Radishes on their own are just vegetables, unless one takes Revere High School English teacher Joseph Susick’s class. Susick uses radishes to help teach students universal truths by having students plant three radish seeds and write a paper about their experience. The students keep a journal about what observations they made and what truths they discovered. Susick believes his “Radish Project” helps students learn important life lessons.

The project would not be a reality if Susick did not have a garden of his own. For more than a decade, Susick has raised a garden. It started out small, but it now it has grown into a place where he receives inspiration.

Susick has been teaching at Revere High School for eight years. He teaches Drama, English and Speech classes.

Susick grows a variety of fruits and vegetables in his garden. His wife, Kristin Susick, calls it the “Big Bounty,” because abundance of food from the garden.

“I have grown purple potatoes, fingerling potatoes, red onions, yellow onions, white onions, garlic, cauliflower, celery, five or six varieties of tomatoes, seven or eight varieties of peppers, strawberries, beans, broccoli, beets, rainbow carrots [this year]. I have [also] grown squash, pumpkins and cantaloupe. Cauliflower and celery were new this year,” Susick said.

Susick attributes his gardening with teaching him new life lessons every year.

“Do not let outside influences ruin your crops,” Susick said.

Susick’s colleague Nicholas Kos, an English and Video Production teacher, agrees.

“He is a hopeless romantic just like Thoreau and Walden. He feels you can learn a lot from nature,” Kos said.

Kos said Susick’s style of teaching brings “uniqueness” to his class. These lessons from nature show up in his teaching.

“I teach with analogies. I teach with personal experience, integrate it. So if there is a time and a place to integrate it, I will. It just happens all the time,” Susick said.

Kristin agrees that his gardening impacts him in the classroom.

“[Gardening has] taught him that life is about constant change and learning, and that is reflected in his teaching style,” Kristin said.

English teacher and Lantern adviser Alan Silvidi expressed that Susick has positive nature and energy which he applies to everything he does, such as teaching or gardening. Silvidi also expressed that the students have responded well to Susick’s positive nature and energy.

Susick’s garden acts like a sanctuary to him. It is a place of reflection; he can unwind from the stresses of school and life. It provides food for his family. English teacher Meghan Lovaty has expressed her opinion of Susick’s garden.
“It’s neat that in this day and age somebody takes so much time to grow food and then to actually make things out of the food,” Lovaty said.

Kristin voiced that Susick takes a lot of pride in providing fruits and vegetables for his family, while others obtain such food from grocery stores.

Susick’s experience with his garden has shaped his life and his teaching to the extent that, according to Kristin, Susick would not be the person, husband, father or teacher without it. Without his garden, Revere High School students would not be growing radishes.