Timothy "Timmy" Smith

Smith's Diary Responses

Timothy "Timmy" Smith in 2086.

The diary responses of twelve-year-old Timothy “Timmy” Smith are key artifacts utilized by AM2085 researchers. Smith was a student at West-Creek Public School (WCPS), located within the Greater Toronto Area. While the area—Pickering City—was booming with developments from the 2030s-2050s, much of the farmland was saved due to its proximity to the Rouge Valley National Park. Smith's works are specifically used in the understanding of educational development within this period. The following are excerpts from Smith’s written responses to his grade six teacher, Jennifer Sundal.

September 15 2086

Dear Ms. Sundal,

I really liked our science lesson today. I think it’s cool that weather makes it so we can only plant certain things at certain times. I think my favourite thing I learned today is that Ontario’s four seasons makes it so that things can be planted and then harvested at different times. I also think the climate zones are cool. We learned that we are in between frost zones B and C[1], and that certain plants are hardier than others. Hardy crops are asparagus, broccoli, brussel sprouts, and some potatoes.

This small excerpt from Smith’s response suggests that shifts were made within grade six science classes to focus on climate and geography. Efforts were made within classrooms to ready students for their futures in farming, emphasizing where and when certain crops should be planted and why. Sundal thus sets up her lessons for the rest of the year by beginning her classes with this emphasis, allowing students to draw from agricultural fundamentals early on.

September 30 2086

Dear Ms. Sundal,

I’m really sad that we couldn’t plant tomatoes today. I love tomatoes. But I had a lot of fun going to the farm with the class today. I don’t like broccoli. Or beets. Although, my moms grow a lot of beets, and pickle them, and always put them in my lunch. I pick them out. Still though, I had fun watching the farmers plant hardier vegetables yesterday. They said that they should last pretty well outside through the winter, apparently our winters are warmer now than when the farmers were kids! That must’ve been so cool, to see snow all the time. I love snow, even if it only comes two or three times a year.

Though this excerpt is seemingly simple, one can see that Timmy has learned through hands-on experiences early within the school year. Learning through doing has been prevalent throughout Sundal’s lesson plans—which were so graciously donated to AM2085 researchers by her family. Education, for Sundal and those at Westcreek, has moved away from the input/output models of the days of yore. Seeds were not simply planted for the sake of planting, but where, why, and how seeds were planted was thoroughly shared as well. The lesson that Smith first reports on is immediately employed, only fifteen days later. Lessons were therefore measured by the season and learning about crops was never abandoned.

May 23 2087

Dear Ms. Sundal,

Thank you so much for bringing me tomato seeds! I had so much fun planting them yesterday. It was so fun being outside with all my friends and the big kids, planting. They’re so smart! I overheard Kristy Johnson saying their parents have worked farms all their lives. Kristy even gets to help plant in the summertime, so she never forgets what she learns in science class.

Revealed through this excerpt are the gardens that riddled neighbourhoods, and schools. Food was grown at schools surrounding WCPS and was utilized within their own cafeterias. Pushes were made for schools to provide homegrown crops to their students, becoming pillars of their communities. Old-school breakfast and lunch clubs were revamped, featuring the schools own homegrown fruits, vegetables, and grains. Students were integral to the maintenance of these crops. Classes not only readied the land but planted their very own seeds. These crops flourish to this day. Additionally, Smith's mention of "Kristy" and her helping her parents with the crops, reveals that students were indeed utilizing the information taught to them. Farming was seen as a desirable form of work, at least to Smith. His excitement over Kristy's involvement is a testament to Sundal's lessons. Evidently, her hands-on methods were enjoyable and engaging, a community formed amongst students through the shared garden.

Smith's Description of Technology following the Movement

Mentioned within the anthology, and Timmy’s other diary responses from 2086-87, are the changes in technological presences. Artificial Intelligence (AI) threatened the schooling system for years, students relying on the teachings of computers. While not entirely erased from the face of schooling, AI was repurposed. Identifying seeds and saplings, proper soil texture, and methods for composting are frequently sourced from Artificial Intelligence.

February 20th 2087

Dear Ms. Sundal,

My research today, using the camera phone, AI, and the seeds you gave my group, tells me that these are pumpkin seeds. They are flat and oval shaped and plant best in "well-drained soils [2]." We shouldn't plant them right now because it's too cold and the pumpkins won't do well. AI says they can be planted in "late May or early June", so they'll fit into our planting schedule! Can we plant them please? When it's May? I promise I'll visit over the summer to take care of them, and make sure they're doing ok. But, pumpkins grow really big and we need to plant them a few feet apart. Maybe we shouldn't plant them...because we don't have space. But I'd really like to carve a pumpkin I grew next year.

AI is thoroughly incorporated into this lesson, and Smith accurately deduces when and where these seeds need to be planted. AI is utilized as an encyclopedia of sorts, when considering how Sundal employs it. The ease in which students may identify their seeds, when they need to be planted, and where, aids them in their deductive reasoning skills. Smith understands the state of the soil in his geographical location, comprehends the space that WCPS has (or, rather, does not have) to plant said seeds. AI does not do the work for these students, but merely aids them in the discovery aspect. Smith, and his peers, fill in the blanks.

Sundal's lesson plans reveal that she did not utilize technology frequently. Researchers cross referenced Smith's response with Sundal's lesson plans. Sundal had split her class into groups, providing each group with different seeds, and different methods of identifying them. These methods included encyclopedias, farmer's almanacs, websites (like the Government of Ontario's Agriculture and Food page [3]), and AI.

Technology and learning at WCPS

Sundal's personal pedagogy reveals a balance between technological, play, and rote learning. Through further research, it was revealed that WCPS, and other elementary schools in the Durham District School Board (DDSB), hold similar values. Many teachers utilized technology, but not overwhelmingly so. In fact, it seems that many of these teachers focused primarily on media literacy. Understanding which sources were safe and reliable, the kinds of content that should be consumed, and the dangers of doing so, were explored with children as young as seven. Informed from prior years, and the so-called "IPad kids" or Generation Alpha, teachers focused on delayed gratification. Planting and harvesting ones own crops taught patience and care. The perseverance in these teachers, to heal the attention deficits of generations past, will not go unnoticed.