A New Beginning

Hello all and welcome to my blog. My name is David and I am a high school chef instructor.

What does it take to become an exceptional Culinary Arts teacher? When I first entered this field three years ago, I thought I had a pretty good idea of what it would take to be a successful instructor. I was after all, a retread in education. After earning my bachelor's degree in 1982, I started out my adult life as an elementary teacher. I spent 9 years teaching at public schools in Texas. I also spent 8 years teaching at international American schools in Saudi Arabia and Lebanon. During my time as an elementary teacher, I earned a Master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction.

I enjoyed teaching. I used to be one of those odd instructors who dressed up in period costumes to teach history. For example, when I taught about the age of Spanish Exploration, I came to school dressed as a conquistador. I wore custom fitted thigh high leather boots, baggy trousers, and a steel breastplate over a puff sleeved shirt. A flowing cape hung from my shoulders and a combed morion helmet topped with a white plume sat upon my head.

When I taught this unit, students had to learn some Spanish to interact with me. We sang Renaissance songs and experimented with wheels and pulleys in science to raise and lower nautical flags. After reading about the conquistadors, students set the stories of the old explorers to verse adding refrains to the tune of Lilliburlero. I would like to think that teaching this way made history "come alive." I would also like to think that my style of teaching made learning relevant.

I enjoyed being an elementary teacher ... but when I returned to the states I found that everything had changed. Accountability had become the watchword of education and everything was "teach to the test." I was told to pack away my costumes because my way of teaching was outdated. Teaching was now "scientific." Students were taught using a no frills type of education. Those who passed their assessments moved on to the next instructional objective while those who failed were retaught in small group instruction.

During the last year I worked as an elementary teacher, I felt less like a teacher and more like an educational accountant. Every student had instructional debits and credits. Each instructional objective had to be tested. To properly prepare students to take the state standardized test, we had a district practice test and practice tests for the practice tests.

The Austin American Statesman once estimated that teachers in Texas were literally spending 6 weeks out of the entire school year in test related activities. The emphasis on testing was mind numbing. The students didn't like it and at some point I lost my passion for teaching.

At year's end, I resigned and opted out of elementary education. Since I was too young to retire, I went back to school, pursued a Culinary Arts degree, and spent four years working in the food service industry.

The food service industry was great. It was also brutal. In 2005 I literally worked 360 days out of the entire year with just five days off and no vacation. I worked 84 hour weeks, 7 days a week. Since I was on salary, I didn't get overtime. To save money, the owner kept the kitchen staff small and I typically worked a double shift, week in and week out.

Although I was entitled to a week's vacation, I was called in during my week off. The general manager said that he was very sorry and offered me a mere $150 in compensation. I told the manager that I was also very sorry. I gave him two weeks notice and quit.

Instead of looking for another restaurant position, I decided to become a Culinary Arts teacher. Teaching Culinary Arts would allow me to share my passion for food with my love for teaching. The hours would be much more reasonable. Instead of the one week vacation that my last job offered, I would have the entire summer off.

What could possibly go wrong?

During my first two years of employment, I worked at a small school in rural Arizona. The Culinary Arts Department only had 36 students who were divided among 5 classes. In addition to teaching, I was responsible for supervising a student operated restaurant. The restaurant was open five days a week for breakfast and lunch.

My first year of employment as a Culinary Arts teacher went well. The assistant principal gave me a glowing evaluation. I was commended for my organization, my skill at instruction, and my ability to make learning relevant.

I thought I had found my dream job.

During my second year of employment, something changed. During a routine inspection of my department, the principal noticed hard water stains on our stainless steel equipment. Hard water stains are the mineral residue left by "hard" water.

I was directed to eliminate all hard water stains by using a chemical cleaner. There was only one problem. The state and county health codes said that it was illegal to leave the residue of a chemical cleaner on work surfaces due to the very real possibility of cross-contamination. Chemical residues are by legal definition in Arizona, considered "toxic" and must be rinsed off.

The principal ordered me to follow his instructions. He wanted all kitchen equipment to be squeaky clean and bright and polished.

Instead of following his instructions, I printed out the relevant sections of the state health code and took my concerns to the district superintendent. The principal's instructions were overturned.

