Also, throughout curriculum development the goals and aims of the curriculum need to be taken into account. Without specific goals and aims for the curriculum, the curriculum could be unfocused with no purpose identified. Within the social studies curriculum that I analyzed, I noticed societal goals for the curriculum (Posner, 2004). Societal goals are emphasized because the curriculum supports the development of knowledgeable and engaged citizens within our country. By understanding the goal of my curriculum I am better able to understand the purpose of what I am teaching, which in turn helps me to differentiate for my students while still keeping the ultimate goal in mind. I also was able to identify the further learning aims within the curriculum (Posner, 2004). By identifying this aim I was able to see how the curriculum I was teaching tied into the curriculum that the students would experience in subsequent grades. By reflecting on the further learning aims I was able to see how my teaching was a valuable piece of a bigger puzzle