Teaching Is Like Stir Frying

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Ever since I became a father, I took over the kitchen. My wife had her hands full with our little princess and I had to start cooking again despite hanging up my apron since my college days. I find that despite all the recipes I know, the one that is the most versatile and simplest to do is stir fry. Its simple, quick and you can add whatever you want to the dish.

Its been four years now and my wife has never asked me to step out of the kitchen, so I reckon I am at least doing something right. In many ways, teaching any class, be it a preschool class, a primary school class or even a university lecture, the process of creating that perfect class is very much similar to that stir fry dish.

That is because any great class requires a very very long preparation.

The Long Long Preparation

The week before I left for college my mom taught me how to cook. Of all the secret recipes that have been amassed over the last 30 years, she had no time but to only teach me the secret skills of stir frying a dish. That skill has helped me saved a lot of money throughout college. However, the one thing that hate in the process of stir frying is in the preparation.

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I dislike cutting up the onions, garlic, the meat, the vegetables and other ingredients. It gets especially challenging for me because I have poor fine motor skills. Thus, cutting it too finely annoys me to no end. The same goes for teaching. A lot of preparation goes into crafting the perfect lesson. There is much preparation that goes into planning the flow of the lesson and the activities that goes along with it. This is especially the case if you are in a low-tech environment. Without powerpoint, all your content needs to be written and prepared on huge cardboard papers that stick to the whiteboard.

I remember countless sleepless nights that went into preparation these huge pieces of paper. The thing is, you can't make any mistake or else, you would be forced to redo it all over again. Unlike preparing your ingredients for a great stir fry dish, where fine motor skills are required, it is patience that I lack when it comes to preparing the materials for a class. I remember preparing some of these materials to 3am in the morning only to wake up at 6am later for school.

But if you ask me to consider not preparing a lesson before a class, I will not. That's because the preparation you go through would lay the groundwork for a great stir fry dish or a great lesson.

The Stir Fry

So, now that you have prepared for your class or for your dish, its time to stir fry. I always thought that stir frying was just stirring and frying until I started stir frying noodles. I noticed that the stir fried noodles in many stores had this charred taste to it. It wasn't long before I found out that a good stir fry depends heavily on how hot your fire is and the utensils you use. I have always used a frying pan for my stir fry which does not cook my ingredients as well as a wok (apparently). The same applies for how hot my fire was.

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I never knew how much the utensils and fire affects the dish, the same goes with teaching. The stir fry portion of teaching comes when you are in the midst of carrying out the lesson after spending a lot of time preparing for the class. However, instead of thinking of the fire or the utensils, you have to think about the tools used in teaching as well as the 'fire'. I find that the best tools are either technology related or elaborate artworks. Thus, I try to use either of these tools to focus on a particular message. The 'fire' in teaching is the enthusiasm. I believe that if you want to get your students excited, you really need to be equally excited as well.

However, even if you spend all your time preparing and execute your class or your stir fry really well, there will always be problems.

Oh The Problems...

Have you ever tried rushing a dish? I have. I may have dumped too much oil into my stir fry and threw in all the vegetables and meat into the wok. The thing is that, all my ingredients are still wet and so all the oil would splatter. Some may even burn me and the only way I could prevent myself from getting hurt any further is to literally put a lid on it. I mean a lid on my wok.

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If you were to rush the teaching of a class, you will find that you will unintentionally rush your students as well. You may force them to learn faster despite them not being ready. This could in a way demotivate them from learning any further. Thus, you would have to be patient and take your time. Some ingredients just cook slower than others and some students learn slower than others. It is not a bad thing, it is something that we need to be aware of.

Other problems do exist either when we teach a class or when we stir fry. However, I feel that the only way to handle these problems well is through practice and experience. Cook often enough and teach often enough, be aware of your weaknesses and endeavor to be better. If this is done, it won't be long before you master the intricate art of stir frying and the ability to teach well.

I hope you have found the post entertaining. What do you think? Do you think teaching is like stir frying a dish? Do let me know in the comments below.

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