Blog 24: Last Presentation Reflection

(1) Positive Statement

What are you most proud of in your block presentation and/or your senior project? Why?

What I felt most proud about was how far i've come in a topic I had noo experience in, Everything I learned was something new and this really provided a feeling of journey and experience for my entire project.

(2) Questions to Consider

a.     What assessment would you give yourself on your block presentation?  Use the component contract to defend that assessment.

AE, I completed each facet of the component contract clearly and to the point. On top of this, my presentation really showed that I had gone on a journey to learn about my subject. Everyone loved it, it was very interactive and it flowed very smoothly. I went in depth for my answers, my activity really did bring the whole class together, and it was an overall delightful experience not only for myself but for the audience.

b.     What assessment would you give yourself on your overall senior project? Use the component contract to defend that assessment.

P+, While I did start off this project haphazardly (no mentor and missed a few blogs), I ultimately learned a plethora of knowledge and made connection with culinary experts. I believe I really show what the senior project stands for: To learn, experience, and love a subject that could potentially be your own career.

(3) What worked for you in your senior project?

What really worked well for my project was putting myself out as often as possible, especially at my mentorship at Cantina Grill. To further one's culinary experience, they need to be able to tackle subject matter and tasks that they've never tried before. For me, I did this a lot while trying and testing new recipes at home and at mentorship/

(4) (What didn't work) If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your senior project?

What really didn't work for me was deciding on a topic early (originally I wanted to do video game design). Because of this, I really limited myself option-wise and found myself struggling to find a new topic when things didn't work out well. Additionally, I really wish I had the confidence I have now to put myself out there while I was starting early on in my mentorship; this is because I feel I would have had more to share and have learned more if I had the confidence early on to ask my mentor(s) for extra work or lessons.

(5) Finding Value

How has the senior project been helpful to you in your future endeavors?   Be specific and use examples.

I really believe this project has not only prepared me for the business world and work force, but also boosted my confidence overall. This project really gave me some insight as to what kind of jobs and careers I hope to pursue in the future, including in the restaurant and culinary field. The confidence i've built, the the skills i've picked up, and the patience/dedication to my topic have changed my whole perspective on the subject and have made me more closely consider my future careers.

Blog #23: Exit Interview

Blog 23: Exit Interview Prep

Please be advised.  The senior team will not conduct any exit interview in which the student has not turned in a passing notebook count and completed this blog.  In addition, you are expected to dress as you would for a job interview.

Content:

(1) What is your essential question, and what are your answers?  What is your best answer and why?

Essential Question: "What is the best way to teach a beginner how to cook?"
Answer 1: The best way to teach a beginner how to cook is to seek employment in the cooking/culinary arts business.
Answer 2: The best way to teach a beginner how to cook is to learn through online sources, especially cooking blogs and websites,
Answer 3: The best way to teach a beginner how to cook is to learn in the comfort of one's own home.

My best answer is answer 3, "The best way to teach a beginner how to cook is to learn in the comfort of one's own home". I believe this is the best way to teach someone how to cook because it allows for the most creativity, personality, and comfort to flourish; all part of a mindset that is necessary to begin cooking. Cooking is a very organic and personal art and such skills really help a novice build confidence in their cooking skills.

(2) What process did you take to arrive at this answer?

Originally, I believed my answer two would be my best answer because I had the most experience and knowledge coming from my in-class research. I had begun my IC #2 (A cooking blog) and decided to teach others what I had learned from paper and put it online. However, I soon discovered that I would begin to run out of material really quickly and had decided to help my family cook dinners in order to blog about those experiences. As I helped cook with my mother and father, I realized just how fun and soothing it was to cook with my family. My favorite memory was learning to cook Pad Thai and Grilled Chicken with my mom and it felt very rewarding to watch the meal grow each minute as well as to hear my siblings delight with each bite. For these reasons, I decided to shift my best answer to my answer 3. 

(3) What problems did you face?  How did you resolve them?

My two biggest problems regarding my topic was my lack of experience and the earliest days of my mentorship. I've never had much cooking experience growing up (usually my mother cooked for my family) and I was not able to find a mentorship until early October. By then, I had already missed several blog posts, an interview, and I had not learned a thing. I was hesitant to bug my mentors about helping them cook more for them and felt my lack of experience would only hinder their efforts to help me. However, after I found my mentorship and began regularly assisting my coworkers, things began to easily come into place. I often asked for work and remained patient for their attention, often being rewarded by learning a new recipe, technique, or just the simple satisfaction of watching one of my mentors cook.

(4) What are the two most significant sources you used to answer your essential question and why?

-IC #2: Independent Component #2 really allowed me to see the cumulative sum of what I had learned and what subjects I still needed to learn more about (seeing as it was the last major Senior Project component before the Final Lesson). IC #2 also helped me step out of my comfort zone and start exploring cooking as a physical subject rather than an on-paper topic.

-Source #49: Source #49, "The Complete Guide To Making Burritos at Home"  by Carl Eisenpress.
This article, written on FirstWeFeast.com, really inspired me to use my Answer #2 as my best answer because it really showed what someone could do with a blog. This post was very informative, colorful, personal, and quite tantalizingly delicious (trust me, the pics of the food were amazing). The author obviously put their heart into the post and spent no expense asking other experts for their opinion, using eye-catching/helpful visuals, and explaining their subject material in an exciting manner.

