Edutopia Ideas

I never would have thought that a garden could be used for education. Apparently someone at Martin Luther King Middle School in Berkley, California, thought it could be and they were right. The idea is ingenious. The credit goes to Alice Waters, who was the chef at the school when she had the idea. Not only does the garden teach them about nature, but there are so many other things that are taught through the garden, for example mathematics. The educational opportunities abound with this program. Children learn healthy food, nutritional value, proper diet, portion sizes and so many other things that are lacking in today's society that has in part led to the high obesity rate in our country.

This is one of the coolest ideas that I have ever seen in the school system. I think it is a great idea. now personally, if you had told me that there was an "edible schoolyard" my thought would have been that it was located somewhere in the Southeast. I was surprised when they said that this was located in California. This is an area that needs to be emphasized more, as far as nutrition and food. Alabama has one of the highest rates of obesity in the United States, and personally I am not proud to say that I live in the state that has that label. I think if there was more of emphasis on the knowledge that can be learned through a program like this, there would be a decrease in the obesity rate in future generations. Fr the most part, kids dietary habits are learned from their parents and this school is doing something that has an impact on the future.



The Global Village is an experience offered through the Global Gateway Program. The global village is located on the Heifer Ranch in Perryville, Arkansas. The program is an experience that focuses on poverty and hunger. At the village there are different types of living conditions set up, for example, Guatemala, Thailand, Zimbabwe, a refuge camp and some others. The purpose of the village is to give people and students a real life look into the unfortunate situations that some people must live in. You often times hear something and it does not affect you majorly, but if you see it and feel it you grasp the reality and severity of the situation.

I think the purpose of the Global Village is brilliant. It gives students the opportunity to see what children their own age are going through in other countries. It shows them that those other kids are less fortunate and that every day is a struggle for survival in some cases. The kids get a hands on experience which is priceless. The more you actually do something yourself, the more you gain from the situation. The village brings the information that may be otherwise taught in a text book to life.