I taught them to cook vidya4 - Flipbook - Page 14
12
Autumn Term
They pile out the room, fairy cakes packed in paper bags. My
boy gang laughs through mouthfuls of sponge and splutters out
the crumbs. Only a few bowls and spoons are left in Gavin’s sink
for me to clear up. Next week I really hope Gavin stays away.
Mr Shield, the headmaster has asked to see me after school and
talk over how things are going. It will be a two way exchange. In
my previous ILEA school (Inner London Education Authority) we
provided all the ingredients for students to do their cooking. Now
I’ve got to teach busy exam classes with an annual food budget of
£50. How will I manage? Do I pay for my own demonstrations as
well as their tasting sessions for milk and cheese? What happens
when students don’t bring ingredients in? Can I shop and they
pay? I can see some challenges ahead but first I’m going to ask
the Science department who pays for the chemicals for their
experiments and the Art department if students have to buy
art paper and paints when they do a painting and if the games
department expects them to bring in their own footballs. Blast it!
This is not going to be easy.
She Who Ran Away
Before this new job starts in September I visit my school in my
summer holidays to check that everything is shipshape and tidy.
The clean, shiny school corridors smell of polish and there’s an air
of excitement for fresh, new beginnings after the summer break.
Jim, the caretaker, unlocks my door.
Whew. The recent hot, humid weather may account for
the stifling heat inside the room but not the smell. Something
somewhere is dead or rotting and we need to find it. Twelve
cookers line the sides of the room and the hobs are congealed with
dark brown sticky spills and lumps of dried food. What was the
last teacher cooking and where has she or he gone? No farewell
‘Hello and good luck’ note. The cooker behind my desk that is used
for demonstrations shows evidence of a massive fry up. Blobs of