final last words

So you never really know what some kids will find easy vs. hard. Although I do a quick questionnaire at the beginning of the course, it still doesn't give you a real grasp of what seems like appropriate recipes for the students, especially because it doesn't access their reading skills (often the main reason things go wrong!).

So...yesterday I stupidly start my teacher speech, the talk I have before every lab (usually explaining what will be happening over the duration of the lesson) by saying that this is a super easy lab and therefore I think they are ready to do it completely unassisted, a good "test" situation - I mean we did already conquer 53 pies! I didn't think chili dogs, something you can buy from a restaurant on wheels, would be too much to ask for.

Well I realized early on when I found myself answering questions (something I said I would not do) like, what and where is the beef OXO (it was with all the other ingredients - see the value of reading), how to cut a frozen hot dog (to which I suggested trying to make it less frozen), which immediately lead to the question how do you defrost a hot dog (yes, this one was asked a few times), and finally how do you know when the hot dog is cooked (love that we are all experienced hot dog roasters via the fire, but you throw in a stove and all previous knowledge stays at the campfire!).

Another great lesson - when there is smoke and no campfire involved this should be a great indication that the heat is just too hot! Aside from the smoke and some silly questions the chili dogs turned out amazingly - I should know considering I couldn't pass up not having a bite!

Lessons learned by me; never say anything is easy, it not only sets them up for disaster, it sets me up for annoyance. Every kid is bringing different knowledge and different experiences to the kitchen and that will certainly affect just how easy something is. Plus, until I help boost that confidence and the power of common sense (a skill that I am coming to see is more valuable than good knife skills) - at the end of the day successful defrosting is still a mark of achievement for some students. Finally, thank god for the genius who installed fire detectors rather than smoke detectors in the cooking room!