Most people agree that pinewood derby cars fall into two classes: those obviously made by kids and those obviously made by parents. A few years ago two of my sons built winning cars that fell into the kid made category but were viewed suspiciously because they won. Liam, too young to be officially eligible for a ribbon, built The Stealth, a car that beat every officially participating car.

Their dad showed them what to do but made them do the work. He passed his expertise to his sons and showed them how to implement everything from axle polishing to weight placement to wheel alignment. He gave them the knowledge and skill but required them to do the work with their own hands. This is a dad who mentored his sons and believed they could succeed.

In the end, the pinewood derby reminds me that I’ve observed three classes of teachers: those who don’t bother because they do not think their students can succeed, those who do it themselves because they do not think their students can succeed, and those who truly mentor, passing on the knowledge and skill necessary because they believe their students can succeed.

Passing on knowledge is a noble purpose, believing in a child’s potential, well that is revolutionary.

– Kim

I didn’t really need anything from the market that day. What I really needed was a diversion from my work. Sad but true, Trader Joe’s did the trick.

All was going according to plan until I noticed a display near the frozen aisle. There, right before my eyes were stacks and stacks of enormous chocolate bars imported from all over the globe.

A normal middle-aged woman might have responded, “C-h-o-c-o-l-a-t-e! Yes!” She might have cracked open a bar and taken a big bite. But not me, no, I’m a teacher. So I grabbed a handful of the luscious bars and got in line, while simultaneously crafting a lesson for the next day.

This would be a cross-curricular writing lesson. I would begin with a session of chocolate taste testing, gathering sense words and phrases with the group along the way. Then, after my students chose their favorite variety from the tasting, I would direct them to a mass of geography books, the ones I was on my way to pluck from the shelves of my local library on my way home from the trip to Trader Joe’s (the trip that was supposed to divert me from my work). My students would then research the country from which their favorite chocolate originated. After they gathered some notes, they would craft a poem of place and taste! By the time I pulled into my driveway a thought crossed my oddly refreshed brain, “Tomorrow will be grand!”

– Kim

The result of that lesson is delicious:

Swiss Chocolate (Taylor, age 14)

It melts in my mouth

            silky,

like velvety Swiss hills

gleaming in the morning sun.

Sweet milk awakes my

            taste buds

like the cry of an alpha

horn in the alps.

But it doesn’t last long,

            no,

like a fiery sunset

it melts away

revealing a moony relish.

Continue reading Delicious Poetry

“S-w-e-e-t, my mom bought Hostess cakes!”

“Really? Does your mom, like, never buy sweet stuff for you guys?”

“Are you kidding? Why would she? My mom bakes cookies, cakes, and pies all the time!”

My son Wesley came home appalled. A dish is only as good as its ingredients. We know when we use fresh produce instead of canned that the dish is going to have a higher nutritional value, that we are going to experience much better flavor.

I don’t start with a box mix. I cook from scratch. I make my cakes with flour, fresh eggs, butter, sugar, and chocolate. People notice and love my baking. Sure, anyone can go to Costco and buy a chocolate cake, but it has three paragraphs of obscure ingredients on the metallic label and a metallic taste to match.

I believe every child is like a blank recipe card and that our job as educators is to teach them how to bring their unique spice to a bland world. Each child possesses a unique cabinet brimming with flavor. One might be like chili powder (which you really need to make a good pot of chili), another cinnamon mixed with sugar, yet another oregano (which gives a great background flavor to many dishes).

What if our job is to challenge our children to explore the potential of their flavor? Let’s help our children develop their unique recipe for life.   

– Sara        With this new year, we welcome a new contributor to four&twenty!

Sara and I actually grew up in the same town by the sea. We lived parallel lives as children and as grown-ups, moved miles away from our hometown to the same small town location raising our children. Go and figure. My teaching career took a sharp turn at an unexpected bend in the road when our paths finally crossed at a garage sale. We became fast friends and kitchen table philosophers. Her wisdom is an orchard teeming with fruit. I know you will be blessed!

Welcome to the conversation Sara! Read more about Sara here.