Does Your Teaching Style Match Your Cooking Style?

[Spy Car]

I've been laughing at myself lately, thinking the way I approach teaching is very much the same way I approach food.

 

I love reading cook books. Getting inspiration, learning about new ingredients, exploring new techniques, but I simply can not follow a recipe.

 

I always have to tinker. Don't measure. Usually think that sounds good, but wouldn't it be even better if you.........?

 

And I'm eclectic as all get-out. If Persian Kashk will enliven an Italian pasta sauce, in it goes. A splash of Vietnamese Fish Sauce in the beef stew? Why not?

 

So what about you? Do you like scripted meals and scripted teaching programs?

 

Boxed meals and boxed curriculum? Open and go everything?

 

Or I'm I the only weirdo finding a pattern? :tongue_smilie:

 

Bill

[johnandtinagilbert]

Hmmm....what a good point. In fact, it does. I needed to start with the basics, so a script was good initially, but now....give me something rich and let me put my own touch and BAM! It rocks! :lol: Great thoughts and great eats!

 

I need to make beef stew now, btw...just like I need to look at Math Mammoth and Elemential Science...of course, I'll eat the beef stew, but I'm refusing to look at new curriculum! Off to eat now, thanks Bill :)

[momofkhm]

I am definitely a follow the recipe sort of chef. If it's what the recipe says to do, that's what I do. But I never measure veggies. :) If it calls for 1/2 cup of zucchini, sorry the whole thing goes in. And leave things out I don't like, like water chestnuts.

 

Yep, it follows with school. If it says to do it this way in the book, that's what I'll do. And I'll leave out things I don't like (like oral quizzes). But there's nothing to equate to the extra veggies.

[Julie in CA]

Yep. Definitely true.

Professionally, I use a crust recipe from one dessert recipe, a filling recipe from another, a sauce recipe from yet another, picking and choosing the best part of each dessert recipe and then using those components to make just the thing I'm looking for. I homeschool very similarly.

[Poke Salad Annie]

A splash of Vietnamese Fish Sauce in the beef stew? Why not?

 

 

Bill

 

Can. not. stand. this. stuff... How on earth can you ruin a perfectly good beef stew with this horrible concoction??? You must be one of those people who really enjoy those durian fruit popsicles (which of course are mixed in with all the other perfectly good flavors in the freezer section, and have harmless-looking labels which do not come near to giving a clue to their toxicity---I just made the horrible mistake of choosing the wrong one! :tongue_smilie:) And I mean this in a nice way---no offense

Edited March 18, 2010 by Poke Salad Annie

[Ailaena]

Wow, I never thought about it before, but completely. DD says my finished food product is to the original recipe like a movie is to a book - simply inspired by. But really, I will look at multiple recipes before I even make anything, learning as much as I can about whatever it is and picking and choosing. And I know I own measuring tools somewhere...

 

Scary how that translates to my teaching style. I use multiple sources to gain as much info as possible in order to be able to present a topic in multiple ways. I read (OK, buy) many books before I choose one as a spine, but still use the others to add a flavor I enjoy. And I know there are tests somewhere...

 

I see a scholarly paper about this in someone's future:tongue_smilie:

[Spy Car]

Can. not. stand. this. stuff... How on earth can you ruin a perfectly good beef stew with this horrible concoction???

 

The key is moderation. Which in the case of Fish Sauce means just a few drops.

 

You must be one of those people who really enjoy those durian fruit popsicles (which of course are mixed in with all the other perfectly good flavors in the freezer section, and have harmless-looking labels which do not come near to giving a clue to their toxicity---I just made the horrible mistake of choosing the wrong one! :tongue_smilie:) And I mean this in a nice way---no offense

 

I've never had a Durian Popsickle. Now, of course, I can hadly imagine living without the experience. And think I know a market that might have them.

 

Shopping trip!!! :D

 

Bill

[Carol in Cal.]

I follow a recipe religiously the first time I make it.

 

But after that, I modify.

 

Same with curricula and subjects.

 

I follow the script for a while, and then once I have really mastered the approach, I modify.

