School Garden Change the Culture of a School

Introduction

The schooling system is designed to educate and change lives of the students and teachers in a positive way. In the International Journal of Inclusive Education, Farrel (2000) argues that the main concern of schools is to understand how students learn and how education can affect social and emotional aspects. Through research, it is easier to understand the need to create content that will go a long way in providing learners with experiences, which are valuable in modern society (Ainscow, 2005). With dedication, teachers and learners can navigate the cultural issues and be able to appreciate the unique experiences that make the learning process enjoyable. In the modern schools we need to create a curriculum that can help students to overcome cultural practices, which are key learning tools in the education sector, thus contribute to a more inclusive society (César & Santos, 2006). A school garden can help in creating these changes and create a sustainable education. The school garden helps to bring social change and affect culture positively.

Discussion

A school garden is a nice place for children and adults to learn and experiment. The beauty of it is that it provides the fun and satisfaction of trying new ventures (Ray, Fisher, and Fisher-Maltese, 2016). According to Cairns (2017), a school garden is always exciting and keeps in mind that students can get teachable lessons. The other exciting thing about the school garden is that it provides a safe place for both teachers and children (Ray, Fisher, and Fisher-Maltese, 2016). For instance, it helps children to learn about nutrition because it provides an opportunity for students to learn about different diets. The essence of a school is to provide learning opportunities to children so that they can gain new experiences and knowledge. Furthermore, Mirrahimi et al. (2011) contended that it provides an opportunity for the children to develop life skills as well increasing environmental awareness and appreciating the nature. The school garden may change a school culture in many ways. Firstly, the school garden will provide a new experience and help children to learn new things. For instance, a school garden will help children to learn about nutrition because it provides an opportunity for students to learn about different diets. The essence of a school is to provide learning opportunities to children so that they can gain new experiences and knowledge. A school garden will provide an opportunity for the children to develop life skills as well as increase environmental awareness. In addition to this, the school garden is a great means of helping students to develop teamwork skills. It is essential for students to learn the importance of teamwork and the school garden is ideal because it will help a student to learn the culture of teamwork, which is an essential skill in life. The garden also helps in creating a culture of independence because the students will learn the value of growing our food (Ray, Fisher, and Fisher-Maltese, 2016). Many students do not know how foods are grown, but with a garden school, it is easier for students to gain knowledge and skills on how to grow our food for a healthy lifestyle. Therefore, without doubt, a school garden is nice because it provides students with an opportunity to learn new skills and experiences, which in essence, create a new culture (Ray, Fisher, and Fisher-Maltese, 2016).

The benefit of teaching children about agriculture and farm practices is that it will help to shape the children at an early age. Most children are interested in farm and other similar activities, and the opportunity to engage in the farm will may change positively because the children will gain moral values and gain life skills. Moreover, children get to understand the importance of farm, tools, and machineries. They appreciate the work that the farmers do and how much it is important for a country to produce its own food.

A school garden provides an opportunity for all children and students to work jointly and therefore develop teamwork skills. The school and education system is ideal place where students can acquire life changing skills. One of the most critical skills in the modern day is team work skills. Children have a great opportunity to learn and practice these skills, which play an important role in the workplace and other aspects in life. Our children need to learn positive values at an early age. It is important for parents and teachers to nature these values because they spend more time with children. Schools today have people of mixed races, ethnicity, age, and physical abilities. The school is general multi-cultural society and this issue cannot be ignored. Having a school garden in our schools can be a good thing to the multicultural community (Deal& Peterson, 2016). Our schools reflect the diversity that the world brings.

A school garden can bring unity and help student to love diversity and learn to live with people of different ethnic. It is important because children become self-aware at a very tender age. Having a school garden will encourage students to work together and therefore, encourage learners to celebrate diversity at an early age. In schools that have students of mix race, the school garden can help children to learn the importance of cultural difference (Oliver, 2017). When children learn about their cultural difference, they gain encourage acquire self-acceptance. Today, the community continues to face issues of segregation and racism even in this era of technology (Deal & Peterson, 2016). Children must be taught to accept who they are and learn about different races. Participating in joint activities will help in teaching these values to our children. Teachers should also understand it is crucial to remind the children about the importance of diversity and self-acceptance.

