Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, Inc. has a program where people can sign up to adopt a block. The aim of the program is to encourage citizens to take ownership of keeping their neighborhood beautiful. In Batesville, Indiana, the Batesville Beautification League ensures that the areas around Batesville are well taken care of and full of flowers and plants to enhance the beauty of the city. What about our schools?
Schools are more than just the school building. Part of the school includes the school grounds. Some school grounds are a dismal site to view. The grounds need beauty and need care. All students deserve to attend a school with a beautiful schoolyard.
There may be many reasons why school grounds are not in the best shape. Some schools are near areas where people tend to walk and unfortunately throw trash. Other schools keep their playgrounds open to the public which may also lead to people discarding waste. It is not only the trash. There are schools with bushes that are overgrown, where there are no flowers, and where the grass is slowly turning into a pile of weeds.
When students walk into school, they walk right by the outdoor space. There are many components that go into motivating students and encouraging them to learn. It certainly does not help if students walk into school past a schoolyard that hasn’t been kept well.
What can you do? If you see a schoolyard that needs love, go to the school and share that you are willing to help. Schools leaders and teachers love volunteers who are willing to help them keep their school beautiful both on the inside and the outside. When a school is beautiful on both the outside and the inside, it adds to the other components that are needed to help students learn.
Great article. Thx