One
of the courses I teach is Grade 8 Home Ec. When the class involves a
Food Lab, the students are put into groups of three or four and given
a role in order to produce some sort of food.
By
this time in the school year, I know the students reasonably well so
when I put them into groups recently, I gave particular students
particular roles in order to give them practice where they most
needed it.
The
assignment was baking “Rich Tea Biscuits.” I gave the role of
chef to Sam* because he needed practice in reading and following a
recipe. He would notoriously begin reading the recipe, or at least
listen as we went over it, then get to the kitchen and start mixing
things together without consulting the recipe again. This method of
cooking had already resulted in some playdough-like colored and
textured blueberry muffins and some rather salty pancakes.
Also
in his group, I assigned Marie* as host. She has considerable
experience in the kitchen and didn't have trouble putting things
together. She likes to do things right and I thought maybe her
presence in the group would keep Sam on track with the recipe, would
keep him from madly rushing ahead towards the goal.
It
didn't quite work that way. Sam went ahead and added the milk to the
flour mixture before he cut in the butter. Using a pastry cutter
under these circumstances is harder than you may imagine.
Remarkably, though, he managed to incorporate the butter into the
dough.
Somehow
in the process, the cook in their group, whose job it is to collect
the ingredients, had neglected to add an ingredient or had added the
wrong amount. Marie's sense of needing to follow directions kicked
in. She grabbed the measuring cup and headed to where the
ingredients were set out, bent on remedying the sorry situation.
With a junior high sense of drama and a self-aware twinkle in her
eye, she muttered in a stage whisper, “This
is why I always work alone.” You could practically hear the
eye-roll! Boys!
I
had to laugh. I'm with her. I like to work alone too, and follow
directions and do things correctly. I don't rush madly ahead without
bothering to consult a plan or considering the consequences. But as
I pondered this groups' experience and the members' past track
record, I realized that no matter who was wearing the chef's hat,
nothing completely inedible has ever been produced. Marie's cooking
may be more appetizing, but Sam's food has all been eaten too. The
biscuits still turned out.
While
I can't give Sam full marks for following a recipe, I do have to
admire his enthusiasm and his not sitting around, wringing his hands
till he know every final detail of a thing before he jumps into
action. I could learn something from him.
In
our society, we are often pressured to be something other than we
are. The quiet ones are encouraged to “speak up,” leaders are
told to follow, people who prefer to work alone are put into
groups, people who are enthusiastic are told to tone it down,
creative individuals are instructed to follow directions, direction
followers are pressured to think “outside the box.” Society
thrives on cookie-cutter people; they're easier to manage. While
only ever doing things the way we feel most comfortable with can
stunt our growth, always feeling we need to be other than what we are
can diminish zest for life and appreciation for the way we were made and fails to make the most of each unique gift.
There needs to be room in our world for the Sams who forge ahead,
who jump into action, who blaze their own trail and there needs to be
room for the Maries who follow directions and execute a plan in all
its details, who work better alone. As Ralph Waldo Emerson says,
“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you
something else is the greatest achievement.” Even greater than
having the biscuits turn out!
I
praise you because I am
fearfully
and wonderfully made;
your
works are wonderful,
I
know that full well.
Psalm
139:14
*Names
have been changed to protect the innocent.
