Education in Tomatoes!

Education in Tomatoes

Two things I love—my vegetable garden and education. Funny enough, one just reminded me of a powerful lesson about the other.

Recently, I planted cherry tomato seedlings. They all got the same love—water, nutrients, and sunshine. Nothing was different.

A few weeks later, I excitedly counted 80 flowers, all blooming at once, promising me 80 tomatoes. Makes sense, right? Soon, those flowers turned into 80 little green tomatoes, all perfectly the same size. Naturally, I assumed they’d all ripen together.

Well, I was wrong.

Instead, I get about 8 to 12 ripe tomatoes a day. The rest? Still green. Still waiting. Same vine, same conditions—different timing.

At first, I was frustrated. Then it hit me—why did I expect them all to ripen at the same time? I should know better. That’s not how nature works.

But here’s the kicker: We still don’t allow this in traditional education.

We expect every child to learn and grow at the same pace, at the same time, under the same conditions. Same maths page. Same reader. Even the same clothes (don’t get me started!).

If a child learns faster, they’re told to wait. “Oh, you can read already? Well, we don’t have that level book in the class.” If a child needs more time, they’re labelled, analysed, and made to feel like they’re not enough. It’s a system that stifles curiosity and breaks confidence.

Think about it: If I left my ripe tomatoes on the vine too long, they’d rot. In education, this happens to kids who are bored and unstimulated. Their potential spoils. If I picked my green tomatoes too early, they wouldn’t ripen. In traditional schools, this means kids being pushed before they’re ready, leaving them lost and frustrated.

Traditional education is obsessed with getting everyone to the same place at the same time. It’s an assembly line—but learning isn’t mechanical. It’s natural, messy, and beautifully individual.

At The Green School - Chartwell, we’ve been criticised for letting kids learn at their “just right level.” Some say it’s flawed because it doesn’t fit the mould of what a grade level is “supposed” to look like. Maybe this metaphor will help them understand? Maybe they were left on the vine too long or picked too early? Maybe they’re scared.

But here’s the truth: Expecting every child to ripen on a schedule just because it’s convenient doesn’t work. Not in nature. Not in education.

A good gardener knows this. They don’t rush the tomatoes or scold the green ones for being slow. They understand that growth happens when it’s ready.

That’s how we see education. We trust the child. We know they’ll grow when they’re ready—not when we decide they should.

I’m grateful we do things differently at The Green School. We see each child for who they are, where they are, and we meet them there. We let them grow in their own time.