I thought the problem was resolved. I was wrong.

When the state director for Family and Consumer Science Education asked me if she could drop by my school for a brief visit during class, I e-mailed her request to my assistant administrator. I was given written permission to meet with the director. You can imagine my surprise when I was subsequently written up for "deserting" my class to meet with a "state official" at an "unsanctioned meeting."

In addition to writing me up, I was criticized on my formal evaluation for having a "filthy" kitchen. I was cited for not having any class management skills. I was told that my instruction was boring. Comments like, "this teacher is not a team player" were included in the summary. I was even reprimanded for not utilizing technology in the classroom. The fact that I was the only teacher at the school who had not been issued a district laptop was ignored.

The evaluation was unfair. Had I pursued legal action against the district, an attorney could have made a case regarding the abuse of my civil rights. Under the state whistle blower statutes, it is illegal for employers to retaliate against employees who have reported violations of the law. The fact that this evaluation included several mistakes was also incredibly frustrating.

When I shared my concerns with the assistant principal, the woman smiled. Although she admitted that there were a number of factual errors in the evaluation, she refused to change her findings. My performance was "unsatisfactory" and if I wanted to keep my job, I would have to implement an improvement plan.

For a second time that year, I appealed to the district superintendent. The superintendent said she would meet with my administrators after the winter break. On Christmas Eve she suffered a massive heart attack and died.

I returned to work in January of 2009 to find that the principal had become the new district superintendent. The assistant administrator who had written my evaluation was now the new principal.

Since the principal laughingly told me that she would not change one word of my evaluation, I metaphorically rolled my shirtsleeves and went to work on a district mandated improvement plan. Since the district wouldn't issue me a laptop, I bought my own. I also purchased a digital camera, a digital video recorder, and editing software.

Weekly updates as to what I was doing in the classroom were submitted to the principal and district superintendent. During a faculty workshop, I shared video footage of student produced commercials for various food products as well as digital excerpts of simulated job interviews.

The faculty gave me a standing ovation. The new superintendent gave me a huge grin, patted me on the back, and shook my hand. The new principal simply glowered at me and remained silent.

Second semester soon went from bad to worse. "Could I see you in my office?" became the dreaded words that the principal used to crush my morale. I was reprimanded for not attending extracurricular sports events as a spectator. I was criticized for not socializing with other teachers during lunch even though I was responsible for supervising a student operated restaurant. I received no recognition for any of the improvements that I had made in my classroom. I did not even receive a follow up evaluation.

At the end of the year, I resigned.

I was eventually picked up by a metropolitan district in an affluent suburb. I went from having 32 students to teaching 184. Culinary Arts was so popular at my new school that the district even gave me bonus pay for giving up a prep period to teach a 6th period.

The assistant principal at my new school was enthusiastic about my performance. My instruction was described on my formal evaluation as "creative," "engaging," "hands-on," and "relevant." I was complimented for my classroom management skills, praised for the cleanliness of my kitchen, and hailed as the epitome of what a culinary arts teacher should be.

For a second time since moving to Arizona, I felt as though I had found my dream job. When state budget cuts left my new district with an $8 million shortfall, I found myself laid off along with 45 other teachers.

The enthusiastic letter of recommendation given to me by the assistant principal at the end of the year helped me land a teaching job with a small rural district. My new job is actually at a school in a district that's adjacent to the one I first taught in as a Culinary Arts teacher.

This district is so small that the high school only has 175 students and 16 teachers. My new principal tells me that if I do well, I will have job security since small rural districts survived the state budget cuts with far less problems than their large metropolitan counterparts. After all ... with just 16 teachers, what can you cut? (As it turns out, my new district laid off the entire custodial staff and all teachers will now be responsible for cleaning their own departments).

During the three years I have worked as a Culinary Arts teacher, I have had my ups and downs. I cannot help but wonder whether this third district will be my lucky charm. Will I find a home with this new school or will I encounter yet more difficulties?

Can I use my experience over the past three years to preempt possible problems? Can I win over the hearts and minds of the students, many of whom are only taking Culinary Arts because there are few electives to choose from? Will my new administrator be as supportive and objective as I hope he'll be or will he abuse his authority to use the annual teacher assessment as a punitive tool?

Time will tell.