John Wooden High School, a so-called continuation school in the Los Angeles school system, is small, operating without a pool or a gym but it has a farm. And most days, Alex Snyder, 17, “eats lunch with a pot-bellied pig named Peanut,” says the Los Angeles Times.
Wooden focuses on students who are behind in credits and run the risk of not graduating. Its staff uses the farm as a forum for hands-on, face-to-face learning, says the newspaper. “Wooden’s operating philosophy — that students can thrive if they get personalized attention and learn concepts through doing — is one that state education officials increasingly are espousing.” California is among states that have adopted Next Generation Science Standards, which key on using scientific investigation as part of lessons rather than requiring memorization of scientific concepts.
Stephanie Darling, the science teacher at Wooden, uses the farm as a mechanism to explain animal and plant care. Her first-period class on animal behavior is an elective but classes on environmental studies and plant and soil science can be used for credit toward a college degree.