Where Does Your Food Come From?

I didn’t see my dad very much this past Easter weekend.  If the sun was up and no food was on the table Dad was in his makeshift lean-to on the backside of the garage, next to the woodshed and one good spit from the chicken coop.  Inside the lean-to were two barrel woodstoves snap-crackling the day away to cook maple sap my parents had been collecting for several weeks.  I wandered over from time to time to check out the progress…but the progress on trip seven looked very similar to the progress on trip one and the hens ran out of conversation after the third visit, so I found other projects to keep me busy.  Don’t get me wrong, I love that my folks make maple syrup – but the sap cooking stage is one long yawn-fest.

While doing jobs around the farm that weren’t getting done by the guy watching the wood burn and the sap bubble it struck me that my parents, and to a great extent I, are able to spend the entire calendar year procuring sustenance directly from the earth.  Catching fish through the ice dominates the first two to three months of the year, followed by gathering sap for maple syrup from late March into April.  By mid-April my parents’ greenhouse is bursting to life with nearly half of the summer’s garden already growing.  Morel mushrooms pop up for gathering in early May, followed by the open-water fishing season.  By late June the fishing slows down, as do the strawberry patches (tame and wild), just in time for the garden to start producing.  Wild blueberries and raspberries (tame and wild) begin to ripen by the end of July, followed by chokecherries in early August and high-bush cranberries a few weeks later.  The garden tapers off by early September, allowing for some fall fishing before deer (archery) and grouse hunting seasons open, both of which get better and better through October.  November is rifle season for deer, and if we’re lucky and get some cold weather before Thanksgiving we can be on the ice again and fishing by Christmas.

This progression came to mind again today (obviously since, you know, I’m writing about it) as I ate some venison steaks that marinated overnight before falling on to the grill.  By no means is my diet perfect or even close to 100% natural or organic, but more often than not there is no mystery surrounding the main portion of my meal.  I shot the deer that was on my plate today.  I picked and shredded the zucchini that was in the zucchini blueberry bread I ate for breakfast (side note: I had to buy the blueberries – lousy year for wild berries last year).  Last night’s sloppy joes were venison burger.  The fish from the night before were caught on Secret Lake #4 two weeks ago.  The food I don’t pick, catch, or kill myself I at least make from scratch – the zucchini blueberry bread, the sloppy joe buns, and the coating for the fish were all the result of my hands.  Again, I am not boasting about a perfect diet – I’m not interested in a perfect diet.  I’m interested in eating tasty food, quality food, chemical-free food...food that I have some ownership in.

My interest in food and its origins came from two sources – a life-change that required me to begin cooking for myself and my daughters, and a dear friend urging me to read the works of Michael Pollan, specifically his book “The Omnivore’s Dilemma”.  The book, and the documentary film “Food, Inc.”, caused me to see food as more than just material that goes in the mouth and fills the stomach.  Both also created some serious skepticism about the “quality” of the food offered to us at grocery stores.  So I changed. 

Rather than deciding what to feed my daughters or myself I now think about what I can gather and create for us to eat.  I buy ingredients; I do not buy meals that come in boxes or bags.  I have found, tried, adjusted, and abandoned too many recipes to count.  I make as much as I can from scratch.  I almost never buy meat, or eggs (remember those chickens I was talking to?), or veggies (thank you, mom and dad’s garden), or bread.  I let my daughters help cook as often as I can.  I talk to my girls about the importance of choosing what we put in our body.  I also make a big deal about how good it feels, and tastes, to eat something that we grew or caught or made ourselves.

The results?  I don’t eat as much as I used to; made-from-scratch is more filling than processed….plus, the more I eat the more often I have to cook.  Did I mention I don’t really like cooking and I’m not very good at it?  Both of those are changing…a little….slowly.  Despite not being a great cook I do have great pride in eating something that took an honest effort to create, especially if it actually tastes decent.  I have a greater sense of thankfulness towards nature for providing much of what my family eats and in turn work harder to take care of nature so she’ll keep providing for me (look for a yarn about my “deer farm”, coming soon to a blog post near you).  Most importantly, I see my daughters developing an appreciation for what real food is and the understanding that food doesn’t really originate in a grocery store.

So, what can you do if you don’t hunt, fish, or garden?  Find a farmer’s market.  Find some recipes.  Buy ingredients instead of pre-made meals.  Eat at home more and at restaurants less.  Buy a deer license and let me get a deer for you.  Buy a fishing license and I’ll do the same with fish.  Read some books or articles about the food industry and big agriculture – you’ll never look at a pork chop the same way again.  Make very small changes, one at a time, to your food production habits and stick with the changes you like.  And, of course, start hunting, fishing, and gardening!

Oh, and one more thing:  Can anyone out there tell me about harvesting and processing hazelnuts?  I know they’re ready in late September, I’ve gotta beat the squirrels to ‘em…but then what?  The interweb has taught me a little – I’d like to hear an authentic story about harvesting these natural nuts.

