Note that in this picture, my mom is waiting patiently while Ricki manages her bottle of drink herself. Now this does not mean that Ricki didn't request that WE give her a drink. She did, and we refused.
Ricki came home from "cooking" class with a cake yesterday.
"Who sifted the flour?
-"The teacher."
"Who added the ingredients?"
-"The teacher."
"Who stirred the batter?"
-"The teacher."
Now, it may be vital that for the first few lessons, that a teacher explain a technique. Or perhaps to give the girls some pre-holiday activity the school elected that they see a honey cake being made. But my mind flashes back to my visit to the school half a year ago, and my noticing then that in the cooking class, only the teacher had a rolling pin. Ricki is pretty good at following a well-written recipe. I hope that today's cake made by the teacher (IF Ricki is to be believed) is not a harbinger of things to come.....
9 comments:
This post is exactly in sync with my top post. I've observed "teaching" cooking in Life Skills classes many, many times - looks just like what you described. I would tend to believe Ricki.
This post also reinforces how easy it is to promote (and prevent) learned helplessness (in my post just under the top one). People tend to think it is easier to do it for the child over watching the child do it (thumbs-up for your Mom!) However, in the long run, adults who do this will do it for the child, forever.
Excellent post.
Barbara
Sounds like the story about if you want to feed a man for a day, give him a fish - if you want to feed him for a lifetime, teach him to fish.
Patience may be a virtue but you do not want to set yourself back - you achieved so much with Ricky this year, it would be so sad if there was regression.
So much more helpful to encourage her to do things herself. You would think a teacher would know the value of that.
i agree loved getting my children in kitchen to work side by side with me
Anonymous-- There is really no other suitable setting for Ricki. Incluion is not possible (no high school would accept her, and if they did, I wouldn't get the material in advance); I have to work with these people for the next six years! I would rather she learn less for one month, after which I hope I will have gained enough of a relationship with the staff to make suggestions that will be listened to, than be very critical at first, be viewed as a "crazy mom always finding fault" , whose ideas are never taken seriously. And, incidentally, I DO study a bit with Ricki each day in order to keep her level up.....
I think your approach is sensible. You catch more flies with honey...
I used to hate it when an art teacher used to "show me" how to do something on *my* picture.
I did not want her to do it for me, I just wanted to know how to do it!!
I love this picture -- good for her for doing it herself.
I am sorry to her about her cooking class. I have to keep reminding myself to challenge my son a little more from time to time and stop doing things for him because I am in a hurry.
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