Sept 19th Entrance Slip

 This article makes explicit some of the greatest gifts these learning gardens have to offer. The first that really resonated was its ability to act as a community space. The universal appeal of these learning garden brings together many ways of life, cultivating rich experiences teeming with diversity. During my adult life in Vancouver, I’ve noticed that there are very few community spaces that meaningfully serve Vancouver’s multi-cultural communities. Even existing community gardens in many parts of the city are not generally thought of as gathering places (this is a generalization - the Strathcona community garden, for example, is incredible). Applying some of the philosophies of learning gardens to community gardens might help transform them into something attractive to a broader community.

I was also moved by how the article discussed embracing the garden as a co-teacher. By minimizing human-made infrastructure, the gardens can help us develop a real, authentic relationship with the natural world. I can affirm the absence of this experience in typical STEM education. This is tragic given that these are often the people who shape our physical world. We would be wise to ensure that these students have ample opportunities to develop an intimate relationship with the world they are so eager to change.

In the context of Secondary math, I can most easily envision group work taking place in a garden setting. I envision groups of 3-4, standing up, working through a sheet of problems on a portable whiteboard. Experience this semester gives me confidence this can happen in a learning garden. Furthermore, I speculate that students in tune with the spirits will find mathematical guidance in extremely novel ways.

The most notable difficulties I foresee relate to distractions and fatigue. In particular if it is a hot day, working in an outdoor space requires a lot of energy that might otherwise be used for math. Additionally, distractions within the garden (insects, wind, physical discomfort) might easily pull students away from the task at hand.