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Thriving, Not Surviving

students and teacher in the garden

Thriving, Not Surviving:

How the Right School Environment Enables Students to Reach Their Full Potential

BY LAURA SPAULDING, STAFF WRITER 

Last Monday, Chick-Fil-A released its fall menu, including a debut chicken and waffle sandwich and s'mores milkshake. Tuesday of last week, Starbucks welcomed back pumpkin spice to its menu. Friday marked the end of The Joy School's first full week of the 26-27 school year. Other than the warm smiles and cozy laughter once again filling our hallways, it's difficult to believe summer is officially over. Thankfully, our sports field has artificial turf, protecting all our outdoor spaces from the unpredictability of Houston weather. Otherwise, despite a hefty water bill, all our garden flowers are wilting, and the leaves of our trees are falling and changing colors. These changes are not the typical signs of progress, growth, and life that often precede the arrival of fall. Rather, they are signs of plants that are suffering and working hard to survive in the midst of this lingering harsh Houston summer. 

Every gardener knows how much planning, time, patience, and intention it takes to successfully grow a flourishing garden. It turns out that growing good humans and growing beautiful flowers is not really so different. 

The United States Department of Agriculture has an official “Plant Hardiness Zone Map” to help gardeners make informed decisions about which perennial plants are most likely to thrive in a given location. Unfortunately, there is no "Kid Hardiness Zone Map" to help parents navigate what each child needs to flourish. But there are lessons we can learn by paying attention to the individualized care master gardeners give to every type of plant they tend.

During the planning stage, gardeners consider the type of soil they're working with, typical weather patterns, what they intend to grow and why, and what types of plants grow best where they live. 

Many plants are considered “low maintenance.” They grow easily in a variety of Hardiness Zones without regard to the soil quality, the weather patterns, or how much TLC they receive. Throw these low-maintenance seeds anywhere, and they will figure it out! These plants are often labeled as weeds, unless they meet someone who really understands and appreciates them. In which case, they will more than likely be labeled wildflowers. In either case, they are often referred to as invasive because they flourish easily even in highly competitive environments. Prolonged periods of drought or freezing temperatures might set them back some, but rarely does anything stop them from coming back stronger year after year. They are highly resilient, even when dug up and replanted elsewhere with a brand-new ecosystem to contend with.

There are also “high maintenance” plants, notoriously difficult to keep alive. Gardenias and orchids are two examples of these delicate masterpieces. Without specific soil, weather conditions, and precise care, these high-maintenance friends likely never develop beyond seedlings. When they do flourish, however, their blooms might fill an entire room with an intoxicating scent, or grow brilliant flowers that boast vibrant colors and complex geometrical patterns.

Of course, most plants fall somewhere between these two extremes, and all plants, no matter how long they manage to survive, will not bear good fruit in extremely harsh conditions. Currently, this harsh Houston heat and lack of summer rain, is causing even our ultra-hardy, always green, St. Augustine lawns to brown.   

The metaphor speaks for itself. Classrooms are gardens, and students are the seeds. No wise gardener would ever think to say, “This seed is not growing, so there must be something wrong with it.” The wise gardener would say, “This seed is not growing; I must have planted it in the wrong kind of garden.”

The wise gardener would then figure out the right kind of garden for this seed to not only sprout, but to reach its full flowering or fruit-bearing potential. The wise gardener would be quick about digging it up from the spot that was either too windy, too crowded, too dry, too rocky, or too hot. She would offer a lot of targeted TLC in the transition to the new garden, and then she would watch as the seed slowly but surely became the best version of itself.

In the same way, when you notice a child is wilting, or their color seems to be fading, the first question to ask is: Are they in the right environment to maximize their potential? In the wrong school or classroom, a child will do whatever they have to do just to survive. A change in the environment might be the only way for anyone to know their true colors or fruit-bearing potential.

The Joy School uniquely understands how this all works. Our teachers are committed to figuring out the sort of classroom their students are most likely to thrive in. Then, they work hard to cultivate that sort of classroom, adapting and adjusting as they go. They offer as much TLC as necessary during each student's transition from one classroom or school to the next. Ongoing precise care that comes in the form of safety, support, laughter, hugs, and targeted remediations and interventions.

We would love to have you join us on a parent tour this school year to see firsthand flourishing classroom full of thriving students looks like. 

For more information about our school or to sign up for a tour, visit our website at http://www.thejoyschool.org.