Nicole Pisani, co-founder of Chefs in Schools, says that of the 58 schools working with the school food transformation charity, half joined in the last two years.
“Education around food is one of the most important things we can invest in and it’s quite incredible what schools are doing now,” she said.
“We have a broken food system but we can’t change what kids eat unless you educate them, and the dining hall is a classroom where children can be educated through being intrigued and excited.”
...and then, the bugs?
It’s the squid and the vegetables that have most amazed and delighted pupils at Mandeville primary in east London. The squid because, well, it’s squid – and the vegetables because, as the headteacher, Louise Nichols, said: “Many of our families live on housing estates without any outside space, so they don’t see food being grown and have no idea how it happens or what healthy, natural food even is.
“But how can they grow to be healthy adults unless they’ve learned what vegetables look like in a natural state and how to turn them into soup?” she asked. “They need to handle fresh, raw fish then learn how to love eating it. They need to know how to bake their own bread.”
Oh, there'll be no squid for you, kiddiewinks!
I had a friend who died some years ago, but who had been a teacher specialising in 'Domestic Science' at a secondary school. I found her interest in food fascinating, and my, didn't she have a huge collection of cookery books, ranging all the way through those Victorian tomes like Mrs Beeton with their lists of ingredients all the way to more modern books with 'foreign food' illustrated in glorious colour. In particular, I set her experiences off against mine at school in the early 1960s where boys would do metalwork and woodwork, and girls, cookery.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, after dabbling with girls doing metalwork and woodwork and boys doing cookery, my late friend's school decided to get rid of 'domestic science' entirely, cleared out the 'kitchens' and got rid of the crockery and cutlery, which my friend collared for use in her political association's functions where food is served.
So much of what one learns at school is useless (and I write as someone whose life's work has involved engineering, science, maths, geography and languages) but for those who need none of those things, that missing cookery instruction was probably the only thing of any use from school! ON the other hand, what was going on at home that they didn't learn it there?
Heigh ho, yet another self-justifying "charity" . . .
ReplyDeleteOn the food thread - their plan worked well when Jamie the mockney chef tried it, didn't it? Well, no . . . .
I came across a thread recently below a story about an adult lacking some basically adulting skill, I will try to find it and post a link.
ReplyDeleteWhat came across first was the folly of keeping non academic kids in school and trying to teach them stuff that everyone knows they will never use. The second issue was that school leavers often lack basic life skills, these skills aren't taught in school and the kids are often raised by parents who lack such skills themselves.
So, if we are going to force kids to stay in school longer than is really necessary, why not teach them more useful skills? Yes cooking and basic nutrition. Not mathematics but basic arithmetic that applies to everyday life situations. Basic car, motorcycle and bicycle maintenance. Basic household repairs. Household budgeting and money management. I'm sure others can think of other examples of useful life skills.
“getting rid of ‘domestic science’ “
ReplyDeleteA long-serving former colleague, since retired, once described to me the rapid and, she believed, irreversible decline that came about in the transition from DomSci to Food Tech, where a significant part of the GCSE coursework was to design packaging for a frozen pizza. In particular, she explained, The Powers That Be had decided that sharp knives presented an unacceptable risk in the classroom, so such practical work as she was allowed to do consisted almost entirely of opening packets or scooping soft ingredients, while any process involving heat required a six-page risk assessment.
Her early pupils were taught a repertoire of basic skills, using them to make dishes such as shepherd’s pie, quiche, soups, stews and traditional puddings, whereas, in her final year of teaching, the GCSE practical task was to ‘plan and build a layered dessert’ using tinned or frozen fruit, jelly, ice cream and ‘sprinkles’.
"So much of what one learns at school is useless (and I write as someone whose life's work has involved engineering, science, maths, geography and languages) but for those who need none of those things, that missing cookery instruction was probably the only thing of any use from school!"
ReplyDeleteSadly true! I don't remember what I made in metalwork (a keyring, maybe?) but I remember everything I cooked...
"What came across first was the folly of keeping non academic kids in school and trying to teach them stuff that everyone knows they will never use. "
As our future monarch has pointed out...
"...sharp knives presented an unacceptable risk in the classroom..."
And now, it's mostly OUTSIDE the classroom!