Two thumbs up to Matt Wilkinson, a physical education teacher at Princeton Public High School in New Jersey. In addition to being a former wresting coach, Mr. Wilkinson also has a background in horticulture. Instead of mainstream physcial education class, his students have the option to take “gardening”. Now this is not a “wimp out” as anyone who has engaged in some serious gardening knows it is hard physical work. The students tend to 15 raised beds, seeding , weeding , turning compost, and harvesting. Extra food is donated to soup kitchens and others in need. In addition, the gardens are also used academically to teach students in other departments. For example, the Science Dept. is studying plants that are best for preventing erosion; the Foreign Language Dept. chose seeds to be planted that are related to various culinary traditions; the Guidance Dept. selected plants and are studying those that yield relaxing aromas.
”We’re giving our students another option to mainstream physical education,” Mr. Wilkinson said. “How long is somebody going to play basketball or soccer? Gardening they can do their whole lives.”
To read the article, click: http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/26/high-school-gardening-for-credit/
