Why an Urban Farm School?
“Change the food in schools and we can influence how children think. Change the curriculum and teach them how to garden and how to cook and we can show that growing food and cooking and eating together give lasting meaning, richness, and beauty to our lives.”
- Alice Waters
Our Philosophy
Our philosophy falls under a constructivist umbrella. We believe that children learn best when they are intrinsically motivated to construct their own knowledge and understanding of the world and how things work. This approach to knowledge acquisition sets children up for independence and problem-solving skills needed for the 21st century. Raising Radishes is a Reggio Emillia inspired school that blends Montessori methodology while operating under a seed-to-table Agri-school model. Within these principles, we follow the child and utilize what is known as “emergent curriculum”. Every child is on their own learning path developed and guided by our teachers. The children work together with their peers and adults to document experiences, reflect on their encounters, and project their future learning to plan their next steps.
The Reggio Emilia Inspired Approach
The Reggio Emilia Approach® is an educational philosophy based on the image of a child with strong potentialities for development and a subject with rights, who learns through the hundred languages belonging to all human beings, and grows in relations with others. The role of the teacher in a Reggio environment is as a “co-learner,” who observes and documents learning, and guides a negotiated curriculum through projects that build upon the interests and ideas of the children. Reggio classrooms encourage learning in a social context, where communication, relationships, cooperation and amicable disagreement yield exploration and learning. Reading, writing and other important skills are interwoven through the progression of emergent project work, without predetermined scope and sequence. The classroom environment is filled with open-ended materials to engage children in discussion, play and work.