Letter of Recommendation

I recently wrote recommendation letters for two different colleagues.  Looking back at the nearly 20 years I have spent in education I thought of the now countless letters I have written to recommend people for new jobs or college acceptance or promotions.  While each person requesting these letters was truly unique, the letters themselves generally were not.  Writing for unique individuals will naturally lead to unique letters, but if the adjectives and anecdotes written for each person were stripped away the remaining text and format would be nearly identical from letter to letter.  Reading some recommendations written for me and some examples of recommendation letters online confirmed my suspicion:  only one of these letters exists - we just keep changing the names and descriptions.

The "a-ha" moment that followed led to this blog.  I have created a pre-written letter of recommendation that will cover the gamut of co-worker personalities you may be required to write letters for.  Written in multiple choice format, this letter follows the formula of the original recommendation letter we all keep rewriting every time we have to "sell" a fellow worker to a prospective employer.  Before I say anything else, let me be clear about this:  I have never had to falsify any descriptions of co-workers in the letters I have written, nor have I ever been asked to write a letter by anyone who was not worthy of my recommendation.  Every letter I have ever written has written itself in a positive way, which is a nice reminder that I have worked with some truly fantastic people. However, there are co-workers who may be a bit challenging when it comes to accentuating the positive.  Thus, my prewritten letter provides the flexibility to be totally honest or totally false on the spectrum of co-worker quality.  I hope you find it useful.

To Whom It May Concern:

I have been (begged / chosen / bribed) to recommend Co-Worker X for the job opening you are currently advertising.  It is with great (honor / embarrassment / relief) that I endorse my co-worker for this career opportunity.

My co-worker and I have (worked / embezzled / wilted) together for (____years / an eternity / several days).  During this time I have found (her / him / it) to be an (impressive / alarming / enigmatic) example of what it takes to succeed at this job.  While some employees simply arrive at work to put in their time, my co-worker rolls in nearly every day (ready to achieve / almost on time / sober).  In addition, working closely with this person has proven to me that (effort is everything / a lack of personal hygiene really is noticeable / I’m actually the second-worst employee on payroll).

One of the most powerful qualities my co-worker possesses is the ability to (communicate / straight-faced lie / make threats) to others.  This talent has made a tremendous impact on our staff, eliminating the need for external (therapy / thuggery / theology).  In addition, this person has found ways to (modernize / sabotage / completely ignore) the day-to-day routines our workplace thrives on.  I am confident the (ingenuity / apathy / arrogance) exuding from this person will infect your workplace as thoroughly as it has ours.

Prior to my co-worker’s arrival our staff was very (complacent / happy / spineless).  Those days are over, what with the (leadership / social awkwardness / foul language) my co-worker has consistently displayed.  We now find ways to (encourage / betray / frame) each other and never miss an opportunity to (socialize / protest / poach wild game) together – a direct result of my co-worker’s influence.  Upon hiring this person I truly believe you will see an immediate spike in (staff productivity / online gambling / absenteeism).

More important than the job skills are the human skills my co-worker (possesses / fakes / has been missing since birth).  Whereas some folks simply talk-the-talk, my co-worker (walks-the-walk / face-plants often / doesn’t even bother with the talk).  Whether it is (helping / harming / harassing) others, (sprucing up / stealing from / vandalizing) the workplace, or simply finding ways to keep the world (safe / less populated / at bay), my co-worker’s intentions are rarely hard to decipher.  If more people lived life in the manner of my co-worker our society would be (harmonious / confused / doomed).

I cannot think of a more deserving person for your current opening.  Please do (yourself / me / my staff) a favor and hire this person.  I guarantee you will (never / immediately / constantly) regret it.

Sincerely / Thankfully / For the cryin' out loud get this person off our hands,

Mr. Co-Worker Y

Let me know what you think.  Are there character traits I have missed?  Adjectives that would work better?  I see this as my contribution to the quest for efficiency in the workplace so any suggestions on improvement would be appreciated.  I also see this as the first of many pre-written documents...but the last freebie.

Thanks for reading.

One Great Teacher

I played the role of "substitute teacher" today.  Our school district has been hit hard by a stomach virus this week which, combined with a number of pre-approved staff leaves on this Friday, created a major sub shortage this morning.  Being a Title I teacher means I'm on the top of the "call-in-a-sub-emergency" list.  And, lo and behold, I was placed in Mrs. R's class for the day.

Mrs. R teaches first grade and has done so for about five years after being a Kindergarten para in our school for roughly a half-dozen years.  She is as even-keel a lady as you'll ever find - never gets upset, never raises her voice, always has an easy smile.  She earned her teaching degree while employed as a para and our school was extremely fortunate to have a teaching opening for her upon completing her degree.

Her current class might be the most academically and behaviorally challenging class I've ever seen.  I've joked that she must have murdered all our Kindergarten teachers' pets last year to have been given such a crew.  I work in her room every day with a group of her (many) struggling students so I've been able to watch this class from day one; what I've seen has been impressive.  After today I'm even more impressed.  This mixture of alphabet soup students (LD, EBD, ADHD, EBD, Title I) has morphed into a very structured and pleasant group of kids to spend a day with.....which got me thinking about how we define great teachers.

