. Among School Gardens . s, more wonderful than any fairy The virtues here enumerated can best be taughtin the school garden with the individual plot andownership, because there the interest is greater,the rewards are more desirable, and cause andeffect are more frequently and clearly demon-strable. The cultivation of such virtues is at theminimum when the garden of a school is only abit of decorative planting in the care of which thechildren have no part. School-ground decorationof this type is better than none, for like pictures onthe schoolroom walls, it sends out a daily influence *
. Among School Gardens . s, more wonderful than any fairy The virtues here enumerated can best be taughtin the school garden with the individual plot andownership, because there the interest is greater,the rewards are more desirable, and cause andeffect are more frequently and clearly demon-strable. The cultivation of such virtues is at theminimum when the garden of a school is only abit of decorative planting in the care of which thechildren have no part. School-ground decorationof this type is better than none, for like pictures onthe schoolroom walls, it sends out a daily influence * Weed and Emerson: The School Garden Book, p. 3. t Mrs. Henry Parsons in Report of the First Childrens SchoolFarm in New York City, for 1Q02-1Q04. 4 THE EVOLUTION OF THE SCHOOL GARDEN in behalf of orderliness and beauty. So much themore reason why the decorative planting shouldbe of the best, that it may teach symmetryof arrangement, harmony of line and color, andunity throughout. Such a garden may inspire some degree of. Mine civic pride in the children and some respect forpublic property through the feeling that theirschool home is superior to that of others. Butthese ideas are likely to be limited in practical re-sults to children who have an eye for naturalbeauty. Introduce but a little bulb planting bythe children, however, a little active participa- 5 AMONG SCHOOL GARDENS tion in the care of the plants and grounds, and atonce to each and every child the garden becomesour garden, and an injury to it a personal affair;any praise or merit becomes a comment aboutsomething I made or helped to make. Withthis sense of participation, comes genuine privatecare of public property. Of necessity, there mustfollow with this kind of interest, many self-deter-mined convictions on the part of the child as towhat is morally as well as culturally right andwrong in the garden. Lessons like these becomegradually ingrained modes or habits of thought,and the child fibre is toughened morally. T
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