Meredith Hill – English Language Arts Educator & Garden Coordinator at Columbia Secondary School for Math, Science, and Engineering, in south Harlem discovered an original way to inspire her scholars.
Ms. Hill, educator extraordinaire, borrowed 6 one week old chickens from Earth Matter and turned their care over to her 96 sixth grade students. For one month the children fed, watered and cleaned up after the babies.
According to Ms. Hill, “The kids learned the nuances of caring for living animals and the qualities required – patience, vigilance, calmness, listening. They learned that what they want is not always what’s best for another – a lesson in restraint and understanding. They learned to be calm and aware and gentle….and learned to be humbled by animals so much smaller than themselves.”
The students created a baby chick blog and bonded deeply with the birds, making “Chicks in Six” a true part of the class. Even though
the birds have rejoined their Earth Matter flock on Governors Island, they are still a celebrated topic of conversation amongst Meredith Hill’s accomplished care givers. Over the next few months we will let the students tell their own stories.
“Raising chickens in the classroom gave me the opportunity to take more responsibility for my actions. I became a caregiver for these 6 superb baby chicks – and had to learn to care for them in a gentle way.” – Anell