[LauraGB]

Wow. Interesting. Yep, my teaching style is similar to my cooking style. I follow the recipe, then tweak it, eventually stop measuring and keep making it the way we finally all agrees it tastes best. Same with school - take the advice of the professionals, work with it, tweak it and just keep going the way it makes the most sense.

[Ferdie]

How interesting and so true.

 

For homeschool I use BJU DVD's. All the planning is done for me. My job is to set up a stimulating homeschool work area, encourage my kids to do their best, review their work on a daily basis and help out when needed.

 

For cooking I use e-mealz.com. All the menu planning and grocery list making is done for me. My job is to prepare a home cooked meal, encourage my kids to try new food, watch them do dishes and help out when needed.

 

What does all this mean???

[Poke Salad Annie]

The key is moderation. Which in the case of Fish Sauce means just a few drops.

 

I've never had a Durian Popsickle. Now, of course, I can hadly imagine living without the experience. And think I know a market that might have them.

 

Shopping trip!!! :D

 

Bill

 

Okay, but don't blame me when, well, let's just say you need to find a near-by waste receptacle...

[Mommyfaithe]

I've been laughing at myself lately, thinking the way I approach teaching is very much the same way I approach food.

 

I love reading cook books. Getting inspiration, learning about new ingredients, exploring new techniques, but I simply can not follow a recipe.

 

I always have to tinker. Don't measure. Usually think that sounds good, but wouldn't it be even better if you.........?

 

And I'm eclectic as all get-out. If Persian Kashk will enliven an Italian pasta sauce, in it goes. A splash of Vietnamese Fish Sauce in the beef stew? Why not?

 

So what about you? Do you like scripted meals and scripted teaching programs?

 

Boxed meals and boxed curriculum? Open and go everything?

 

Or I'm I the only weirdo finding a pattern? :tongue_smilie:

 

Bill

 

hahahaha!! Nope, you are not the only weirdo...One more thing we are alike on Bill...are you getting worried? My cooking style DEFINITELY matches my homeschool...

 

Eclectic, home made from scratch, lots of tweaking, measure by feel...colorful, and as much fun as we can make of it until clean-up time...LOL

 

This was a cool observation!

 

~~Faithe

[Spy Car]

Okay, but don't blame me when, well, let's just say you need to find a near-by waste receptacle...

 

That's what they said about Marmite ("only British people raised on the stuff and enjoy it, and maybe not even then.

 

That's what the lady at the lady at the Korean market said about the fermented soybeans that looked interesting (but smelled strongly of over-ripe socks).

 

That's what the guy at the Sri Lankan said about the "Samba rice" (that smells somewhere between wet-burlap and manure when it cooks.

 

Bill (who's afraid he's losing potential dinner-guests :tongue_smilie:)

[Ali in OR]

Hmmm, the analogy doesn't work completely here. I do enjoy both cooking and teaching and I like to read about both and practice both. But for home schooling, I like to do my own thing. I'm not going to follow someone else's script. I do make sure I know my stuff first, then I pick and choose materials I like best and execute them in the way I think best.

 

In cooking, I tend to follow a recipe. I like repeatability. I want to be able to make the dish again and have it taste the way I remember it. But I do feel free to tweak recipes to make them healthier or sub out ingredients I'm not crazy about.

 

So not completely different, but not completely the same either.

[angela in ohio]

No, but I am more experienced and skilled at teaching than I am at cooking, so I wouldn't expect them to match.

[elegantlion]

Interesting, but no. Maybe because I don't like to cook at all, but love everything about teaching, planning, & research. I do NOT get the same warm fuzzy feeling when it comes to meal planning. I'd rather hand off the cooking to someone else but we do very little of that in our schooling. Plus there are no allergies in school like there are with food in our household. My son may think he's allergic to some subjects, but I know better. ;)

[The Governess]

Yes! I am a researcher and have to have a lot of things on-hand in order to feel prepared to cook something - the right tools, fresh ingredients, etc. I like reading cookbooks that teach how to cook, how to store ingredients, which foods provide which nutrients, etc. I have to have a recipe but I don't always stick to it completely. I will substitute ingredients here and there but need the safety net of the recipe to feel confident enough to cook. I can't just look in the fridge and come up with an idea like my dh can.

