I come from a country town. Not too far from the big smoke, but at the time, far enough that there were rolling hills of farmland surrounding the area, and people would still occasionally ride horses around the streets. But, the town itself was growing and starting to become more influenced by the city life, and kids were losing their touch with nature. And it was a town where at high school, we had a year eight (at least) class called "agriculture" (Ag for short), where we would learn about farming farming for a semester, and grow our own vegetables in a small plot beside the school.
Have I mentioned I was raised pretty much vegetarian before?
This was a rarity in Australia at the time, and almost non-existent in the town in which I was raised. However, my mum was a great cook and used a lot of spice, so don't think that the food was the traditional vegetarian fare. But, being a vegetarian in a household that was often financially struggling, eating vegetables wasn't really an issue. But when I saw a peer eating a raw turnip at school like it was the juiciest apple in the world, I found it strange.
But it also made something clear.
The kid was one of those disruptive children that is common in the classroom today, but then were just starting. The type of kid where one could assume that they come from a broken home, where both parent s fail to pay attention, unless punishing the child, and choose to feed whatever is convenient to dish up - probably a TV dinner of some sort. Sure, I have no actual idea of what Shane's homelife was like - but at school, he was what could be considered in context, as a deadbeat wanker.
However, it was interesting to see from him and many of the other kids, that they didn't really have much experience with vegetables, but when they got to grow their own, tending to their little one meter by two meter plot, watering, weeding and admiring their work, they grew as people. Albeit for a short period, and most likely regressed.
No matter how idiotic the kid normally, pretty much all the kids did a good job of looking after their garden, helping the broccoli, cauliflower, turnips, potatoes and carrots turn from nothing into fully grown, healthy, vitamin-rich food. And when it came time to harvest their mini crop, they took pleasure in cutting the heads off, and carefully packing them into their school bags to proudly take them home to their parents. who might not know what they are themselves, let alone how to cook them.
Kids being kids though...
Some couldn't resist having a taste of the food they produced with their own hands, which is why Shane was there munching away on a raw turnip - which couldn't have tasted brilliant. And he wasn't the only one. Quite a few were taking bites out of various vegetables to test their goodness, and despite them being raw, seemed to quite enjoy it. It wasn't the taste they enjoyed, but the experience of enjoying the fruits of their labour. Or vegetables of their labour in this case. And for many, it looked like they were enjoying eating something that they considered good for them - like that was a new experience also.
Again, I have no idea what most of these people's family lives were like in reality, but these were my perceptions as a thirteen year old kid, who had to deal with them in class for years. It was also interesting to note that my own friends at the time, while they did the work and cared for their plants, didn't care too much otherwise, because they were farmer kids so this was nothing new for them. They were not only used to growing food, they were also used to hunting food.
One of the key lessons that stuck with me from this class was how important it is to take ownership if we want to improve our experience. Another is, how valuable we find things that we have done ourselves, even if for a few dollars at the time, we could have gone to the store and bought all the same vegetables without the months of hard work in the sun. When things are cheap, we seem to devalue their importance. People complain about the cost of healthy food, but will spend 2000 dollars on a new phone, that does the same thing as their old phone.
We are creative animals, that have the power to shape our world and impact our experience. Yet, we have become a consumer force, no longer part of the creative process until the end of the supply chain, as the open mouth that eats, and the ass that disposes of the waste. There are many ways to grow, but if we are creating nothing ourselves, what are we becoming?
Taraz
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Great post! We really do appreciate the things we do ourselves and don't have any appreciation for stuff that is bought for cheap.
Also, it is sometimes impossible to go to the store and buy the same vegetable. One case is tomatoes. I can go to all the best supermarkets in Seattle area and even to Farmers Markets later in summer and buy their best heirloom tomatoes, but for some reason the supermarket ones don't taste anywhere near as good as the ones grown by me and even farmers market ones tend to be very inferior with maybe a few exceptions that basically is the same variety of a tomato and was picked at the exact time of ripeness and hasn't laid around too long.
So basically that is the reason why I grow my own tomatoes. I like to have control of having exactly right assortment of heirloom tomatoes that are picked at the exact time of ripeness and consumed promptly :)
I guess you can call me Tomato Connoisseur LOL
I know what you mean about the different tastes. Here the cucumbers grown in Finland taste completely different to the ones (same variety) grown elsewhere, like Spain. Same for tomatoes and definitely for strawberries. Our neighbours have brilliant raspberries at the end of summer, and we go over and steal some (with their permission) - but we normally go and pick our own strawberries and raspberries from the farms. They are great here.
The only thing that is really good in our yard to eat at the moment, are the cherries. But hopefully we will get more things started this year!
BTW in my experience raspberries are very easy to grow. Easier than strawberries for example.
