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District progamming helps kids find their way in world

We all want the best for our children. When they are young, we help them navigate the great big world and teach them the necessities of living as a human.

We all want the best for our children. When they are young, we help them navigate the great big world and teach them the necessities of living as a human. We instinctively introduce them to new things, to nature, and we try our best to integrate them into social environments. We teach them about love and the security of family and friends.

As they get older and move into our school system, we generally help them understand what they are being taught and provide support for them if they need. Parents attempt to answer as many questions posed by our kids to the best of our ability. We nurture their interests and provide encouragement when their young, inquisitive minds key in on something that has piqued their attention.

When the young learners attach themselves to something and are happy to be pursuing their interests, parents feel pride and, to a certain degree, relief in knowing there is something your child is passionate about.
They could be keen soccer players, bakers, gardeners, readers, writers or photographers. They could love to help out in the kitchen, explore tidal pools or collect rocks.

I can recall that my parents sent me subliminal messages suggesting that I should pursue scientific study in high school and university. When I look back at my Grade 11 and 12 course load I am amazed that I made it to graduation at all. Biology, chemistry, algebra, physics and geography was my daily life. Some kids excel in that type of environment. I was not one of those. I wasn’t having a lot of fun in those years.

I did have one class in English literature that I enjoyed and after two years of post-secondary sciences, I packed it in to pursue a full course load of literature classes. I wanted to be a teacher.

I was also working full-time in the hotel/restaurant business and was making a pretty good salary in various management positions. As the paycheques got bigger, I realized I was having a lot of fun doing what I was doing and I convinced myself that I was teaching employees. This made it all right in my world.

I guess what I am getting at is that kids will find their way eventually, but in my view it is hugely important that they have opportunity to try new things in non-traditional ways.

The Delta School District does an exceptional job of offering these opportunities and is widely recognized as an innovator. The academy programs offered here afford broad choice for our kids, which is a good thing.

Believe it or not, course planning time is coming up, which can be stressful for parents and students. A new offering in course selection here in Delta is, of course, the Farm Roots Mini-School program (I disclose that I am working with the district on this), which offers post-secondary credit through teaching kids about farming, sustainable food systems and jobs in the $14-billion food economy in B.C.

The kids are having a blast and are learning about business, math and science and they get to be outside... a lot!

If you or your children are interested in exploring new learning and new opportunity in a progressive environment, check out https://deltalearns.ca/farmroots/.

Mike Schneider is founder of Project Pickle and likes to write about growing, cooking and eating food. He is a Jamie Oliver Food Revolution ambassador.