How Do Students Grow?
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Well-tilled gardens (good school systems) have balanced soil conditions (adequate funding, specialized teachers, and up-to-date technology) that are conducive to growing (learning). If the soil conditions (growing environment of a school) are dry as a desert (under-served), the plants (students) will not thrive; instead, their survival will be difficult at best. Many urban teachers face teaching in such an environment that does not have the resources to successfully support “growing” students. Enrichment of the soil happens when a school system receives adequate funding, “enriching” educators to teach. If the soil (learning environment) has the proper nutrients, that nutrition will be passed on into the plants (students) growing in it.
Weeds can usurp the soil of its nutrients, leaving a deficient amount for the plants to grow strong. Some of these “weeds” include the education gap that exists between minority students and white students, in addition to learners not understanding the language used to teach them. These weeds can overcome plants (students) to the point where they are choked out and overwhelmed by the odds against them.
Another thing that robs soil of its nutrients is over-planting. If a farmer plants the same crop over and over, the crop will eventually suck all of the nutrients it needs to grow out of the soil. Diversity, or “rotating crops,” is a key to keeping the growing environment fresh for each plant. In schools, diversity leads to students learning new cultures through the different ethnic backgrounds and sexual orientations of their adolescent peers. Students start out in kindergarten as a small shoot, growing from the seed planted by their family’s culture and way of life. If students are only surrounded by others who mirror their own traditions, they may struggle to learn the richness of cultural diversity, and then this important aspect of education and socialization may become as barren as over-planted soil. In gardens, diverse plantings are aesthetically pleasing and useful in many different ways.
While diversity is a key element to a beautiful and productive garden, sun and water are vital to grow healthy plants in that garden. If students are not thirsty for the “water” of knowledge, they will not grow academically. Teaching techniques should acknowledge that each student is unique and require different amounts of “watering.” Over-watering happens when a plant (student) is pummeled by sheets and sheets of rain (too much information to digest). This can lead to discouragement and abandonment of learning, as lofty goals may seem unattainable to a student. On the other hand, under-watering by not providing enough stimuli to a gifted student may cause him to “wilt” with boredom. One of the ways to stimulate growth in students is through teaching literature that will motivate them to learn about the many other gardens of the earth.
Just as not enough water can inhibit a plant, not enough sun can be damaging as well. Students should not be “in the dark” to real life applications of what they learn, or they will never be able to survive in society. Thus, students also need to connect the literature they read in class to their own real life experiences. When students make these personal connections to what they read in the classroom, they are more likely to grow in knowledge and understanding.
Teaching through making these connections will grow students to become well-rooted in the diverse garden of life, even if the soil is tough and the proper environmental conditions are equally lacking.
Well-tilled gardens (good school systems) have balanced soil conditions (adequate funding, specialized teachers, and up-to-date technology) that are conducive to growing (learning). If the soil conditions (growing environment of a school) are dry as a desert (under-served), the plants (students) will not thrive; instead, their survival will be difficult at best. Many urban teachers face teaching in such an environment that does not have the resources to successfully support “growing” students. Enrichment of the soil happens when a school system receives adequate funding, “enriching” educators to teach. If the soil (learning environment) has the proper nutrients, that nutrition will be passed on into the plants (students) growing in it.
Weeds can usurp the soil of its nutrients, leaving a deficient amount for the plants to grow strong. Some of these “weeds” include the education gap that exists between minority students and white students, in addition to learners not understanding the language used to teach them. These weeds can overcome plants (students) to the point where they are choked out and overwhelmed by the odds against them.
Another thing that robs soil of its nutrients is over-planting. If a farmer plants the same crop over and over, the crop will eventually suck all of the nutrients it needs to grow out of the soil. Diversity, or “rotating crops,” is a key to keeping the growing environment fresh for each plant. In schools, diversity leads to students learning new cultures through the different ethnic backgrounds and sexual orientations of their adolescent peers. Students start out in kindergarten as a small shoot, growing from the seed planted by their family’s culture and way of life. If students are only surrounded by others who mirror their own traditions, they may struggle to learn the richness of cultural diversity, and then this important aspect of education and socialization may become as barren as over-planted soil. In gardens, diverse plantings are aesthetically pleasing and useful in many different ways.
While diversity is a key element to a beautiful and productive garden, sun and water are vital to grow healthy plants in that garden. If students are not thirsty for the “water” of knowledge, they will not grow academically. Teaching techniques should acknowledge that each student is unique and require different amounts of “watering.” Over-watering happens when a plant (student) is pummeled by sheets and sheets of rain (too much information to digest). This can lead to discouragement and abandonment of learning, as lofty goals may seem unattainable to a student. On the other hand, under-watering by not providing enough stimuli to a gifted student may cause him to “wilt” with boredom. One of the ways to stimulate growth in students is through teaching literature that will motivate them to learn about the many other gardens of the earth.
Just as not enough water can inhibit a plant, not enough sun can be damaging as well. Students should not be “in the dark” to real life applications of what they learn, or they will never be able to survive in society. Thus, students also need to connect the literature they read in class to their own real life experiences. When students make these personal connections to what they read in the classroom, they are more likely to grow in knowledge and understanding.
Teaching through making these connections will grow students to become well-rooted in the diverse garden of life, even if the soil is tough and the proper environmental conditions are equally lacking.
Key West Mayor talks to our GSA Club at the high school.
The Key West High School GSA group outside my PRIDE classroom.
L-R: Cheyenne Bigham, Victoria Reis, Jacob Werdin, me, and Kaitlyn Nulf during a field trip as part of the Students For Equality after school club at Westville High School.