 

I am *exactly* the same way with school. I don't need scripted lesson plans, but I need to do a lot of research and reading in order to feel confident enough to teach the material. I like having a lot of fancy supplies and strong curricula on hand. I don't have problems tweaking the curricula when needed, but I need to work within structure of it in order to feel good about my teaching - that I'm not leaving anything out, or explaining something in a less than ideal way, etc.

 

Interesting observation, Bill!

[BikeBookBread]

Unfortunately or fortunately, yes...

 

I am kind of compulsive about finding the VERY BEST recipe for something...knowing it will work before I use it. I feel downhearted if it fails. (I really like Cook's Illustrated and Alton Brown for this reason.) I'm not an experimenter.

 

Same with curriculum. I research to death (to the point of second and third guessing myself). I kick myself silly and am downhearted when it fails.

 

I guess I had better lighten up on both counts.

 

Interesting theory, Bill.

[MamaSheep]

What an interesting thought! Yes, I think my cooking and teaching styles are very similar. I tweak recipes left and right. Often I make it the way the recipe says the FIRST time I make it, but not always. But I often don't even use a recipe when I cook. My mother taught me a lot of the basic principles behind cookery and I've picked up a few more since, so usually I just decide what I feel like eating and make it. (I do usually at least have a base recipe for baked goods, though.) However, I do sometimes use mixes or pre-packaged items if I don't feel like making it myself. For example, I prefer pancakes made from scratch, but I always have some Krusteaz mix on hand for those mornings when I'm not really awake yet and "just add water" is all I have in me. Also, I don't like making pie crusts (don't know why, I just don't) so I buy the rolled up refrigerated kind at the store. In school I'm very eclectic; I buy bits of this and pieces of that and then tweak it and add in my own stuff. Except there are a few things, like math, where I just prefer to pick a box and follow the directions.

[patchfire]

When I bake, I generally follow the recipe, but I will add a little more or less liquid to get the consistency I feel is right. I also will substitute freely (whole wheat flour for white, coconut oil for vegetable oil - like for like). This is how I approach language arts, more or less.

 

Everything else, though, I throw together, and it never tastes exactly the same twice. This would be how I approach math, science, literature, history... pretty much everything but grammar/spelling/vocab LA stuff.

 

Interesting! I never thought about it, but yeah - I can't stand to JUST follow a recipe more than once - even when I bake, I tweak after the first time, if not the first time. And I definitely can't use an open-and-go or boxed curriculum. I tried once, and ended up tweaking it beyond recognition.

[Guest Alte Veste Academy]

Hmmm.

 

I mostly cook recipes that are family favorites, adding in some new things (some adventurous, some mundane) here and there to see if they will make the cut. If the family likes them, they go into the rotation and if they stand the test of being served regularly, they get the high honor of a hand-written recipe card in my best penmanship. I do measure, even my favorite recipes that I created myself and know by heart.

 

At restaurants, I order my favorites over and over and over...

 

Yes, I can see similarities to my curriculum choices, now that you mention it (although I do hate a script which would seemingly be like a recipe, so go figure).

 

You may be on to something.

Edited March 18, 2010 by Alte Veste Academy

[Mejane]

Well, as someone of Italian heritage, I am genetically predisposed to avoid measuring and to throw in whatever I have lying around. I teach much the same way, so my answer to your question would be yes. :D

[Spy Car]

Yes! I am a researcher and have to have a lot of things on-hand in order to feel prepared to cook something - the right tools, fresh ingredients, etc. I like reading cookbooks that teach how to cook, how to store ingredients, which foods provide which nutrients, etc. I have to have a recipe but I don't always stick to it completely. I will substitute ingredients here and there but need the safety net of the recipe to feel confident enough to cook. I can't just look in the fridge and come up with an idea like my dh can.

