RANTING/VENTING MEGATHREAD 3.0

see now this is why i refused to do a cooking camp.
 I did a game related to Cinco de Mayo and no one even cared. the students actually asked my why i was showing them about the holiday and different food etc...I realized early on the give ZERO f's about anything different.
so I will say I'm sorry no one even really tried anything, and thank you for at least trying.

Guys, 8 year old kids typically aren't filled with cultural wanderlust. They don't even understand the world of adults and many social customs of their OWN country let alone one they have zero connection to.

Yes, Cinco de Mayo got about as much interest as a lesson on Chuseok would get back home. They're kids. Their interests at this age are their friends, maybe some sports, and cartoons and games and crap. You know, stuff that's FUN and about HAVING FUN. Not "A cultural exploration of the various places around the world, which you will have to do a worksheet on in a language some of you can barely speak, while you have a 50% chance of being talked down to by your teacher and a 50% chance of getting yelled at or having it turn into a teachable moment if you do something wrong." I'm shocked kids are lukewarm to such a possibility.

Heck back home, our "interest" in Cinco de Mayo for most seems to be confined to eating Americanized Mexican fare and getting absolutely wasted while at some point in the night lumping Salsa music in with Mexican culture and running around dressed like the Frito Bandito. 

great  point but at some point what are you supposed to do with an after school class? now i know better. Games. FID

Usually every so often in the material, there is some culture blurb. I usually save the stuff till then. 9/10 it just flies by. 1/10 something seems to catch the students' eye and they ask about it and then spontaneously I'd elaborate. If they wanted to learn more, special lesson time.

Don't get me wrong, I learned the hard way to. I guess I was lucky in that I already had some inkling from back home what Koreans tended to enjoy in terms of foreign foods and what got their attention in terms of holidays.

With adults its pretty easy. "I don't care about Cinco de Mayo." "It involves drinking." "I love Cinco de Mayo."

It was pretty discouraging to see how apprehensive and averse the students were to trying anything new. They all just say there munching away at Spam and the most processed Lotte mart cheese you could imagine.

Out there is some Korean who tried to teach her class of kids to eat whatever and is mystified the kids have zero interest in red pepper paste, sesame leaf, crab, kimchi, etc. and the kids are just munching away at the Oscar Meyer, Starkist, and Kraft singles for "Make Your Own Kimbap".

yes, exactly. kids just like repetition. eating the same food, watching the same tv show/movies over and over, telling the same jokes, playing the same games

FID

Foreign Income Dividend?  Fur Is Dead? 

It was pretty discouraging to see how apprehensive and averse the students were to trying anything new. They all just say there munching away at Spam and the most processed Lotte mart cheese you could imagine.

Out there is some Korean who tried to teach her class of kids to eat whatever and is mystified the kids have zero interest in red pepper paste, sesame leaf, crab, kimchi, etc. and the kids are just munching away at the Oscar Meyer, Starkist, and Kraft singles for "Make Your Own Kimbap".

yes, exactly. kids just like repetition. eating the same food, watching the same tv show/movies over and over, telling the same jokes, playing the same games

While this is pretty much true, I don't think this is quite apt to the food tasting situation.

At my old school in the US, we had "International Day", and each class adopted a country.  They had to put together a display, do some kind of cultural presentation (often a folk dance),  and provide samples of a few dishes.  My experience was that many, many kids wanted to try the funny food ...

fair enough. i was fairly picky as a kid and would have definitely not wanted to try any different foods. what food did the kids get to try btw?

FID

Foreign Income Dividend?  Fur Is Dead? 

f**k it dude

fair enough. i was fairly picky as a kid and would have definitely not wanted to try any different foods. what food did the kids get to try btw?

were you picky because your parents didn't eat many different things or were picky themselves? I ask because I noticed as my sister raised her daughter, we'll call her T, T "didn't like" certain foods because her mom didn't. even as a 2 year old if her mom wouldn't eat it or would snub it, so would she. she's now 17 and still holds her mother's disdain for certain foods but has never even TRIED them herself. just curious, and  bored today. normally I don't comment on here because it dissolves into personal attacks and what not.

fair enough. i was fairly picky as a kid and would have definitely not wanted to try any different foods. what food did the kids get to try btw?

were you picky because your parents didn't eat many different things or were picky themselves? I ask because I noticed as my sister raised her daughter, we'll call her T, T "didn't like" certain foods because her mom didn't. even as a 2 year old if her mom wouldn't eat it or would snub it, so would she. she's now 17 and still holds her mother's disdain for certain foods but has never even TRIED them herself. just curious, and  bored today. normally I don't comment on here because it dissolves into personal attacks and what not.

no, it was just me. i was just a weird kid. but yeah that totally makes sense.

Just did cooking day for camp. My CT and I decided toast, with different toppings, would be best. Yes, it's not the most creative, but for elementary school kids it's foolproof and relatively easy to clean up.

