“The book just says sow the seed in the soil and the plant will grow. That doesn’t explain anything!” Arun* pointed to his motley group of saplings that he had managed to grow from the seeds distributed to his group. He was part of a group that was involved in setting up a rooftop garden in his school and I was facilitating the project. Starting from a barren terrace, the students soon realized the patience, effort, and skills involved in growing plants, almost none of which could ever be covered in their school textbooks. Barely half of Arun’s seeds germinated, then unexpectedly heavy rains damaged many of the fragile saplings. The few that survived were getting eaten by pests. Arun and his friends would observe their plants closely, ask us for solutions, and even began researching on the internet for ways to save their saplings. They realized that in terms of practical knowledge, the school support staff knew more than the teachers and flocked to the gardeners for advice. Their care and concern eventually paid off when a couple of saplings grew into healthy plants and bore them bhindi (okra) a few weeks later. None of their experiences could be found in a textbook, as evident in Arun’s simple but profound statement – ‘that doesn’t explain anything’.