鈥淭here are needs that often become sort of the foundational motivation for students to perform better skills because the world needs them. I want to give the students skills that the world will need and appreciate and make them more loved and appreciated as they go into adulthood,鈥� says John Paul II Collegiate functional integration teacher Rhea Good.
Good took up her role with the special education program five years ago. Since then, she has incorporated her personal interest in healthy eating and sustainable gardening into her lessons and has implemented multiple micro businesses that teach her students skills they can use outside of the classroom.
Functional integration teaches students skills for life after school, Good says. The goals set for each student is individualized to their needs and skill level and range from cooking, sewing and gardening, to hygiene and picking the right fruit or vegetable at the store.
With individualized learning 鈥渟ome students work on skills more academically oriented and some students learn life skills,鈥� she says.
The six students assigned to her classroom this semester spend most of their time at this 鈥渉ome base,鈥� but also attend classes with other teachers. There are also three and a half staff that work out of the functional integrated program room to assist in supervising students as they do jobs around the school.
鈥淭he students who are in special programs are not as bound by the curriculum as mainstream students,鈥� Good says.
鈥淲hen students are placed in special programs, that track changes. My students do not require credits to graduate. They will spend their time in the program where they work on individualized goals that are documented in the inclusion and intervention plan.鈥�
Moving from Lawrence School, Good has been able to inject her lessons at JP with her own teaching philosophy, something that wasn鈥檛 possible in an elementary school with their emphasis on the necessary standardized skill-building lessons.
At JP, Good鈥檚 teaching philosophy is informed by a combination of her interest in healthy eating; sustainable and organic gardening; and Finland鈥檚 education system, which provides a nutritious lunch to all students. She also 鈥淸tries] to follow popular trends in our society,鈥� she says, adding, 鈥淚 think people have become more oriented to healthier choices.鈥�
Good, for her part, doesn鈥檛 seem to have an overarching vision when incorporating her personal interests into a lesson. Rather, she seems guided by giving her students more options than they might be accustomed to.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 kind of my passion, but it also just an interesting angle to take on cooking,鈥� she says. 鈥淵ou could do a cooking class that focuses on brownies, or you could teach a cooking class that鈥檚 oriented on vegetables.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 my ethical take on it. I would rather teach them how to make a stir fry, for the health benefits of making that choice.鈥�
As the functional integrated program manager, Good was particularly interested in starting a garden project, not only to teach useful skills, but to foster a feeling of accomplishment through caring for plants.
鈥淚 know that relationships are the foundation of growth in this realm of work.
鈥淥ften we focus so much on caring for the student that we forget to teach the skills that give you self esteem, to take care of yourself, but also have responsibilities to care for other things.
鈥淸To teach] 鈥業 need to be able to make my mom a cup of tea because she likes that,鈥� 鈥業 need to be able to write a birthday card for my sister because that鈥檚 meaningful for her.鈥欌��
Good鈥檚 first idea to engender self-esteem through responsibility was a class pet, but decided against it after discerning what that would entail.
鈥淪o [I thought] something to do with plants might hit the nail on the head,鈥� says Good. 鈥淚 just started asking what鈥檚 possible and what鈥檚 a dream, what are the logistics of this?鈥�
The planning stage of the horticultural project began in earnest near the beginning of 2016.
鈥淸JP Principal] Mr. Hansen and I went for a walk around the school to think 鈥榳hat grass could we dig up to plant two apple trees?鈥欌�� explains Good.
鈥淸Apple trees were] my original idea. We literally walked around the school, 鈥榤aybe here,鈥� 鈥榤aybe this spot,鈥� 鈥榤aybe along here we could do a bed.鈥�
鈥淚 don鈥檛 have the mandate to start digging up lawns, but in that conversation we talked about different ideas for doing any kind of outdoor planting.鈥�
During talks to come up with an executable plan, Hansen informed Good that the industrial arts teacher, Jeff Kardynal, was interested in making a greenhouse as a class project.
鈥淚 thought this might be a good partnership. We can provide the day-to-day labour of looking after plants, if you can provide the infrastructure.鈥�
Next step was 鈥渢o apply for a whole bunch of grants.鈥� Unfortunately, when Good and Kardynal got a response, it was no.
鈥淲e got nine consecutive 鈥榥o鈥檚 and Mr. Kardynal and I were like, 鈥極K, the greenhouse isn鈥檛 going to happen, so meet me outside, we can鈥檛 do a big thing, but we鈥檒l do raised beds.鈥�
Good had just called to place an order for enough dirt for eight raised beds when a notification on her phone sounded, letting her know she got an email stating they鈥檇 been awarded a grant for $3500.
鈥淲e鈥檇 priced everything and knew how much everything was going to be. We were a side step closer, but not a step closer.鈥�
Within the next few days Good and Kardynal鈥檚 project was awarded another grant, this time from SIGA, for $1000. It still wasn鈥檛 enough for the greenhouse, but they decided to start work on four raised beds.
鈥淚t鈥檚 May, we have to make a decision, because I need to put seeds in the ground, or it鈥檚 not going to happen. Then all of a sudden, Cargill said 鈥極K, we鈥檙e going to give you $7000.鈥欌��
鈥淣ow we鈥檙e in the realm of possibility,鈥� says Good. With $11,500 worth of funding in place, the school division agreed to help with the remaining cost. Kardynal and his class finished the footing before the end of the school year and when classes returned in the fall the work was finished during an unseasonably hot week in November.
鈥淣ecessity is the mother of invention,鈥� Good says, and, without a greenhouse last season, she was still able to teach horticultural skills to her students. Last year and over winter, students have taken care of a 鈥榞arden鈥� of herbs, planted in pots, housed in the school鈥檚 third floor windows in order to take in as much energy from the sun鈥檚 weak, winter rays.
By last summer, the class had two harvests from the makeshift garden and sold the selection of herbs to Kihiw restaurant. Ultimately, Good says, the longterm goal is 鈥渢hat we will give [Kihiw] something that鈥檚 worth money and sustainable.鈥�
鈥淲e鈥檙e not looking to make a profit, but we鈥檙e looking to make these micro businesses sustainable,鈥� she adds.
For Good, success comes not just from learning a skill, but in doing work that is, she terms, purposeful.
鈥淲e鈥檙e growing plants, not just to have flowers, but we鈥檙e growing plants to use them,鈥� she says.
And, with the greenhouse in play this year, Good says she hopes that, by June, they鈥檒l have salad greens to be able to at the school鈥檚 servery for staff and students.
Beyond just her class, Good wants to show another way of eating and thinking about eating. Not just by eating healthy, but by making 鈥渆ating healthy the best possible choice.鈥�
The novelty of a school greenhouse hasn鈥檛 yet worn off for Good, who says she likes 鈥渢he optics of it.鈥�
鈥淚 like that everybody who walks by sees the greenhouse, sees the school鈥檚 garden. It鈥檚 a new experience for a lot of students, mainstream students alike, to go from garden to table.鈥�
Good says that Saskatchewan鈥檚 farming history has been detached from our everyday experience and that, nowadays, people have to 鈥渢ake the time鈥� to make sustainability and gardening a part of life. At JP, she is teaching by example.
