To My Students-
Julia Child a famous American cook once said "This is my invariable advice to people: Learn how to cook- try new recipes, learn from your mistakes, be fearless, and above all have fun!" I chose a quote from Julia Child to begin this letter because she emulates so many things I hope to be, not only in my kitchen, but because her attitude, as articulated through this quote, demonstrates the curiosity, joy, and boldness I hope to inspire every year in you, my students. After more than six years of experience in the classroom and more than a decade of cooking, I have finally discovered the innate similarities between two things I adore: cooking and teaching. I hope that throughout this letter I can draw upon two of my favorite things and give you a glimpse into our classroom as it has evolved throughout the years.
All cooks do not go to Le Cordon Bleu – I decided to start here because I think it’s essential to realize that not every cook learns to cook by going to one of the finest cooking schools in the world. In fact, many of us learn how to cook out of necessity or from our parents and families. It’s no different for me. I didn’t go to culinary school to learn how to cook. I learned by watching my parents, trying things out, and because I was really hungry once I left my parents’ house and went to college! But that doesn’t mean that I can’t cook or that I have nothing to offer my fellow cooks. I have learned from all of you that school is very similar. Not everyone went to a pre-school with a college prep-curriculum. Many of you went to Head Start or daycare, or even your grandmother’s house before you entered the classroom. All that means is that we are all at different points in our journey. Some of you might come into the classroom knowing how to read, while others might still be working on developing reading skills. The point is that each of us can benefit from one another’s strengths and weaknesses. Some of you might be developing reading skills while working with someone who is a great reader, while the great reader is learning something about patience and compassion, as well as how to show and not just tell. Each are important lessons and part of the journey we take on our road to discovering our true passions and interests.
The kitchen promotes community - In cultures across the world, people come together in kitchens to prepare and enjoy food. Mothers and fathers teach their children how to prepare favorite family recipes. I remember sitting on a large brown stool in our kitchen growing up watching my mother make oatmeal, peanut butter, and chocolate chip cookies or helping my dad making red beans and rice. They shared stories about cooking with their own parents and tricks that they learned from practicing and modifying recipes. Now in my own kitchen, I show Mr. Robertson how to mix the batter so his cookies are fluffy and delicious. Cooking for me makes me think of my family, friends, and community. I’m certain I would not love cooking as much if I always had to do it alone or if I didn’t have the opportunity to cook for those I love. Being in the kitchen with my husband, parents, and friends makes me enjoy the process of cooking all the more. This sense of community, family, and friendship is ever-present in our classroom too. At the beginning of each year, we start building a community where everyone is free to take risks and make mistakes, learn and share, discover and explore. Instead of food bringing us together, learning brings us together. In the classroom, I have seen the sense of community come alive when you do reader’s theater together, or when you make science observation about force, motion, life cycles, and more.
We work hard at the beginning of the year to develop our classroom community, and we reap the benefits throughout the year as we question, encourage, celebrate, and collaborate with each other. After years of trial and error, I realized that in order to create a cohesive sense of community in the classroom, I have to model, observe, and most of all, get to know you and share who I am both in the classroom and out of the classroom. I think learning is the most meaningful when it really connects with who students are and sparks their curiosity.
Cooks love variety – I love cooking with different ingredients and trying new things. Normally, I find that new ingredients or even new cooking tools can add something to my cooking. In the kitchen, being willing to try new things or use new tools can be scary but can have wonderful outcomes! The various choices available when you’re cooking make it even more exciting and fun. I think it’s the same in the classroom. Each year, I have a variety of new students, and together we have to learn how to integrate new tools, whether that be new curriculum, new technology (like the SmartBoard this year!), or new staff members. Each adds to the variety in the classroom and school community. I think the variety in the classroom helps engage us as learners. Some of you will have strengths in math, while others might have strengths in reading, music, art, science, or something else. But this variety allows us to learn and share with one another. Hopefully, the variety in our classroom makes you excited to come into our classroom time and time again and helps you discover topics, ideas, or information that you dying to learn more about!
