The article begins with a discussion of "the grid." While it is not necessarily defined what the grid is, it is described as pertaining to the strict and narrow classrooms, ordered design of layouts and structures, strict charts in learning and assessment, and all the other ways in which the modern classroom is often organized. The image of a "grid" is used as a metaphor here for the rigidity and strictness of the classroom. In contrast, the garden learning environment is seen as the antithesis of this structure. It is free, messy, disorganized, and a place where the learning that takes place is not graded or explained on charts with straight lines but rather by the various angles, lines, curves, and other shapes that exist freely in nature. The question is then, is the modern classroom in need of more gardens and fewer cement buildings. My response to this question is a definite yes, however, I think it is a "yes, but..."
Perhaps this was not the intention of the article but when I think of the term "the grid" I am immediately drawn to the thought of the internet. When I think of "off the grid" immediately I imagine a classroom without technologies or traditional tools. While I agree that outdoor learning has many advantages I think that my vision for my future classroom is one where teaching is done through technology. I see as I am sure the authors of the paper will agree, a future classroom that is sometimes totally "off the grid" sometimes, totally "on the grid" sometimes, but most often some hybrid of the two. What I envision for my classroom is one where, indoor or outdoor, the best parts of each are present. For example, I plan to use gardens, parks, and when available beaches, as the setting of my classroom. My students, however, will not be "off the grid." They will be encouraged to interact with their environment both through their senses and also with the aid of technologies like apps such as the seek by iNaturalist app which teaches biology through species identification tasks, or starwalk which allows students to envision the night sky, even in the day.
I like the imagery that comes up when one considers a teacher as, "danced into being." Dancing, like teaching, is an art form. It implies that teacher creation is ritualistic, or, in a sense, meditative. Contrast that with the hours that I, a teacher candidate, spend sitting at a desk, in front of a computer typing out an essay, or in a crowded lecture theatre. This really points to what the article is trying to fix about the way that most classrooms are 'disembodied.' The teacher candidates braid each of their own strings into one. I think in many ways this stands as a metaphor for the discussions and that we have in our classes. Often each of us brings unique perspectives, the students and the instructors but we try to create one blended vision for the future.
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