{"id":57479,"date":"2013-09-02T20:44:24","date_gmt":"2013-09-03T02:44:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/linking-school-instruction-to-the-real-world\/"},"modified":"2026-03-28T20:43:57","modified_gmt":"2026-03-28T20:43:57","slug":"linking-school-instruction-to-the-real-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/linking-school-instruction-to-the-real-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Linking school instruction to the real world"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"MANCOS
MANCOS ELEMENTARY school students prepare to harvest produce at the Mancos School Garden.<\/span>Courtesy Photo\/MSTFP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But for the 120 students enrolled in Keri Mustoe\u2019s Institutional Technology classes at Cortez Middle School, it\u2019ll be a lasting fact that 500 years ago it took 80 percent of people on this planet to supply the population\u2019s food needs. And they might even understand why the inversion of that statistic today has a profound impact on everything from agriculture, to science and technology, to the modern social order. The labor-cost of food production became a personal lesson for students in Ms. Mustoe\u2019s class last week. With cheers and laughter, the students saw how much work goes into planting seeds by hand. First one, then three, then five, then eight of their peers struggled to keep up with the slow forward pace of a simple, non-motorized seeding machine.<\/p>\n

That is the power of experiential education, and that is the key behind the garden- and food-based lessons designed by the Montezuma School to Farm Project. The best teachers we work with understand that information is retained best when it takes relevance in students\u2019 lives. All those small, particulate facts need to be drawn together, given an emotional linkage and reinforced by an understanding that comes through lived-experience. That\u2019s what hands-on, results-based teaching does.<\/p>\n

Food-, nutrition- and garden-based lessons work so well because diet is one of the most universally relatable subjects. What else do the majority of humans do so routinely or with such relish as eat? An example of how food helps students learn and encourages success comes from Megan Tallmadge, the Dolores School Garden coordinator. She teaches fourth-graders how to read charts, do the math to come up with planting and spacing maps, and then plant the seeds accordingly. For the students, the lesson doesn\u2019t end when the seeds are in the ground. It continues for months while they watch their work germinate, photosynthesize, grow and eventually be ready for a feast!<\/p>\n

A deeper knowledge of what students are eating and how that food gets to their mouths will ultimately lead to not only smarter students but also healthier humans. Food consumption is irrevocably related to bodily health. Food and plant cultivation on a personal level nourishes both the body and the mind. And consciousness of the ecological cycles that makes life possible gives students a greater appreciation for the conservation of important natural resources like water and soil. On top of that, we are making sure that all our lessons include necessary core skills such as math, science, social studies, art and reading\/listening comprehension, according to the needs of our partnering teachers.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s about creating school environments where students understand not only what they are being taught, but also why they are learning it. To help that, MSTFP gives students the opportunity to apply their learning to real life, fruitful situations. The data is slowly being gathered nationwide about why this kind of experience is so integral to successful schooling. For us, we know something is working because year after year, teachers and students continue to get excited about coming to garden class.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

This week\u2019s garden tip comes from folks at the Mount Lookout Grange:<\/p>\n

\u201cWinter is coming and try as we might, it is nearly impossible to get beans to grow under two feet of snow. That\u2019s why it is a great time to start preserving food! Things like canning, fermentation and dehydrating are making a comeback and it\u2019s easier than ever to put up your own food. Mount Lookout Grange will be offering ongoing preservation classes throughout the fall. If you can\u2019t make it to one of our monthly meetings, email the same fellow who\u2019s writing this article for details.\u201d<\/p>\n

The news from MSFTP is that garden classes are starting in full swing starting after Labor Day!<\/p>\n

If you or someone you know might be interested in volunteering in Dolores, Mancos or Cortez, there is always a place for some helping hands! Email mstfpamericorps@gmail.com<\/a> if you\u2019re interested!<\/p>\n

Also, Colorado Proud Day is Sept. 18, and all over the county, kids will be munching on some Colorado-grown vittles during lunch. We\u2019ll be there handing out samples and seeing the looks of surprise on your kids faces as they realize they actually like brussels sprouts \u2014 hopefully.<\/p>\n

Harrison Topp is an Americorps-VISTA worker at the Montezuma School to Farm Project.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ELEMENTARY school students prepare to harvest produce at the Mancos School Garden.Courtesy Photo\/MSTFP But for the 120 students enrolled in Keri Mustoe\u2019s Institutional Technology classes at Cortez Middle School, it\u2019ll be a lasting fact that 500 years ago it took 80 percent of people on this planet to supply the population\u2019s food needs. And […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":57480,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[188],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-57479","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-dolores-star"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57479","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57479"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57479\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":58305,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57479\/revisions\/58305"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57480"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57479"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57479"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57479"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=57479"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}