Monday. Middle school intro to culinary. Fourth period.
(Yeah, it's called "culinary" not cooking and not home ec. Weird, I know.)
The assignment for the day was a worksheet where they had to convert measurements with a pirate theme. That is, there would be a question about storing fish in a barrel (so the pirates had food provisions) and asking how many fish (or how many barrels) and converting from pints to quarts. Or tablespoons to cups. Or gallons to pints.
The questions made sense. And I thought it was a very clever busywork assignment for the kiddos for the day.
But middle schoolers...
Yeah, they didn't like this assignment one bit.
Since I have the science/math background, I understood what they needed to do. And I offered my help to those who asked for it. Some did ask for it.
And then I caught Irene writing on a paper that was not hers.
Damian spent the period whining. The work was hard. Why did he have to do this? He didn't understand.
But, did he ask for help? Even when I stood there offering? Of course not.
Irene? Was writing the answers on Damian's paper.
No, Irene. Damian must do his own work. But she didn't see my point. Nor did Damian.
A student asked to use the restroom. I had another girl, Nina, out. When she got back... "But she doesn't come back when there's a sub..." She doesn't?
Okay, then, time to call security. Nina returned, 25 minutes after she left. In passing I mentioned that I had already added Nina's excursion to my note to the teacher. Suddenly, Nina was apologetic. Could I please leave her name out of the note? Yeah, now she's sorry, now that she knows she'll be held accountable.
Students taking forever to "go to the restroom" has become ridiculous this school year, so I've been keeping track of how long everyone goes and leaving that information for the teacher. Every day. And especially when I have to call security.
Then I look up, and Damian is chasing Irene. And I can't get over to stop them as there are a bunch of kiddos standing between me and them. Standing? They had work. There was no reason for them to be out of their seats.
Yikes. It was quite the class.
The period after this? Totally mellow and on task. Sigh.
Did you take cooking in school? Do you like to cook?
Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter...
Yeah, I prob did not care for anything that we studied in school, middle school or up! lol...Lets just say, I was not a fan of school. Grades okay but mind set was not. Math being my all time DISLIKEABLE subject! Always loved History. Still do I guess. Trying to soak up as much as I can since moving here.
ReplyDeleteYeah, they weren't fans of the math assignment in culinary.
DeleteOh, middle schoolers. Every time.
ReplyDeleteIn my school, we had Home Ec, but you would either be placed in the cooking section or the sewing section. I was in the cooking section and probably only passed because my partner could actually function in a kitchen. Unlike me. 🙂
I loved home ec, we kind of had the oz./pints/quarts stuff drilled into us back then tho? Or maybe because my mom was a great home cook.
ReplyDeleteHence why I was shocked they were having issues with this. But perhaps they haven't been converting too many recipes.
DeleteThat does sound like it should have been fun. It sounds like that bunch didn't choose to take culinary class! No, I never took a home ec class.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny as that is a popular class. It's totally an elective, so I think maybe they chose it, but the just don't take anything seriously.
DeleteGood grief. Sounds like some classrooms need more than one teacher to keep the kids in line.
ReplyDeleteI took Home ec. Loved it. Learned to cook, sew and took a wood shop class as well. Learned how to use power tools.
Two thoughts:
ReplyDeleteFirst-what a clever way to present the topic!
Second-I don't miss that. Not even a little. Bless you.
Hi Liz, I did take a home economics class in high school...cooking. Unfortunately I didn't learn sewing, but I could have later in life, just didn't.
ReplyDeleteAnd I agree with Mary that some classrooms need more than one teacher...an assistant of some sort. Bless your heart.
If the schools had more money, they'd be able to hire more instructional assistants. Yes, there are some classes that could use two.
DeleteBy the way, I found a picture of me wearing the red beanie. I have it scheduled to post on May 18th (I have a few more posts in front of it). I found the picture in a video I made a few years ago (and may have already posted it here).
ReplyDeleteHome ec included cooking & nutrition; sewing; and there might have been a third section we rotated through. I loved when we made the peanut-butter-cocoa no cook cookies; the skirt I made sucked but I kept the stuffed toy for a long time. A lot of the nutrition information still is in my head including I think there was a government TV show called Mulligan Stew?
ReplyDeleteNope, never heard of Mulligan Stew, but that doesn't mean it didn't exist. Just that I've never heard of it.
DeleteUnless the Internet dies, it seems a mute point to learn all these conversions. My head would be swimming. lol My best friend and I took a home economics class together. We were definitely NOT competent in the kitchen. But minor mishaps sometimes make the best memories. I should bring this up the next time we're on the phone. Heh...
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't so much learning how many pints in a gallon, but rather being able to being able to say if I have 2 gallons, how many pints? It was busywork to keep middle schoolers occupied when they couldn't cook because the teacher was out.
DeleteYikes is right. Sounds like a rough one. @samanthabwriter from
ReplyDeleteBalancing Act
You must have the patience of Job.
ReplyDeleteNope. They drive me crazy.
DeleteHome ec. 7th grade was cooking, 8th grade was sewing. My teacher had to finish my sewing project for me, but I am a fairly decent cook.
ReplyDeleteDo you have pictures of you wearing the sewing project?
DeleteCulinary! That's just how we in Kerala call that school period too. Anyway, children enjoy that time because they get to eat something in the end.
ReplyDeleteYes, that's the best part :)
DeleteI can't cook. Culinary Arts was not for me. We had to try it for half a year, then wood shop for half.
ReplyDeleteI was the ONLY student in my class to complete every wood shop project and move up to metal shop.
Can't cook. But can craft you a cutting board, knife block, and metal trivet.
Happy A to Z.
Jamie of UniquelyMaladjustedButFun
They are different skill sets. It sounds like you're more of a builder than a chef ;)
DeleteI had cooking classes in high school, but never liked those. My mom was a much better teacher, so I can cook basically anything I want. Even watched cooking channels (when we still watched TV) then cook the same thing for dinner. These days I am not into cooking anymore, so just do the basic meat and two veg for Hubs, and an equivalent meal for me (veggie).
ReplyDeleteWhatever works, right? Cooking in a school setting is way different than learning from a family member in your own kitchen.
DeleteI went to a science oriented high school (hint: same high school as Zohran Mamdani graduated from, though not at the same time) and my cooking class was one of learning chemistry through cooking. It's actually a fascinating topic although I tired of memorizing all the various sugars and their chemical natures. It definitely was not traditional home ec.
ReplyDeleteI'd find that fascinating now. I don't know how fascinating I'd've found that when I was a teenager.
Delete