Blog 22: Independent Component 2

LITERAL
(a) Include this statement: “I, student name, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents ___ hours of work.”
(b) Cite your source regarding who or what article or book helped you complete the independent component.
(c) Update your Independent Component 2 Log (which should be under your Senior Project Hours link)
(d) Explain what you completed.    
(e) Defend your work and explain the component's significance and how it demonstrates 30 hours of work.   Provide evidence (photos, transcript, art work, videos, etc) of the 30 hours of work.   
(f)How did the component help you answer your EQ? Please include specific examples to illustrate how it helped. 

a) I, Anthony Clark, affirm that I completed my Independent Component which represents 30 hours of work

b) During my Research checks, I came across a website called The CulinaryCook.com which taught the basics of many cooking techniques and concepts  in a simple and understandable way. Below is the link to this website.

http://theculinarycook.com/

c) Done

D) For this second Independent, I proceeded to create a food blog using the Blogger software under Google. I included many techniques, recipes, lessons and helpful tips to aid any beginner take the first steps the need to kickstart a lifetime of cooking experience. This blog is named Golden Springs Cooking and can be found by clicking on the link below: 

Anthony Clark's Cooking Blog

E) The significance of this blog was to teach or provide enough basic cooking information to make my audience see how easy cooking can be with the right motivation and examples. The issue with my topic is that laziness and fear with past experiences can lead to a life not spent in the kitchen but out dining and buying unhealthy meals. This blog tries to remedy that by taking my research and experience and use such information to help others realize how important a life of cooking is and how easy it can be to attain the knowledge I possess.

As for proof, I believe the blog itself is proof of my work.

F) This blog created a human and understandable vent for my knowledge to be passed on to others. Food Blogs are a common and famous medium for learning culinary skills and can be a healthy and relatable source for a generation of individuals looking to the internet for sources of information. As such, Food blogs can be one of many answers for my EQ, "What is the best way to teach a beginner to cook?" because it provides an easy-to-reach and interactive source of basic information regarding the art of cooking.

Blog 21 - Interview 4 Reflection

1. What is the most important thing I learned from the interview?  

From this interview, I realized how much of a physical and non-concrete subject cooking really was. Cooking isn't a quantifiable topic such as mathematics or engineering but a more human subject, with lots of impulse and guess-work to become proficient. This came as a tad shocking because I like using my mind more-so compared to my hands but it can be anew and exciting idea to tackle.

2.  How will what I learned affect my final lesson?

For the final lesson, I plan to focus more on the hands-on experience side of cooking compared to the research and writing portion of cooking. Cooking, as stated before, is more hands on than most subjects and can be better expressed, learned and enjoyed by actually cooking than reading a book or searching for recipes online.

Link:

https://soundcloud.com/anclark98/interview-with-juanita-4112016

Fourth Interview Questions

1.  Who do you plan to interview?  What is this person's area of expertise?

• For this fourth interview, I plan on interviewing one of my coworkers and close friends Juanita Guterres. She works as the night/afternoon cook for Cantina Grill and has worked decades in the food preparation business.

2.  Post 20 open-ended questions you want to ask an expert in the field concerning your senior project. Your focus should be finding answers to your EQ.

• What do you believe is the hardest obstacle to becoming a chef or even just stepping foot in the kitchen?
• What is the hardest part about working in this field (culinary arts)?
• What is the hardest obstacle for kids and teenagers to become a chef/join this field?
• What sources of information do you believe would best benefit a beginner chef (physical, literary,etc)?
• How effective do you believe first-hand experience in a restaurant is concerning the art of cooking?
• Mentorship or shadowing is a very large aspect of our Senior Project as well as learning the tools of our trade? How effective is mentorship? 
• What were your own personal struggles when you first began working in restaurants?
• What skills do you consider essential to becoming a professional chef/cook?
• What skills would you consider easy to learn for a beginner?
• Is it easier to learn new cooking skills at home or at a business such as Cantina Grill?
• How effective are cooking mediums such as cooking blogs, shows,websites, etc?
• Have you taken any cooking classes and if so, how effective are they?
• What makes cooking a difficult subject to begin learning?
• What are some simple recipes one can learn that will help them start cooking in the kitchen?
• Is there a specific age that works best for teaching cooking skills or is age a considerable factor?
• Does family and family recipes play a considerable role in shaping a cooking career and if so, how considerable is it?
• How does cooking at home compare to cooking at home/for your family?
• How do they differ effort and creativity wise?
• What styles of cooking are easy to learn and what styles are creative/more personal (ex.BBQ, grilling, broiling, etc.)
• What kind of personality or person learns cooking the best?
• What is the best way to teach a beginner to cook?

The interview itself is not due until Friday, April 15th to turnitin.com. However, we want to give you as much time as possible, so we are asking you to complete the blog now. Remember that in addition to turning in the interview to turnitin.com, you also need to turn in the verification sheet to your House teacher and post an audio excerpt of no less than 5 minutes on your senior project blog

Blog 19: Third Answer

Content:

Just like you did for answer 1 and 2 post your:

• EQ:
• What is the best way to teach a beginner how to cook?
• Answer #3 (Write in a complete sentence like a thesis statement)*
• The best way to teach a beginner to cook is to tailor their education to suit there personality and needs. A student learns best when the class is designed especially for their education.
• 3 details to support the answer
• Larger allotted times for communication and feedback the less students there are
• Relationships can be forged between the master and student, allowing for synergy and creativity to come more readily.
• Each individual has different personality and goal-sets which can only be met by private tutoring or small class-room settings
• The research source(s) to support your details and answer
• http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/teaching-one-one
• http://www.greatschools.org/gk/articles/class-size/ 
• Concluding Sentence
• To teach someone to cook, you must understand what goals they want to achieve and how they want to achieve them. Each person learns differently and teaching them in smaller and smaller groups leads to more allocated time for their personal learning process.