There are a lot of classes like that they don't bother with anymore. One of them is home economics. We used to have to bake and stuff like that in school, but those classrooms are long gone now. We like to focus more on test scores because that is what the government requires. I'm glad you got to have that experience.
I loved Home Ec. Not so much for the cooking, because I could already cook okay enough to survive, but because of two girls in the class that my friend and I would flirt with. We also did sewing and the like in the class, which I also enjoyed.
One thing I remember from the cooking, was how much sone of the kids looked forward to it for similar reasons to the growing of vegetables.
Do you think practical classes will ever come back in education fashion?
I doubt it. At least not at the public school level. There is just too much focus. I think you might get it more with home schooling and some of the co-ops that people run for things like that. We do have some life skills classes for the special education kids, but that's more because they know they probably aren't going to continue their education after grade school. Which honestly is a bit of a slight to the general ed kids...
While I understand that everyone should get support - I also think that often the majority of support goes to those who aren't likely to benefit much from it.
When I was in school we had vocational (trade) classes. They would rum from the 7th grade through thee 12th grade. I noticed that the asshats in school would often times really turn into good kids in those classses. They would pay attention, be heads down in their work and not be disruptive. I for one sucked at most things like wood and metal working. I did good at electrical, but otherwise sucked. I sucked at most stuff in school except physical education which I loved. Funny thing though, I was not a jock, or at least didn't hang with them.
It makes me think that our school systems may need a major shift in how they educate and prepare kids for the real world. Maybe after elementary (6th grade) start a trades route for some that are not as acadmically inclined.
Healthy creativity at work. There are tasks, goals, outcomes and a sense of pride to boot.
Perhaps you were like me - hung out with the girls!
This is especially true now, where many of the jobs people are educating for, won't exist in the not too distant future. Especially if they don't have creative skills to accompany the process skills.
I chased the gals for sure and hung out with some. But honestly as I look back I hung out on the fringes of all the different groups of kids. The jocks, the stoners, the nerds, the preps etc. I never fit into any of them, but always seemed to have a friend or two in each.
For the most part I was and still am the same. I can have a good conversation with anyone, on anything. I think it is partly because I am curious too.
My friends and I were bad kids. We climbed over fences and stole cherries, plums, pears, raspberries from people. We all had these fruits at home, but it was some kind of excitement.
It's good that kids don't do that now. And I often explain to my children the benefits of vegetables, fruits and berries from my garden. All the food in our garden is without any chemical processing.
Nothing tastes sweeter, than stolen fruit ;D
This is good for those who have the space. However, I think it is good if kids eat the best food they can get, regardless of the chemicals (to some degree). The vegetables might not be organic in the supermarket, but it is much better than a frozen pizza - and cheaper.
I also studied in the village till class 6, and then I had to shift to the city, but I really have to say these 7 years of school, which I did in the village, are unmatched. We used to bunk classes and play near a big mango tree, and there was a lot to do. In villages everyone's behavior is so good, and they treat you like your own child. I truly remember those days. The friends and the memories of what we have done in classes.
At least when I was a kid, it was still possible to get punished by adults. Living in a small town, everyone knew everyone, do it was hard to get away with any mischief - but we managed!
Growing up in a city is very different.
Yes, in small towns and villages, everyone knows everybody, so it is difficult to do anything because then parents know about the pranks, and then they will punished but eventually I know a hack. We used to go to the garden, and not many people came to the garden, so we were able to play there after bunking the class.
I thought it is only in this part of the world that we value agriculture particularly when it comes to children going to school, although things have change now as not many are even willing to work in the farm no having a garden. Even the teachers are not ready to even work in the garden with the students.
I remember when I was in secondary school. We have a school farm that we planted several fruit and edible like bananas and even planting and vegetables. Like you said will always be a child or two that won't follow the norm and regulation of the school though where the child come from might contributed but we have seen students coming from a good home too constituing nuisance. I had friends, and most of them were male, though.who used to scale through the fence and enter the school garden, almost eaten up all the
I also enjoy consuming the fruits and vegetables grown in my garden. I witness their growth and ripening from the very beginning. It is quite enjoyable to see the fruits of my labor and it makes me feel good. On the other hand, I cannot internalize the products in the market that much.
Oh snap, I was raised vegetarian as well - from 1974 onwards! So though I do eat meat now, I know my way around a vegetable and I'll cook vego pretty much 6 out of 7 days a week, if not more :P
I think these days kids have more exposure to vegetarian or at least different diets. It's often dependent on how they were raised - the Dad scathing about vegans and eating meat and potatoes and peas is hardly going to raise a child who appreciates a good vego curry.
So I'm half-bamboo, half-baby potato, half-lavender bush, half-strawberry colony...
Honestly, so far it's much more effort and time spent than raw produce gained. Almost none of the latter. But the process is very... what I like doing.
Watching it grow and multiply. Trying to improve conditions. Smelling the grass and soil.