 

I am *exactly* the same way with school. I don't need scripted lesson plans, but I need to do a lot of research and reading in order to feel confident enough to teach the material. I like having a lot of fancy supplies and strong curricula on hand. I don't have problems tweaking the curricula when needed, but I need to work within structure of it in order to feel good about my teaching - that I'm not leaving anything out, or explaining something in a less than ideal way, etc.

 

Interesting observation, Bill!

 

Almost every meal here is based on looking in the fridge and winging it. Good eating too :D

 

I'm thinking of a camping trip last summer with our crew from nursery school. While the other families were firing up their Coleman stoves or 30,000 BTUs-a-side Camp-Chefs, we went looking for rocks and sticks to cook over. I did give a nod to iron-age technology by using an iron cauldron (potjie pot) but I still got dubbed "the cave-man" :lol:

 

And while the fire was getting hot, we gathered more pebbles and worked on re-grouping strategies :D

 

Bill (a nut :tongue_smilie:)

Edited March 18, 2010 by Spy Car

[MelanieM]

Ha! So true!

 

I love to look at cookbooks and cooking magazines and often find things to inspire me. But when it comes to cooking, I rarely even look at a recipe; I open the cupboard, pull out what looks good, and throw it in a pan. However, even though I don't often follow the inspiration, I do tend to go to the grocery store and buy lots of things that look interesting and I'm sure I might use someday... Just like schooling!

 

My exception is baking, where I tend to take the recipe and modify or tweak it, having fun with the experimental approach while still keeping the character of the original inspiration. And sometimes our educational pursuits look like that as well.

 

I always knew I was an unschooler at heart. Does this also make me an un-cooker? :lol:

[Carol in Cal.]

 

I am kind of compulsive about finding the VERY BEST recipe for something...knowing it will work before I use it. I feel downhearted if it fails.

 

I have a great cookbook recommendation for you!

 

It's called "Beat This!" in the sense of "It's ON!"

It doesn't have a ton of recipes or even one recipe theme. Instead it is a collection of fully honed recipes of every major variety. So, for instance, if you find a sugar cookie recipe in there, it is honed and completely superior to all others around.

 

It sounds like the perfect cookbook for you!

[Spy Car]

I really like Cook's Illustrated....

 

I guess I had better lighten up on both counts.

 

Interesting theory, Bill.

 

See, and usually when I read Christopher Kimball I start shouting WRONG! WRONG! WRONG!

 

Maybe we both need to lighten up? :D :chillpill:

 

I'm still thinking there may be something to this.

 

Bill

[BikeBookBread]

See, and usually when I read Christopher Kimball I start shouting WRONG! WRONG! WRONG!

 

Maybe we both need to lighten up? :D :chillpill:

 

I'm still thinking there may be something to this.

 

Bill

 

:lol: I've never had a clunker from CI. Sometimes kind of bland, but never a failure. I'm just too type A to question the recipe, once I've decided to use it (after extensive research and comparison!)

 

Yep, lighten up, Steph. Lighten up.

[myfunnybunch]

:lol:

 

YES! My teaching and cooking styles are direct matches. My dh and I have conversations about this from time to time.

 

I cannot follow a recipe. I cannot follow a curriculum. I see cookbooks and curriculum as a sort of suggestions or jumping-off points. I always think if I just add a little of this, or try this a little differently, things will turn out even better. (I'm usually right.)

 

I like variety in school and in food.

 

I like to plan ahead, then tweak things at the last minute to suit what's happening that day. And sometimes I just want to wing it, and the meal/lesson turns out pretty good.

 

I use the internet when I can't find exactly what I want in books.

 

And I like to serve a complete meal or lesson, many different foods or activities. No one-dish meals for me! :)

 

Cat

[Spy Car]

Well, as someone of Italian heritage, I am genetically predisposed to avoid measuring and to throw in whatever I have lying around. I teach much the same way, so my answer to your question would be yes. :D

 

I'm only Italian by marriage, still I sensed the "kinship" :D

 

Bill

[Wheres Toto]

Thankfully in our house this is definitely not true. I don't cook. I will microwave in a pinch, boil water for pasta and throw whatever DH tells me into the crock pot. That's it.

