As the school year winds down, I got to visit a class that was new this year to Cactus Shadows. The Culinary Arts program has been a huge success. The program had slots for 96 students, over 220 applied. Interest is even greater for next year.
Why so much interest in cooking classes? The number one answer from students, they will be going away to college soon and want to be able to cook for themselves. ‘I don’t want to have to eat Ramen all the time.’ one senior told me. Another reason I heard, ‘My parents work late and then they make dinner. I don’t want to eat so late and I can cook dinner for us and we can eat a little earlier.’ One student was more self-serving, ‘I needed an elective and I love to eat and it’s a fun class.’ Other students said knowing how to cook allows them to connect better, and spend more time with a parent that loves to cook. Of course some are interested in careers in the culinary arts field.
Instructor Barbara Burt says, ‘It’s a life skill, one you need as an adult.’ She has asked her students ‘Which is more impressive to a date, taking them to a fast food restaurant or spending the same amount of money and giving them a home cooked meal that you prepared?’
Pupils learn other life skills as part of the class as well. There are six kitchen setups in the classroom so each class of 24 students is broken down into six teams of four. Learning to work as a team is an essential part of the learning. That also means students have to communicate with each other directly. Additionally, no cellphones are allowed in the kitchen area. The kids get a break from technology.
If you ever visited the Seven Sisters Sweet Shop, then you probably met the instructor Barbara Burt. She was the proprietor of the business for 20 years. She then began working in the school system teaching life skills to Special Ed students and jumped at the chance to take on the culinary arts program.
Outside instructors have also contributed their knowledge and experience to the culinary scholars. On the day I visited, Linda Dunbar, a French teacher at Cactus Shadows and an instructor at Scottsdale’s Classic Cooking Academy was teaching how to make sourdough bread. The Carefree Restaurant Association is in the initial stages of looking into partnering with the program as well.
The program is more at the ‘Home Ec’ level and teaching life skills, not at a vocational level. The long term goal is to develop a vocational program. There is a movement across the country to provide more career and technical education (CTE) in high schools. Studies have shown that students in CTE programs develop better social skills and there is a lower dropout rate. Also students who may have difficulty in a typical classroom, or have certain challenges like ADHD, often thrive in the CTE environment where there is more doing and less sitting.
