Plant Science at Concord High School is a semi-new class that teaches students how to utilize their hands in real-life scenarios. The class is only able to be taken as an elective or a third-year science credit, and the person teaching the class is Mrs. Teddy Colangelo. The purpose of this class is to inform students about plants, but instead of sitting inside, students spend nearly the entire class period working on the space they choose in the courtyard.
Students in the class are very hands-on, especially in the courtyard where they mainly work on their projects to expand existing spaces and projects that have been neglected. They have full creative freedom to build what they wish where they wish while still being taught life skills they’ll use later on. Since the courtyard is a school public space that other students can use, the class is also giving back to the school community by developing consistently new and improved studying areas.
Colangelo is a major part of this class’s success and how it develops throughout the years. After being asked how the class came to be, Mrs. Colangelo says, “Covid happened and kids were spending hours on their computers. Then I was stopped in the hall being asked to create a class to have students being physically active and went with plant science.” The love and dedication Colangelo has for students and the classes she’s involved with is apparent. In another statement, Mrs. Colangelo says her favorite thing about the class is “[S]eeing you guys work and having fun together.”
Nearly everyone in the class has a deep care for it, especially the teacher. The genuine care for the students and the class makes plant science a comfortable place for all to enter and learn. Since the students are so involved with the class and each other, plant science is a great way to teach communication skills. With the class being so hands-on, students are pushed to learn about one another and, therefore, build friendships. Although the class is team-based, everyone in the class bonds when working on their projects.
Senior Gwendolyn Bulko is a second-year student in Plant Science. She has been in the class since it was created; therefore, she understands how it has grown and how much potential it has to grow even more.
When Bulko was asked what a typical day looks like she says, “Literally the first day of class students decide what to do and what project they want to do.”
Her words support the free feeling of the classroom and prove how Plant Science leaves a lot of the choosing up to students’ creativity.
After being asked where Bulko sees the class going in a couple of years she says, “I kind of think when we use up all the space in the courtyard the class will start on landscaping around the school and adding more in different areas.”
Lastly, Bulko was asked if she’d suggest this class to others and she stated, “Oh heck yeah, I would 100% suggest it because you learn so much, and it’s just a really fun class, plus it’s not hard at all.”
Although Bulko has been in the class for two years, she still highly recommends it to all students for a multitude of reasons. This alone shows the magnitude of knowledge the class gives and how much of an impact it makes on the individuals involved.
Plant science is useful in real-world scenarios for a multitude of reasons. The class teaches students how to grow and propagate nearly all types of plants without constant assistance. The class educates students on more than just plants, it informs them to work with the people they’re around and even helps with communication skills. Whether the students stay on a path of greenery or not, the information in this class will stay helpful throughout their lives.
