Recently, a dear friend of mine applied for a job as a Chef Cooking Instructor.  After having an interview she was given the opportunity to do a demo lesson.  Her challenge:  teach the class how to make an omelet.

My friend is an amazing cook.  She is one of these people who can somehow make a glass of water taste better.  She has a natural talent for cooking.  Yet teaching someone how to cook rather than just cooking presented her with a whole new set of challenges.  I asked her, what type of teacher will you be?

Would you be the kind of teacher who:

Shows her student an egg and an omelet and then says, “This is what we are making today. Here is what it looks like when we start and here is the finished product.  Ok, off you go.”  I fear that this would result in a few with prior knowledge of omelet preparation knowing how it is done (the enrichment group – just so bright!!) the ones who might cry as they “don’t get it”, and the ones who simply do nothing.

Or she could be the type of teacher who shows and names all the materials, makes sure everyone has them and is sitting quietly at their station. She gives them a list of written directions and sends them off to complete their omelet, reminding  them that the directions are all written out.  Some students get right to the project, crack’n open the eggs, throwing  them on the frying pan and using everything they know about egg making, except the directions.  Others might actually read the directions, step by step and never get to the omelet making. Some might read the directions and complete the steps based on their understanding of what they think the directions are describing.  You would still have the I don’t get it group, some still crying, and those who don’t have their glasses or have difficulty reading,  politely pretending to cook, copying from others, telling egg jokes,  or playing with the eggs.  Eggs are fun to roll around and good for playing catch.

Or she could be the type of teacher who shows each child the steps, one at a time, such as how you crack open an egg.  Then, she runs around and cracks the egg  open for each of her students, assuming that they need her help and assistance with all the steps.  After all, she is the teacher.

Or she could be the type of teacher who lists the steps for all to see and she reads all the steps to the students.  She shows her students the materials and the finished product – but, she never actually makes the omelet herself.  After all, they learned about eggs in the first class they took.  The other chef instructor taught them that.  Oh, but never having made the omelet herself, she doesn’t know that they may have some struggles along the way.  For example, what if you get some egg shell in your egg, what if the heat is too high, what if it falls apart when you flip it?

Or she could be the type of teacher who demonstrates and tells each step. Very slowly, she demonstrates the numerous steps to making the omelet – step by step- ingredient by ingredient- detail by detail.  Alas, when it finally comes time to have her students make their omelets, there is only five minutes left in the class and only four students are still listening, or you think they are listening. The others are playing with the strings on their aprons, tossing their eggs in the air, or gazing out the window.

Or she could be the type of teacher who has a great omelet recipe and she knows they would love it.  Okay, it’s a little tricky and complicated, but it tastes great.  She demonstrates it step by step, has the directions posted, and sends her future chefs off to cook.  Some tell her they don’t like the ingredients she used in her omelet and ask if they might try another way, some only get half way done, some say “they are bad omelet makers,” or “I quit, omelets are stupid anyway.”

I warned her, remember everyone has their own prior experience with omelets, some know a lot about them, some may know the word, others never heard of it and when you say omelet some may think you are saying Um – lets….  Some love eating them, others just hate eggs, and some think that only birds or the Easter Bunny know about eggs.  Some students may have made them at home because their families love to cook and others – may not even have a kitchen. Some students will be quick learners and you will be amazed at how quickly they pick up the skills of whisking the egg or flipping it over.  Others may need a few eggs to practice with.

“At the end of your lesson,” I ask my friend,” what are your expectations for your students?”  Should they have a beautiful omelet? Should they have an I-tried-my-best – omelet?   Will everyone have made an omelet? What about those who don’t?  Regardless of the omelet, what else do you want them to leave your class with?  What will they take away inside of them?  Will it be a sense of I tried my best or I failed?  A feeling of I learned something and I will learn some more and continue to get better at my omelet skills or I know everything there is to know about omelet making – I’m done?  Will they feel like they had fun, are energized, challenged, frustrated, defeated or sad?

“At the end of the lesson,” I ask my friend, “what are your expectations for yourself?”  Will you be angry if everyone doesn’t make a good omelet or will you understand that everyone including yourself did their best?  Will you think about what went well and what didn’t and learn from that reflection?  Will you take the credit if everyone is successful with their omelet or blame the students if it doesn’t quite work as you planned?  Will you quit omelet instruction and stick with grilled cheese sandwiches?  Will you understand that you are on a journey yourself and that there is more on this journey than just the starting point and the finish line?

As a teacher who carefully plans her lessons each week, having this discussion about omelet making and teaching others how it is done reminded me of my teaching.  Regardless if it is omelets or reading, teaching encompasses so many different elements.  As I write my lesson plans I’m thinking about each lesson in terms of teaching how to cook an egg.  Did I model and do it myself?  Have I taken into account my students and their background on the subject?  Do I know where they are at, what they already know or don’t know? Most importantly, are they leaving this lesson with some new learning along their learning journey and can they use this learning somewhere else on the journey and build on it –  and that’s no yolk.