I brought a few things from home so the kids could sample different things; imported rye bread, different types of cheeses, decent butter, Marmite, baked beans, some Rooibos tea for after and even some peri-peri and chutney (had nothing to put it on, but brought it so they could taste it) etc.

It was pretty discouraging to see how apprehensive and averse the students were to trying anything new. They all just say there munching away at Spam and the most processed Lotte mart cheese you could imagine. The HR teacher came to "help" for the day and even she wasn't interested in sampling anything I brought. I told them these were from my home and some of the items were difficult to find outside South Africa or the UK, they'd likely never get the opportunity to try it again... no dice.

The only people who seemed to be raised with some manners were my CT and 2 girls who were courteous enough to sample a few of the things I brought. Incidentally, these 2 girls are the smartest students at camp.

Childhood was a long time ago, but I do remember seeing and reading that curiosity and the desire to try new things is a natural part of childhood. Sure, not all children are going to be so open, but when an entire class isn't interested in trying something new, that points to a possible problem.

see now this is why i refused to do a cooking camp.
 I did a game related to Cinco de Mayo and no one even cared. the students actually asked my why i was showing them about the holiday and different food etc...I realized early on the give ZERO f's about anything different.
so I will say I'm sorry no one even really tried anything, and thank you for at least trying.

I work in a super countryside school and all my kids have always been interested in different cultures, and I always try to teach them about it. I also brought in different foods from back home, even salt and vinegar crisps and even if they didn't like it, all of them tried it and they were really excited and actually asked to do it again! Also kids are kids, they are gonna be picky with food and apprehensive to try new things. Its's our job to create an environment and try to open our students minds. They aren't always going to have the reactions we expect.

Just did cooking day for camp. My CT and I decided toast, with different toppings, would be best. Yes, it's not the most creative, but for elementary school kids it's foolproof and relatively easy to clean up.

I brought a few things from home so the kids could sample different things; imported rye bread, different types of cheeses, decent butter, Marmite, baked beans, some Rooibos tea for after and even some peri-peri and chutney (had nothing to put it on, but brought it so they could taste it) etc.

It was pretty discouraging to see how apprehensive and averse the students were to trying anything new. They all just say there munching away at Spam and the most processed Lotte mart cheese you could imagine. The HR teacher came to "help" for the day and even she wasn't interested in sampling anything I brought. I told them these were from my home and some of the items were difficult to find outside South Africa or the UK, they'd likely never get the opportunity to try it again... no dice.

The only people who seemed to be raised with some manners were my CT and 2 girls who were courteous enough to sample a few of the things I brought. Incidentally, these 2 girls are the smartest students at camp.

Childhood was a long time ago, but I do remember seeing and reading that curiosity and the desire to try new things is a natural part of childhood. Sure, not all children are going to be so open, but when an entire class isn't interested in trying something new, that points to a possible problem.

see now this is why i refused to do a cooking camp.
 I did a game related to Cinco de Mayo and no one even cared. the students actually asked my why i was showing them about the holiday and different food etc...I realized early on the give ZERO f's about anything different.
so I will say I'm sorry no one even really tried anything, and thank you for at least trying.

I work in a super countryside school and all my kids have always been interested in different cultures, and I always try to teach them about it. I also brought in different foods from back home, even salt and vinegar crisps and even if they didn't like it, all of them tried it and they were really excited and actually asked to do it again! Also kids are kids, they are gonna be picky with food and apprehensive to try new things. Its's our job to create an environment and try to open our students minds. They aren't always going to have the reactions we expect.

yes but there's only so many times you're going to prepare something new and different only for the students to refuse to participate.

I work in a super countryside school and all my kids have always been interested in different cultures, and I always try to teach them about it. I also brought in different foods from back home, even salt and vinegar crisps and even if they didn't like it, all of them tried it and they were really excited and actually asked to do it again! Also kids are kids, they are gonna be picky with food and apprehensive to try new things. Its's our job to create an environment and try to open our students minds. They aren't always going to have the reactions we expect.
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yes but there's only so many times you're going to prepare something new and different only for the students to refuse to participate.
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i'm super country side too and thought the same thing. It seems to depend on the day, tbh.
and yes, I didn't expect them to be EXCITED about Cinco, but to ask me why I was teaching about it, when it was like, May 5th??? whatever. lesson learned. don't expect them to like ANYTHING  I do. I'm still surprised at what they like to do that I sort of prepare. And it's always the activity I think is lame, or think 'oh they will hate this, lemme find something else in case..." I'm very thankful  for this site and all the lovely people who have contributed to it. seriously, thank you!!

I work in a super countryside school and all my kids have always been interested in different cultures, and I always try to teach them about it. I also brought in different foods from back home, even salt and vinegar crisps and even if they didn't like it, all of them tried it and they were really excited and actually asked to do it again! Also kids are kids, they are gonna be picky with food and apprehensive to try new things. Its's our job to create an environment and try to open our students minds. They aren't always going to have the reactions we expect.