Mrs. R's class, save a few individuals, is never going to post terrific test scores.  Their academic growth (on paper) was modest from fall to winter.  Their needs in March still far outweigh their strengths.  Yet I don't know how her teaching job this year can rank as anything less than phenomenal.  These kids know routines and procedures better than the insides of their eyelids.  They work hard.  They have acquired knowledge about topics beyond what I'd ever guessed they would know.  When they get off task (which they do....often) they can be redirected with one prompt.  I came to school tired and fully expected to be completely wiped out after spending the day with these kids but really.....I feel pretty good.

So what makes a teacher great?  Academic progress is what school is all about......or is it?  I tend to get stuck in that mindset occasionally.  But really, what would we rather be surrounded by:  intelligent jerks or pleasant simpletons?  My answer:  thoughtful people.  People who give thought to details, give thought to others' needs, think first before doing or saying, put thought into efforts.  What I worked with today was a class of students who is being molded into a group of thoughtful humans by a great teacher.  Thank you, Mrs. R, for accepting the challenge of a challenging class and exceeding expectations.  Thank you for teaching the whole child by seeing beyond test scores to find what students really need.  And thank you for reminding this teacher that high expectations work just as well with a calm voice as a loud one.

Oh, and please get well soon......one day was enough!

Teaching in "The Show"

“What if I roll three fives in a row and then fall out of my chair – do I still get to go again?”  “What if I get done reading the page after three other people but before 12 others and I have to go to the bathroom?”  “What if the sun shines tomorrow but the wind doesn’t blow and then it rains for three minutes…will we still have recess?”  “What if” questions from students drive me bonkers.  While I applaud the creativity used to generate such queries they are very rarely relevant to real life possibilities. 

When I saw the topic for the current #innovatorsmindset blog hop…

…I developed an annoyed mindset.  However, much like my primary students, I instantly lost focus on the annoyance and realized I had been kicking a “What if” idea around for quite a while:  What if the teaching profession was more like Major League Baseball?

**What if we discard the current model of spending several years in college learning nothing about real teaching and replace it with apprenticeship in the “minor leagues”?  Prospective teachers could spend a year in a primary school, another year in a middle school, and one more in a high school.  They will “get the call” to the big leagues (their first job) with three years of experience and skills honed for their chosen position.

**What if we started the school year in March, preceded by “spring training” for teachers – two weeks in Florida or Arizona as a staff preparing for the upcoming year by studying scouting reports (Pinterest and TpT), attending team meetings (pool-side), and doing drill work on fundamentals (copier error correction, peripheral vision, and conflict resolution).  (side note:  The spring training trip doesn’t appeal to me at all, but I suspect normal folks might enjoy it).

**What if teachers could become free agents after six years and “test the market” for a more lucrative contract?  Think of the possibilities for students if schools were competing for the best teachers and those teachers were distinguishing themselves in several statistical categories:  home runs, sacrifice bunts, sacrifice flies, stolen bases, innings pitched, batting average, and strikeouts.

            Home runs – Each day a teacher gets a student to succeed at something they couldn’t do yesterday – HOME RUN!!  We’d shatter Barry Bonds’ “records”.

            Sacrifices – Give a bit of yourself (time, experience, money, etc.) to help a colleague and earn a sacrifice bunt on the scorecard.  Do the same to help the school community and earn a sacrifice fly.

            Stolen bases – How many new and innovative ideas have you found elsewhere and brought to your school for the betterment of all?

            Innings pitched – Each hour spent preparing to teach, teaching, regrouping after teaching, and learning how to teach better is an inning.  Unlike the big leagues we don’t have bullpen help available so our innings pitched are really gonna pile up.

            Batting Average – Love them or hate them, test results can tell a story.  Your batting average is the percentage of your students who reach testing targets.

            Strikeouts – Gotta take a peek at some negative statistics when measuring the complete player….er, teacher.  How many kids did you just not reach this year?  Each one is a strikeout.  Probably don’t want a high strikeout rate – kinda makes your other stats irrelevant.

After six years of compiling these stats we waltz into our district office and announce “I’d like a five year guaranteed contract worth $8.6 million per year with an optional sixth year at $10 million or I’m taking my talents to South Beach!”

**What if throngs of people cheered our every swing, pitch, or catch (lesson, joke, or pat on the back)?  Or if we left the school building and had to sign autographs for a half-hour before getting to our car?  What if our great math lesson from 1:30 was splashed across the 6:00 news that same night?

**What if we had a 162 day season, just like MLB?  Wait, hold on – that’s fewer days than I teach now.  Can’t shorten our season and expect better results.  Playoffs can add up to 21 extra games to a team’s season, though, so that’s a little better number.  Oooooh, we’ve got to come up with some sort of playoff system for education, too!

I feel the little bit of sanity I started with on this topic draining away.  It’s fun to dream, it’s fun to innovate, it’s fun to teach…and it’s fun to play baseball.  What if we could combine the four?