 

My teaching style leans more toward the trying to do too much. I love to research, plan, prepare. Implementation doesn't always go as well but my kids are still young so it works for now. I love finding new ways to make things fun, different ways to get an idea across, activities and games to play.

[stripe]

I think this is a very interesting insight, though, Bill. I think you're on to something.

You must be one of those people who really enjoy those durian fruit popsicles

I just bought a little bottle of durian flavoring for my grandma as a gag gift. She told me she's keeping it handy in case anyone tries to attack her. A few years ago, I bought a frozen durian for a taste test when she was visiting. Unfortunately, the fruit minus our two bites that were immediately put in the trash made the house reek overnight.

 

So if you'd like a bottle of durian extract, just say the word!

[Poke Salad Annie]

I think this is a very interesting insight, though, Bill. I think you're on to something.

 

I just bought a little bottle of durian flavoring for my grandma as a gag gift. She told me she's keeping it handy in case anyone tries to attack her. A few years ago, I bought a frozen durian for a taste test when she was visiting. Unfortunately, the fruit minus our two bites that were immediately put in the trash made the house reek overnight.

 

So if you'd like a bottle of durian extract, just say the word!

 

Nice to know someone else enjoys the finer qualities of durian fruit. :D

[stripe]

That's what they said about Marmite ("only British people raised on the stuff and enjoy it, and maybe not even then.

 

That's what the lady at the lady at the Korean market said about the fermented soybeans that looked interesting (but smelled strongly of over-ripe socks).

 

That's what the guy at the Sri Lankan said about the "Samba rice" (that smells somewhere between wet-burlap and manure when it cooks.

 

Bill (who's afraid he's losing potential dinner-guests :tongue_smilie:)

When we bought the frozen durian (at a Chinese grocery), my husband asked the very nice cashier how are they. She sort of grimaced and said something like, "Well, some people like them." She clearly was not in that category.

[KrissiK]

Oh my word, what a concept!:lol: Absolutely, totally and completely. I have to have a recipe and I follow it exactly. No straying. No tweaking. I cook as told! I am a very good cook, but I am a by-the-book-cook! Same thing with teaching. I never thought of a correlation between the two!

[Poke Salad Annie]

Well, I have to say I never really warmed up to vegemite, but now "samba rice"? That's a whole different ball game. Sounds pretty innocent to me.

 

Oh, I guess since I need to address the original topic of this thread, yes, I probably do cook like I homeschool---some of this, a little of that...I just hope it all turns into something edible by the time I'm finished.

[Spy Car]

When we bought the frozen durian (at a Chinese grocery), my husband asked the very nice cashier how are they. She sort of grimaced and said something like, "Well, some people like them." She clearly was not in that category.

 

There are people who don't like "Hing" (Asafoetida).

 

Bill

[Spy Car]

Well, I have to say I never really warmed up to vegemite, but now "samba rice"? That's a whole different ball game. Sounds pretty innocent to me.

 

 

Sounds innocent, until you cook it the first time.

 

Smells like when the neighbors manure the lawn. Tastes great! Go figure :lol:

 

Bill

[TravelingChris]

Okay I will say that my homeschooling is very like my cooking. I like to search for perfection and then tweak. Or sometimes I just like to create. I don't follow very many things exactly at all. I love to cook but don't always have the time or energy and then we go with simple or frozen. I like to homeschool but don't always have the time or energy for every subject and then we go with some canned (i.e. videos or ready made programs). I will say that I am about this way with my entire personality. I could extend this anology to how I go sightseeing. I learn a lot about the area, scope the map of a place, listen to what people suggest and end up doing my own thing while taking some advice from others.

[Poke Salad Annie]

There are people who don't like "Hing" (Asafoetida).

 

Bill

 

Wow! This stuff was used in 1918 to fight the Spanish influenza pandemic. I can't say that durian fruit has been that useful. :001_unsure:

[Poke Salad Annie]

Sounds innocent, until you cook it the first time.

 

Smells like when the neighbors manure the lawn. Tastes great! Go figure :lol:

 

Bill

 

:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

[Spy Car]

Wow! This stuff was used in 1918 to fight the Spanish influenza pandemic.

