This week our chefs watched two videos in preparation for our live class: Remembering Chinese Railroad Workers, which highlights the contributions Chinese laborers made to the completion of the transcontinental railroad during the 1860s, and Chinese Egg Noodles, which showcases a Chinese food invention that certainly changed the international culinary landscape for the better.
I tried out a new food preservation technique this week by vacuum sealing bags of lo mein that were then distributed to the third graders at home for safekeeping in the fridge. We warmed the noodles up by submerging the bags in hot water before cutting them open and eating together during class. It worked better than expected and we will definitely be doing more vacuum sealing for certain items as long as we need to send home kits this year!
I am struck by how different cohorts of students respond to the material in different ways, classroom to classroom and year to year. This semester, what resonated with the third graders in our discussion about Chinese railroad workers and the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was the fact that the workers were paid less than their Irish counterparts, even when they often performed work that was more dangerous. One chef compared the situation to NBA players earning more than WNBA players because of the erroneous idea that some people are superior to other people.
In breakout rooms on Zoom, students brainstormed ways we can make others feel included. This is a topic everyone can relate to, and responses included extending an invitation to someone when no one else does, offering a wider range of options to accommodate different preferences within a group setting, and being an upstander when you observe bullying. Edible Social Studies is at its best when the kids are happily eating together and connecting important moments in our community’s history with the ongoing fight for civil rights in our society today. Thank you, third graders, for bringing your empathy, passion, and creativity to class this week.