Generally, a school garden can be an essential guide to practitioners, students, and learners because it helps us to understand the contemporary education and we get to observe how things have evolved (Wellington, 2015). How has the education system evolved over the years? Today, education is not limited to the classroom only. It is important for students to have practical and theoretical skills. The school garden is a good place where students will practices the skills they have learned in the theory class. Students will relate the lesson they have learned in the classroom and put these skills into practice. Importantly, the school garden will provide a better understanding and learners can comprehend how contemporary education provides this goal. To prepare the leaders of the future, it is crucial for educators to know how they can motivate their learners not only in the classroom, but also in the field (Wellington, 2015). All this knowledge helps in understanding how to design content that will promote effective learning in the contemporary education system.

The school garden creates a new and unique cultural heritage, which is very crucial as it reflects our cultural values. When children participate in garden activities, they learn many valuable lessons about cultural diversity. There are some lessons that children cannot learn in the classroom and it is important for them to experience this kind of events because it opens a new world of interest. The opportunity for teachers or parents to do different activities in the school garden will help the young people to fill the gaps and understand what they learn in books (Talboys, 2016). And more so, the children get to work as a team and shared the journey of discovery.

The school gardens have a huge collections of different foods and plants, which are a reflection of our diverse culture; it demonstrate our diversity. Research in this area can help children to appreciate and understand the value of diversity and cultures. For instances, children get a message from the foods, it can help them remembers about beautiful scenes. The cultural lesson acquired from this kind of experiences helps children to learn about historical contexts. The school garden is generally an opportunity to learn new cultures (Talboys, 2016). It can also be an opportunity to appreciate diversity, understand multicultural values, and even help children to accept their differences and become self-aware. Children ought to become self-aware at an early age so that they can accept who they are. Understanding the importance of cultural diversity is essential because it helps children to love one another and avoid issues of bullying in school and so on (Talboys, 2016).

Children are very much interested in practical lessons. The school garden provides students to learn in that manner, which will enhance communication and learning. Children are wired to learn faster in practical subjects. Their mind seems to process information much better because the brain is 50% tuned to do better in visual processing (Spencer, 2016). It is essential to use the school garden as a learning platform it will provide a wonderful learning experience to kids. More importantly, the school garden increases the willingness to learn among children. In a school environment, it is important to use this system of learning because it will help children to reduce and manage anxiety. Anxiety can affect the mood of a child, which can cause conflicts with others. The school garden will help children to be open and more liberals. They will overcome isolation and resistance to accept change. Therefore, the school garden encourages children to learn about the importance of cultural diversity because it motivates them to accept their differences and therefore undergo a smooth cultural transition (Spencer, 2016).

Practical lessons are very critical because they play a critical role in language development, critical thinking, and social skills, which are essential tools in the learning process (Nikolajeva, 2015). When children take part in school garden, they are motivated and the gain mental imaginations and provides them wonderful visual experiences. Participating practical activities in the school garden might contribute to a positive education for the children. Children like to do things that they find enjoyable, and activities in the field create a good platform for learners to interact and therefore, learn in the most enjoyable manner. Investing in a school garden provides new experiences because children will have enjoyable curriculum. This will enhance the learning process so that our children can gain more content positively. A school garden helps in changing the culture because it promotes sustainable education to young people.

The school garden provides students with an opportunity to socialize. The technology such as internet has made our children to be inactive members in the society. A majority of the students want to spend their free time on the Facebook, YouTube, and other social media apps. However, a school garden provides students with an opportunity to engage in social events and therefore, they gain valuable social skills. A school that engages students in the gardens creates a new culture of diversity, dynamics, and change. The school creates a new understanding to students on how they make the education an enjoyable affair. Participating in farm activities will persuade, inform, and entertain the children. All these elements can promote the learning process and bring positive changes to learners at an early age.

