2.13.2009

You've Got Mail!

I was sitting at my desk this morning and look, look, look what came in the mail:



Edible Schoolyard by Alice Waters!!! Thank you soooo much, Chronicle!

I browsed quickly through it, and the photos are gorgeous. I'll be sure to post an entire review once I read all the way through. However, I was thrilled when I spotted a page with "Principles of Edible Education." There are five principles total, which I'll share eventually, but here is the first one...just to whet your appetite:

FOOD IS AN ACADEMIC SUBJECT
A school garden, kitchen, and cafeteria are integral to the core academic mission of the school, so that ecology and gastronomy help bring alive every subject, from reading and writing to science and art.

Oh my god. It's like someone speaking directly to my soul. Not to be too dramatic or anything...

Eat, drink, and thank goodness we live in the same world as Alice Waters.

4 comments:

Andrew Karre said...

Brilliant. Hopefully, this is a huge book and all the serious food writers will start writing for kids.

Anonymous said...

Amen!

Unknown said...

You're absolutely right, Andrew. I still can't believe the book has only just now shown up on my radar - it was published in 12/08 and not a single one of the 50+ food blogs I read has mentioned it.

What I'd like to consider is somehow integrating the Principles of Edible Education into public libraries. Queens has quite a few libraries with small outdoor spaces... What are the possibilities of creating small gardens? Using the garden for any number of programs for young people and adults...creating community partnerships...donating the food grown to local families in need... The possibilities are endless and I don't know that libraries are exploring this as much as they/we should. As I mentioned, I haven't read the book yet but I'm hoping to get some implementation ideas from Ms. Waters.

I'm just in heaven. Getting this book made my weekend.

Anonymous said...

This is wonderful! Thank you for sharing. What can we do to incorporate it into the curriculum as well??