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Gym Credit for Gardening? Hallelujah.

BY Kevin Lee Jacobs | March 30, 2010 18 Comments

Last updated on December 2nd, 2011


I LOVE THIS. According to the New York Times, students at Princeton Public High School can, for physical-education credit, opt out of traditional gym class…and take gardening instead. The idea was conceived by Matt Wilkinson, a physical-education teacher and former wresting coach. “We’re giving students another option to mainstream physical education,” says Mr. Wilkinson. “How long is somebody going to play basketball or soccer? Gardening they can do their whole lives.” And turning over soil, he says, uses the same muscles employed for bicep curls. (We who garden are well aware of this fact.)

Should other schools follow Princeton’s lead? Read the article, and then tell me what you think.

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Comments

  1. 1

    Justin says

    March 30, 2010 at 5:25 pm

    Yes!!! If only I'd had that option in high school. I loathed gym class!

  2. 2

    Carol says

    March 30, 2010 at 7:04 pm

    As one who did everything possible to get out of gym, I say YES. All schools should provide this “gardening option.”

  3. 3

    Eric says

    March 30, 2010 at 8:41 pm

    Great article. Everyone should read it.

    Personally, I liked gym, but I can see the value in this alternative exercise program. In the age of sustainability, it makes sense for students to learn how to make raised beds, compost, etc., and to know how to grow their own food!

  4. 4

    Sharon says

    March 30, 2010 at 10:00 pm

    Too bad the kids can't eat the produce they grow “because of existing contracts the school has with food service companies.”

    But I think the stats are great. Out of 27 kids in one class, 17 of them chose gardening!

  5. 5

    Gardenlady says

    March 31, 2010 at 11:33 am

    Just think of the beautiful grounds a school could have if students were given the option to take gym class in the garden.

  6. 6

    Jed Swift says

    April 1, 2010 at 2:17 pm

    Hi Kevin

    I completely agree with this option for fitness and know that gardening serves more than the mortal body. It also serves the psyche and spirit.

    Best, Jed

  7. 7

    Kevin Lee Jacobs says

    April 1, 2010 at 2:59 pm

    Jed – Amen to that.

  8. 8

    Sheila says

    April 1, 2010 at 8:28 pm

    Does anyone doubt that gardening involves real exercise? You should see the sweat I worked up today, cleaning out perennial beds!!!

  9. 9

    Kevin Lee Jacobs says

    April 5, 2010 at 1:41 am

    Sheila – I'm well aware of the exercise involved in gardening! I can tell you that every muscle in my body aches today, after turning over the leaf mold and soil in the raised beds of my kitchen garden!

  10. 10

    Suzanne Brummel says

    December 6, 2011 at 10:54 pm

    Sweet, this means I can use gardening chores for my kids as P.E. credits! (we homeschool)… to think we’d been doing it FOR NOTHING (wink) all these years.
    Sad thing is… When the schools decide to add it, everyone thinks it’s enriching, when
    homeschoolers try to get credit for it, we’re denying our kids a “proper” education. Can’t win,
    but I sure have some kids w/good strong arms and a love for gardening.

  11. 11

    Kevin Lee Jacobs says

    December 7, 2011 at 7:59 am

    Suzanne Brummel – Thanks for writing. Here’s my thinking on the matter: Home-schooled students should receive credit not only for gardening outdoors, but for gardening indoors too.

    As a matter of fact, last year a high-school teacher told me he uses my bulb-forcing posts and pictures in his biology class. He even had his students pot and force a number of bulbs. So there is even more to gardening than the phys-ed aspect!

  12. 12

    maria says

    June 23, 2012 at 7:17 am

    Kevin,

    I love that idea of also introducing the indoor garden in schools.

    Maria

  13. 13

    Jan Edmondson says

    October 26, 2012 at 1:26 pm

    I think this is a wonderful outstanding idea. I was raised in the country and love it and taught my son to appreciate the outdoors and our Arabian horses. We had a large garden my husband and his gardening friend would plant etc and I would help pick and can. Want to get into gardening again and really like your site here! Wonderfully entertaining and educational. Love your home and what you are doing to restore it. Copied your cookie recipe and hope to try it today. My son is now living up north, West Haven, Conn, where are you in relation to there?

  14. 14

    Kevin Lee Jacobs says

    October 27, 2012 at 7:57 am

    Hi Jan Edmondson – So glad you enjoy this website. I’m in Columbia County, NY, which is about 2 1/2 hours from West Haven, CT.

  15. 15

    Sonya says

    March 10, 2013 at 2:10 pm

    Wouldn’t it be nice for the NYT to do a follow up article to see if the program has survived and if so, are they now able to use some of the vegetation in school lunches, too? That might be tough, of course, because of the inconsistency of the quantity and timing of the produce, but perhaps they’ve managed to write in a little flexibility in the lunch contracts. What a great program. I’d have had a better HS gpa if this type of gym class had been offered instead of bowling (I got a C!).

  16. 16

    Naomi Shelton says

    April 30, 2013 at 2:09 pm

    What a fabulous idea! I hated gym and would do anything to get out of it. No interest whatever, but I certainly would have benefitted from the exertion that gardening provides. The other thing about this option for kids is that they are learning where food comes from! And that they can, with some effort and sweat grow healthier foods than they get at the grocery store. I am just reading Barbara Kingsolver’s book entitled Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. One of the premises of her book is that we have a whole generation of young people that have no idea where their food comes from or what it should look and taste like. SO, I think this coach’s idea is great and I really hope it catches on. Also, I think that even tho’ the foods the students grow can’t be used in the school lunch program, the class could use them to prepare a yummy meal for themselves.

  17. 17

    yvonne moram says

    January 26, 2014 at 8:27 am

    WE HAVE HAD NOTHING but RAIN,RAIN,RAIN,in the U K ,THE COUNTRYSIDE,is completely under water,and thousands of people,have been flooded out of their homes,so i have not been able to get outside to do THE WINTER SOWING,have i missed my chance?,i noticed Kevin you planted them last year in January( love love love) the your web Yvonne

  18. 18

    patrice says

    June 4, 2017 at 11:00 am

    Wonderful plan

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