The Classroom is a Garden

The Classroom is a Garden. The archway is the door and all of the flowers (and sometimes weeds) are the students. I am the gardener, caring for each and every flower. They are nurtured by me, the rain, the soil, etc. When we treat our classrooms as a garden it becomes more than just education, it becomes a period of growth, of success and failures, trial and errors. 

My take on education is that it should be student-centered. The responsibilities of the teachers, parents, students and society vary greatly but they should be focused on the student. The students are the flowers, the parents are the soil, society is the climate and the teacher is the gardener. 

The parents are the soil from which the students get their nutrients or support. The parent is responsible for supporting the student and making sure that he/she is operating at their full capacity outside of school. If student's do not get support at home, then they often do not do well within the classroom. The students do not have the background knowledge or experience to help them in class.

The students are the flowers. They are constantly growing, changing, blooming, failing, etc. The students are responsible for keeping on track with their success. They are responsible for following instruction, doing homework, etc. If they do not keep up with their responsibilities, then the teacher can not help them grow and learn. 

The teachers are the gardeners. We prune, pluck, support, plant, etc. We foster learning in such a way that helps the students to grow and to operate at their full capacity. We aid students in their learning and guide them through their education in order for them to become successful. 

And finally, society is the climate. Society can have a positive/negative influence on education and the students. If it rains, the plants grow, and if it doesn't the plants whither. It is important for society to have a positive influence on education (ie. rain) in order for students to become the best they can be. However, if it has a negative influence on education (ie. not raining), the students are not going to do well. 

All of these factors influence the student, that is why I believe education should be student-centered. Just like how some flowers have different requirements when it comes to growth, students also have different learning styles and requirements to succeed. This is why teachers should be modifying instruction in order to accommodate all of his or her flowers. Teaching is like carefully tending a garden because we want our flowers and plants to grow. Therefore, we are going to give them the best possible treatment. The same goes for students. We want them to grow and succeed so as teachers, we need to give them the best possible treatment and we need to work with the students' needs. 

By creating relevant curriculum that is geared to the students, by giving them a choice, and by focusing on them, we are able to create the best possible individuals where each student feels successful in his or her own right. 

Social Justice Within the Classroom: My Daisies are just as important as my Daffodils

This week for our EDU 100 class, we talked a lot about Social Justice. The topic I researched was Social Justice within the classroom: How do we as teachers implement Social Justice into our classrooms. 

We can refer to the pin I chose to help understand this question a little better. 

My Pinterest

Social Justice Pin 

I guess we should start out with a definition of Social Justice. According to Matthew Robinson from the Department of Government and Justice Studies at Appalachian State University, Social Justice is "defined as "...promoting a just society by challenging injustice and valuing diversity." It exists when "all people share a common humanity and therefore have a right to equitable treatment, support for their human rights, and a fair allocation of community resources.""

It is important to implement values of Social Justice within our youths because we are teaching the future. We can see a smaller scale of Social Injustice within our schools today, and by trying to create socially conscious students, we are working towards eradicating social injustice, not only in the schools but in society as well. Through quality instruction that teaches students about issues relevant to them, their learning will not only increase but their awareness of society and Social Justice will as well. 

One example of implementing Social Justice values is through Place-Based Education. This type of education involves curriculum and methods of teaching that the children face in every day life. Students who live near the beach can learn about keeping the oceans clean, and children living in the Rain forest can learn how to save the trees. This type of education creates students who know that their actions make a difference and that they have the power to change the future. Students who realize that they have this ability are in turn able to make changes in society and to enforce Social Justice in our future. 

Some ways to create Social Justice within the classroom (see pin)

• Connect with Students. Find out what they love, what their culture is, what they've experienced. 
• Create instruction and curriculum that is relevant. Don't teach students who live on the beach about a rain forest. Teach them about the ocean, marine animals, things that they can relate to.
• Create a Community within the Classroom. Participation is key, every student needs to feel as if they have a choice and that their opinion matters and that they can make a change.
• Include Authentic Assessments. Create Assessments where the students feel as if they actually get something from it instead of just mindless homework and standardized tests. 

As you can see, it is not difficult to implement Social Justice within the classroom. It is possible to create effective instruction while still promoting Social Justice. If we can start now within our classrooms, our students will grow to create a Socially Just future, and isn't that what we want??

I believe that a Socially Just future is extremely important. As educators, we are teaching the leaders of our future, so we want to nurture them and make them successful as well as promote social justice. In my classroom, or garden if you will, daisies are just important as daffodils. They are both beautiful and deserve equal opportunities. Their voices need to be heard and they need to know that they can make a change in the world. If we as teachers don't educate our students on and implement Social Justice within our classrooms, our future will be bleak.