 

I didn't know that.

 

I love the common nickname for Asafoetida in English: Devil's Dung.

 

Supposedly the Ancient Romans used a very similar flavoring in their food, and it does give Indian food (some) an authentic taste. The smell? OMG :001_huh: :D

 

I love it.

 

Bill

[Spy Car]

:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

 

Every time I replenish our Samba Rice collection (I currently have white, red polished, red unpolished, and red par-boiled) the clerks look at me with a somewhat incredulous look, and ask:

 

Sir, have you ever had Samba rice before?

 

And I say: Yeah, yeah..I know, I know :D

 

Bill

[The Governess]

Almost every meal here is based on looking in the fridge and winging it. Good eating too :D

 

I'm thinking of a camping trip last summer with our crew from nursery school. While the other families were firing up their Coleman stoves or 30,000 BTUs-a-side Camp-Chefs, we went looking for rocks and sticks to cook over. I did give a nod to iron-age technology by using an iron cauldron (potjie pot) but I still got dubbed "the cave-man" :lol:

 

And while the fire was getting hot, we gathered more pebbles and worked on re-grouping strategies :D

 

Bill (a nut :tongue_smilie:)

 

:lol: Math and survival skills, all in one lesson!

 

Someday I hope to reach winging-it-from-the-fridge level. Growing up, I learned how to scramble eggs and use the microwave and the drive-thru. So being able to successfully cook from a recipe is really quite an accomplishment. (And it's a good thing I married an Italian). :D

[The Governess]

I didn't know that.

 

I love the common nickname for Asafoetida in English: Devil's Dung.

 

Supposedly the Ancient Romans used a very similar flavoring in their food, and it does give Indian food (some) an authentic taste. The smell? OMG :001_huh: :D

 

I love it.

 

Bill

 

This is reminding me of the "stinky tofu" they serve everywhere in Taiwan. It doesn't taste all that bad, but wow does it stink.

 

Eeeeew. I just looked up the process of making stinky tofu and really wish I hadn't. :ack2:

[FlockOfSillies]

It's also what Uzbeks say about mare's milk.

[*Inna*]

Wow. Interesting. Yep, my teaching style is similar to my cooking style. I follow the recipe, then tweak it, eventually stop measuring and keep making it the way we finally all agrees it tastes best. Same with school - take the advice of the professionals, work with it, tweak it and just keep going the way it makes the most sense.

:iagree: Same here.

[Peela]

There is definitely a connection, but I think my teaching style is a bit more conservative than my cooking style, actually. People often think or presume I would be an unschooler because I am rather bohemian and ...well, lol, maybe I dress like an unschooler? I am definitely not what one would call 'conservative'.

I can relate to the loving to read and study both about homeschooling and food and cooking, and then experimenting and basically tweaking everything, playing with different ingredients etc Probably the main reason I didnt end up an unschooler is because I was pretty sure my son, who has learning differences, would not ever voluntarily choose to learn to read or write or do anything remotely academic.

I am a health nut though and love raw food and tofu and making my own raw chocolate and playing with superfoods from all over the planet...to me, food is definitely an art, but mainly I am inspired to find the healthiest possible diet that is both doable and tastes good. With homeschooling.....I am looking for a correlation here...but not sure I can find one :). I definitely dont eat out of the box or school from the box either. We are very much not box people :)

[Lovedtodeath]

YES! I buy a ton of cookbooks, read every page and only use 2 of the recipes.:lol:

[m0mmaBuck]

Hmm.... With cooking, use the recipe the first time I try something new and then adjust it until I get it 'right.' I cook really well but I don't like to do it.

 

Yup, sounds about right.

[Pata]

Yes! It's an interesting connection, but so true. And Bill, I hear you on the fish sauce, just alittle gives any dish a unique and delicious salty flavor.

 

BTW, I've had fresh durian and if you can get past the smell, it's really quite good. Jack fruit is another similarly tasting fruit, but with less sulfur stink. However, stinky tofu is a totally different story...

 

Off to find some samba rice!