“Mr. Eller, check out these apple seeds I gathered at lunch, today! Can we plant them?”, says Jaiden.
“Yes, let’s investigate what we we need to help them grow. Set them on the shelf over there and we can take a close look, together”, challenges Mr. Eller.
And so it begins … the cycle of “why” then “what” then “how”.
The why is simple. We are showing up at this place called school to grow up together. We range from age 4 to, well, older than four 🙂 and have this thing called learning in common; constant, relentless, persistent, learning. Yesterday I learned about I-58 Mission located near the school and also that there is a need for fresh produce. We have been growing up together for about 1 1/2 years and had some harvesting that needed to be completed before school was out. Just in time, the need arose and our “what” (the garden) suddenly had a “why”. We had to spring into action immediately because the food pantry would be open the very next day!
The discussion that followed was full of wide-eyed wonder and comments leading to a realization that students in their classes, in their school, were going through some really tough situations. This was their community and they were about to be part of something to directly impact and contribute to a problem. They were an army of compassion ready to make a change.
Growing, giving, and living. What is this class? What is the subject? How do you measure and score progress? Yes, this is bigger than academics and classrooms and curriculum. No doubt, all of these components support this emphasis but this is real and unfiltered! The garden is such an asset because it is full of discovery, service, discipline, and innovation. We were challenged with layers of self-control and precision to work as a unit to accomplish the task of harvesting which produced packages of nutrition.
It all came together towards the end of the day. The produce was to be picked up at 3:00 PM sharp and then to be delivered to the food bank at the I-58 Mission. A decision had to be made, though. The students were asked to consider what message they would like to receive labeled on the bag. If they could convey one message what would it be? They quickly came to a conclusion.
From our garden with love.
What is your why?
Remember, whatever you focus upon increases. #thenoticer @AndyAndrews
— Jeff Eller (@jellerlearning) May 5, 2018