Kids cooking at school AARGH!

Desperate_Housewife_2-2

DD has just come home from school saying she needs an icing bag to pipe icing onto home made biscuits as part of her cookery lesson. Week before it was a toasted sarnie which ended up in the bin/dog as it had sat in her bag for the rest of the day.

This cooking malarky is getting expensive, she was made to use 2 eggs by the teacher one week and was told to bring in 80p to cover the cost of them!

I am thinking of ringing the school tomorrow and have a quiet word because I can't stand waste and find it expensive, also having had 'healthy eating' rammed down my throat (not in the biblical sense you understand!) it grates that we are now having to encourage sugary foods...bad news on the oral hygiene front too.

Does anyone else have a view on this? Am I being unsupportive in her education? I've gone along with it up to now but I have an inbuilt inability to waste food and its starting to get on my pip now.

Last week it was puff pastry so we spent ages looking in books to work out how to do it, turns out she should have bought a packet of frozen ready made!

BTW, other DD mentioned that she had to make a chilled dessert and I said to her to let me know what to buy (thinking we would probably eat it) she said not to worry as she had planned it round what we already had in! Bless!

SPANIEL36

when i was at school we never had to but any equipment especially an icing bag. I went to 2 high schools and both were the same in the sense that the kids brought in the ingrediants and the rest was at school. If we did forget a certain ingrediant then yes we had to pay for it off the teacher

Millie's_Mum

I think I'd be having a word if only on the point of 80p for 2 eggs!!!

finc

Get her to make one out of baking paper. Alternatively use a freezer bag! I sometimes use freezer bags as they are strong and can handle the pressure without bursting. Try to use one that is flat at the bottom IYKWIM.

RAMBLER

Hi Desperate housewife

My mum is a food teacher in a secondary school.

Firstly they provide all of the equipment, but if you need a icing bag, a trick my mum uses is using a plastic food bag, and cutting a hole in the corner, cheap and easy and then you can bin and don't have to wash or bin expensive bag.

Secondly me and my mum agrees with you over the healthy eating. What else has she cooked this year and what year is she in.

My mum says (practical thinking)
How long are the lessons as that limits what can be cooked

For example in year 7 mum cooks

fruit salad
winter salad (coldslaw/florida cocktail/ waldorf salad) whatever family choices
cereal bars, again child choosing flavouring
cakes - fairy
sandwich/toast for begining, to get them used to cooking and lay out of room/ safety/ hygiene etc.
custard - fruit fool

For all of these practicals the ingrediants and recipies are given at the BEGININING of the year in their homework booklet. Parents need sign to say they have read and know. Mum also gets them to write when they are cooking in their homework diary which parents should sign.

Yes mum does provide ingrediants if a child forgets and comes to see her at the begining of the day if possible, not always.

Mum's year 8 & 9 pupils have just made sausage rolls and she actually bought the puff pastry and sold them because they only needed 1/4-1/2 a pack. charging 1/4 30p - 1/2 - 60p - no profit made

eggs they used to charge 10p however mum says she needs to recost that now -

Any questions you would like answered just ask.

lilac_lady

I learned to cook at school. I remember making macaroni cheese, scones, etc. Looking back the lessons lived up to their title - Home ECONOMICS. My neighbour's daughter said that they "cooked" an instant whip pudding and "made" pizza by putting some tinned tomatoes and cheese on a ready made pizza base. Progress?

Hawthorn

Meh. Home ec at my kids school sucks. I teach them to cook at home.
All I ever learned at school, was jelly, sandwiches, fairy cakes, scones and angel delight?

Bunnie1982

I studied home ec at school right the way through to my GCSEs.

We did a variety of things and I still have most of the recipes now to use like: homemade quiche, homemade pizza, macaroni cheese, soda bread, coleslaw, various cakes etc.

As for GCSE level there was hardly much cooking at all, it was mainly developing our own product including packaging.

Most of my cooking skills have come from my nan who used to show me how to make different things.

Not quite sure about the icing bag, because my school provided all the equipment that we needed. Does your daughter have a booklet of all the recipes they will be covering during the term or during the year?

Essex-girl_2

My daughters food techonology lessons drive me mad. This week she made pasta in sauce which was marked on appearance only! She got a lower mark than her best friend who happily admitted that her dish tasted horrible. I know that presentation is important but I think taste is more so.

My DD will definately learn more at home.

finc

There's a really good video clip here on how to make a paper icing bag.

mummysaver

Cookery lessons at school can be good or bad! At the middle school that two of my dds go, they make trifle with yoghurt - even the dog wouldn't eat it, spread tom puree and sprinkle cheese on ready made pizza bases and mix pre cut fruit into a fruit salad! I now refuse to pay for the ingredients and they simply do something else during the lesson, neither of them mind at all. My ds is at upper school, and was given a booklet at the beginning of the year, they then voted on a selection of recipes that his class would cook, and they actually do cook things, though they still seem to fall somewhat short of things like shepherds pie or casseroles, apparently the teacher isn't keen on them using the hob because of the mess! At least the things he does cook are edible though!

I find it amazing that they aren't taught more basics, like a simple white sauce, basic mince dishes, etc. When all four of my children were at nursery they did a lot of cooking, including risottos, chowders, casseroles, curry, stews, stir frys, all of which they used to eat at lunchtime or bring home in little pots. If they could cope with it when they were 3 and 4 it seems ridiculous that a bunch of 10 pluses can't be trusted or taught the same stuff!

Oh, and dd2 did come home a couple of weeks ago and tell me that they were "cooking" instant whip, quick note in home school diary from me asking for a chat with the teacher has yet to receive a reply. I appreciate time constraints, and I can understand, well sort of, the idea of it as a first lesson so they can learn how to behave in a kitchen, but not after a year!