Let's just take the fun and games to a whole new level, grade 6/7 style:
It's quesadilla time! I didn't have much success finding a cheese-free alternative to quesadillas, and the kids were begging to make them, so we went with the status quo. I'd been grumbling to myself that quesadillas are so easy... TOO easy... No. No they're not. Not easy. Not for the kids.
The hardest part is listening to all those instructions the teacher gives. How to set up an electric grill. How to grate cheese without grating your fingers (very stressful, actually). How to make sure your ingredients go far enough. How to flip the darned thing once you figure out it might be ready to flip. Nope. There's nothing "easy" about quesadillas.
The students are allowed to bring in extra ingredients, as long as no one in the room is allergic to it. Additionally, they have to reach a consensus in their group about what to share, and what not to share.
A student brought a jalapeno as part of his extras. I knew that little green fruit was trouble when I spotted it in the fridge. During class I spoke to him about the preparation and clean up of hot peppers (yes, I know, it was only a jalapeno. If it were a habanero, I don't think I would have let him use it, honestly.) He's a reliable kid, and it looked good. (Wait for it...)
Class is ticking along reasonably well. Suddenly, a boy bolts from the room, bent double. Two others follow. I worry that he's vomiting, but by the time I get from one side of the room to the other, he's back - and his head is firmly under the water tap, and he's gulping.
My eyes drift to their table. On a cutting board sits a neatly sliced jalapeno pepper. And what do I notice? It's full of seeds. The boy is still gulping water from a tap that the kids are generally reluctant to drink from. Over the roar of the tap and the hum of the class I call to him - Water only makes it worse!
He emerges. Looks desperate. "What makes it better then?" The poor kid is almost begging for mercy. I have to think quickly. I don't eat hot stuff, fortunately though, my son does, so I have some ideas about what might help. The question is - do I have anything in the foods room that will do the trick? I only keep supplies that we're actually going to use for that lab. Milk! I have milk. I bought it thinking we were making muffins. It's in the fridge and it's fresh. I pour him some milk and he finds some relief. Now, he's ready to laugh about it. I warned him it was going in the blog. I don't think he was listening.
No comments:
Post a Comment