Cookbooks as curriculum - If you walk into any bookstore and look in the cooking section you will discover a variety of cookbooks. Some for beginning cooks, others for more advanced cooks, some for people with limited time or resources, while others are for someone looking for a specific type of cuisine. The cookbooks in the bookstore are like the curriculums in our classroom. Some of the curriculum caters to a specific subject matter, while other curriculum targets specific types of students (For example, Donovan from the Otterman article.), English as a Second Language learners, students with a strength or weakness in the subject, even curriculums based on the age appropriateness as it relates to the classroom.
Once you leave the bookstore and step into the kitchen of a cook however, you find the hidden secrets of their recipes written in the margins of their personal cookbooks. You can discover which recipes they return to over and over and which recipes they haven’t yet tried or are not interesting in trying. In the classroom, when you look in the “margins” of the intended curriculum you can find what Elliot Eisner refers to as the hidden curriculum, the things I might teach unintentionally. Sometimes you can even see the teaching notes on how to enhance or improve specific lessons or topics.
The variety and volume of cookbooks you would find in a bookstore or in someone’s kitchen is just like the variety and volume of curriculums that you find depending on the classroom, the students, the district, state, and more. In the end, as your teacher, I have many different curriculums available but I have to find what works for us. I have to ask myself questions like, What parts of the prescribed curriculum will have the greatest impact on you and how do I balance that with all of the lessons that we will learn outside of the assigned curriculum? How can I ensure that I am teaching the explicit curriculum while still being vigilant and aware of the implied curriculum? What curriculum will best meet your needs as a learner in any situation you encounter? What I have come to realize is that each year I have to ask myself these questions and more, because our classroom is constantly evolving just as the curriculum is constantly evolving. I have a responsibility to use the curriculum as a guide, not as the end all, be all.
Good cooks modify, make substitutions, and know tricks – I always used to think, “How does my mom know that adding a little sugar to the tomato sauce will make it less acidic?” Or “How did dad make that taste so good even though he didn’t have any butter?” After learning how to cook myself though, I started to learn these tricks and secrets. The best part of knowing the tricks and secrets is that an experienced cook can substitute and modify because they know the tricks and secrets. Teaching is similar. As I have gained more experience in the classroom, I learned some of the “tricks of the trade” if you will. I learned that there will be times when we encounter something unexpected, but with a little extra effort and thought, there is normally a reasonable modification that can be made. In the education world, we often call this differentiating instruction. Being able to differentiate a lesson or assignment for a student is much like making a substitution in cooking. Just as we add or take away ingredients that we don’t like or to accommodate a specific want or need I have to be willing and able to do that in the classroom. If I have a student that requires more time with a specific concept or re-teaching, then I have to be able to adapt the schedule or plan in order to accommodate that need.
But every cook, myself included, has to admit that there have been times when they have tried to make a substitution and it just didn’t work out. That happens in the classroom, too. Nonetheless a good cook and a good teacher learn from these experiences and makes improvements for next time.
Cooking creates aromas beyond the kitchen – If you walk into the house when your mom is baking cookies, the aroma of the melting chocolate and sugary dough wafts through the air. The smells that are created while cooking spread far beyond the kitchen. This reminds me of the work that we do throughout the school year, because it extends far beyond the four walls of our classroom. It extends to who you are and who you who will become throughout your life. Every year, we work on learning facts and information. But most importantly, we learn skills that I hope you will carry with you throughout school and your lives. That’s my big goal, to help you learn and develop skills and strategies that you can use throughout your life, not just in first grade. I think it’s imperative to realize that learning is an ongoing process; I am still learning, your parents and families members are still learning, just as you will learn throughout your lives. What you learn in our classroom and beyond will be with you as you discover and rediscover who you are throughout the years, just as the aromas from what you’re cooking carry throughout your home.
I think it’s best to end this letter much the same way that I began. Julia Child in her infinite wisdom also said, "Find something you're passionate about and keep tremendously interested in it." That’s what my ultimate hope is for you, that you can find something you’re interested in, just as I have. Cooking is one of my passions. I hope that throughout your year or years in our classroom as a pre-kindergartner, kindergartner, or first grader I can help you or did help you discover something that you’re passionate about and want to know more about. After all that’s what education and learning are all about, finding your interests and passions, your hope and dream. By tapping into those hopes, dream, interests, and passions, you will eventually discover yourself. So best of luck on this journey… I feel lucky to have been or to be a part of it!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Robertson