For the win.  Aristocrat's list really wasn't that outlandish.  A different kind of cheese?  He didn't force them to eat Casu Marzu.  Marmite is ace, love it.  But I doubt he's getting all bent out of shape by the kids not liking that as it has opinions divided amongst most people.  A different kind of bread?  What's wrong with that?  Butter?  Easily available in Korea.  Baked beans?  Again, you can buy them here easily.  Introducing new things is what we should be doing.  I've done at least sixty or so cooking classes here and I'm always interested in making the students interested A: in creative cooking B: to teach them something about cooking as most of them are wholly unprepared or lazy when it comes to cooking and C: to introduce new things to them.  I'm not buying into this pandering to their little whims.  'I don't like doing this' 'tough shit'.  Life isn't fair, we don't get to pick and choose what we want to do all the time.   

Actually, looking at the success rate from his class, would seem to reflect Korea as a whole.  80% can't be bothered trying something new, they'll go abroad and eat Korean food, they'll spend their holidays watching tv at home and eating chicken.  Then you get the 20% who try things at least once, travel abroad and experience new things.  Korean psyche isn't about being totally unique and different.  It's about the 'jeong' mentality. 

Marmite is ace, love it.

w r o n g

Marmite is ace, love it.

w r o n g

If I agreed with you, then we'd both be wrong. 

For the win.  Aristocrat's list really wasn't that outlandish.  A different kind of cheese?  He didn't force them to eat Casu Marzu. 

Exactly. The same people who won't try salami are the same people who will dip their samgyeopsal in salt at the bbq resto.

It's............... similar. Pork and salt.

OH NO, THAT LOOKS STRANGE. IT IS DRY SAUSAGE.

Just f'in take a bite, you don't have to love it, you don't have to buy it at Emart, just BLOODY TRY IT.

I'm not buying into this pandering to their little whims.  'I don't like doing this' 'tough shit'.  Life isn't fair, we don't get to pick and choose what we want to do all the time.   

Ohhhhhhhhhhhh, soooo much agree.

You think I want to walk ten minutes with my duvet to clean it at the laundromat. I don't. But I do it anyway.

Half my camp today was making a 15 second commercial for 6 items I laid out (the other was making gingerbread houses). The groups picked an item and then made a 15 second commercial. It's dead simple. I gave them 15 mins to prepare it.

One group? 4 boys. They picked a snowman headband. What happens when I start roling?

  Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh hh.

  뭐지?

  *throws headband on the floor*

  끝

Like, FFS. Look, I will make a 15 second commercial in Korean right now. Here we go.

Boy approaches other boy.

  오늘에 성탄절. 너의 옷 안예뻐

  그래요?

  (Genie) *appears from off screen with headband* 이것! 크리스마스 머리 액세서리!

  와ㅏㅏㅏㅏ! 대박! 지금 나는 예뻐?

     와! 뉴맨! 진짜 예뻐.

DONE. I just wrote that now. And I don't even care if you don't like the Korean, or if it's wrong. I've never studied in my life. It takes 2 mins of concerted effort to do this. It took me 30 seconds.

Stop fukcing around and do it. It takes NO WORK between 4 people to do this. Drives me up the wall.

fair enough. i was fairly picky as a kid and would have definitely not wanted to try any different foods. what food did the kids get to try btw?

The lady who ran the event, the French teacher, had a list of countries to pick from.  It would vary each year so that we didn't have Mexico every year and someone bring in a can of tamales and be done with it.  The class i sponsored one year had Thailand, and a couple of Moms cooked up some spicy curries, and complained about how hard it is to find the ingredient lemongrass in semi-rural Georgia.  Another year we had Russia (or maybe it was CIS), and I know why they love vodka so much--it's the only thing that can get the taste of borscht out of your mouth.   Over the years, she put together sort of a manual, including suggested recipes--I'd love to have that.

I do remember that France and Spain (or colonies thereof) were always done because those were the foreign language offerings at the school.  So there would be paella and flan, mini-tortes and once I remember escargot.  A class did Korea at least once, and I recall the kimchi, but not beondegi.  There was possibly a no-insect rule instituted at some point ...

Kids be picky but sometimes works in your favour! Now you've got a load of tasty bread, good butter and cheese to take home and enjoy Aristocrat 

When I was a youngen my parents gave my brothers and I a bunch of droëwors (South African dried sausage)  to take to school to share with our classmates. They all turned their noses up at it from the way it looks, which made us very happy because then we got to scoff the whole lot ourselves !

FID

Foreign Income Dividend?  Fur Is Dead? 

f**k it dude

Hey man, there's no need to spe--oh.  Nevermind.

Marmite is ace, love it.

w r o n g

If I agreed with you, then we'd both be wrong. 

If loving you is wrong, I don't wanna be right.

(Loving marmite, however, is wrong and should feel bad.)