CONTACT:
Liz Driscoll
4-H Specialist,
Crops, Horticulture & Soil Science
NC State University
218 Kilgore Hall, Box 7609
Raleigh, NC 27513
ph: (919) 513-7346
fax: (919) 515-2505
liz_driscoll@ncsu.edu

Every child is an artist.  The problem is how to remain an artist after growing up. 
-Picasso

Why do we work with youth in plant and soils?

A giant bug, a slimy toad, a smelly flower… children explore their world with curious abandon.  Looking under rocks, climbing through trees, investigating the water, they find fascinating discoveries and learn new ideas.  The inquisitive nature of children creates many opportunities for adventurous examination of the world around them.  
           
I love crawling in the soil, dirtying my knees, sifting through seeds wondering where they came from, thinking of the gentle breeze that lazily laid them down to become new plants.  I wonder how the ladybug came to have a scarlet cape on her back and why she prefers aphids as a tasty snack.  I wonder why the snake willow’s branches curl and writhe like Medusa’s hair.  I love science, but I haven’t always known that.  The science I learned in school was a science from books, of boring labs where you had to dissect frogs that I saw in my pond the day before.  Science was absolute, there was one right answer and usually I was daydreaming with the rain clouds and forgot to write it down.  As I entered college my love for plants led me to pursue a degree in horticulture.  I was trained in the “science” of seed propagation, of soil testing and improvement, of genetic variation, of the plant and soil sciences Truth.  I forgot to be curious, to ask questions, to talk with the roses and wonder about their secrets.  But, I did well, graduated with honors and thought I was a scientist.  Only when I paused to listen to the rustling dance of dried grasses in the winter and open my eyes to witness the extraordinary things that can happen in a single flower did I realize that I need to share my wonder with others and help them open their eyes to the everyday miracles that occur in gardens and the natural environment.
           
Many children in science classrooms today, sit slumped at their desks, feeling disconnected, uninterested and unmotivated to learn.  They have learned to not ask questions, resulting in a situation serious enough that there is a body of literature concerning older elementary students that focuses on how to generate curiosity (McNay, 1985; DuVall, 2001; Latham 1996).  The implication is that as children grow older they tend to lose their natural sense of wonder.  Postman (1994) states, “Children enter school as question marks and leave as periods.”   Many pedagogical practices limit the opportunities for wonder in the classroom.  If students’ ceaseless curiosity is dismissed or given perfunctory attention by adults, they can develop passivity and grow into unquestioning adults (DuVall, 2001). 

As adult leaders working with youth, whether in a school, 4-H club, or afterschool program it is important to take the time and create an environment that values young peoples curiosity and wonder. We need to be able to find ways to support and follow through on ideas that interest youth. I hope that together we can do amazing things in opening a world of plant and soils that brims with stories that are relevant to our everyday lives.