Without doubt, the education system continues to promote class issues such as inequality and racism even today. However, modern practitioners are is very much concerned about knowledge construction. It is therefore, important to have educational materials that promote this goal (Lewis, Asberry, DeJarnett, & King, 2016). I believe that researchers in the education sector should promote creativity so that students can gain valuable creative and critical skills. When a school has a school garden, it emphasizes on the importance of knowledge construction. It is important for a modern school to embrace values that encourage learning socialization and communication.

Conclusion

The school garden changes school culture because it is an effective means of promoting practical skills. A school garden is effective in changing the school culture because it produces knowledge on practical activities so that students can learn positively. It is important for educationists to provide education content that will promote knowledge and encourage students to learn in more practical ways because this methodology of learning initiates transformation in the classroom. The school garden advocates for content and lessons that promotes reality. If schools can encourage students to take part in practical activities in the farm will help learners to understand the importance of education and therefore, promote an ideal learning experience. Definitely, a school garden brings a new culture in a school because it provides students with opportunities to learn in more practical ways. It also provides them an opportunity to socialize with others and learn different cultural values. The school garden provides students with an opportunity to learn about different foods, which reflect our diversity and culture. The opportunity to socialize allows children to part of diversity and inclusion, which is critical considering that we live in a multicultural society (Lewis, Asberry, DeJarnett, & King, 2016). The school creates a new culture because in that it provides students with skills of surviving in a multicultural society because they become self-aware and appreciate the cultural differences in the society.

References

Ainscow, M. (2005). Developing inclusive education systems: what are the levers for change?. Journal of educational change, 6(2), 109-124.
Ainscow, M., Booth, T., & Dyson, A. (2006). Improving schools, developing inclusion. Routledge.
Deal, T. E., & Peterson, K. D. (2016). Shaping school culture. John Wiley & Sons.
Cole, M. (2017). Critical race theory and education: A Marxist response. Springer.
Davis, K. L., & Brann, L. S. (2017). Examining the benefits and barriers of instructional gardening programs to increase fruit and vegetable intake among preschool-age children. Journal of environmental and public health, 2017.
Best, J. W., & Kahn, J. V. (2016). Research in education. Pearson Education India.
Farrell, P. (2000). The impact of research on developments in inclusive education. International
Journal of inclusive education, 4(2), 153-162.
César, M., & Santos, N. (2006). From exclusion to inclusion: Collaborative work contributions to more inclusive learning settings. European journal of psychology of education, 21(3), 333.
Talboys, G. K. (2016). Using museums as an educational resource: An introductory handbook for students and teachers. Routledge.
Spencer, J. M. (2016). Creative risk and ethics: the pedagogy of media practice and the visual arts within UK higher education (Doctoral dissertation, Manchester Metropolitan University).
Nikolajeva, M. (2015). Children's literature comes of age: toward a new aesthetic. Routledge.
Oliver, L. L. (2017). Living The Spaces Between: Being Multi-Racial. California Institute of Integral Studies.
Wellington, J. (2015). Educational research: Contemporary issues and practical approaches. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Wood, E., & Attfield, J. (2005). Play, learning and the early childhood curriculum. Sage.
Ray, R., Fisher, D. R., & Fisher-Maltese, C. (2016). School Gardens in the City: Does Environmental Equity Help Close the Achievement Gap?. Du Bois Review: Social Science Research on Race, 13(2), 379-395.
Ainscow, M., Booth, T., & Dyson, A. (2004). Understanding and developing inclusive practices in schools: a collaborative action research network. International journal of inclusive education, 8(2), 125-139.
Lewis, J., Asberry, J., DeJarnett, G., & King, G. (2016). The Best Practices for Shaping School Culture for Instructional Leaders. Alabama Journal of Educational Leadership, 3, 57-63.