Kitchen Educational

A woman at Tuesday's education reform summit in Marion gave me something unexpected to gnaw on.

She asked Gov. Terry Branstad whether kitchen skills and nutrition education would be included in the state's updated core curriculum. She argued that if the governor really wants Iowa to be the healthiest state, teaching our kids how to cook and better understand food would be a big help.

The governor seemed to agree. “I think we need to focus more on fresh fruit,” he said. Could be controversial. I tried to find the woman after the forum but couldn't track her down.

At first, I'm thinking, here we are trying to catch our global rivals in reading, math and science, and we're talking about kitchen skills? Swell. But then I thought about it a little more.

It's true a kitchen is the No. 1 source of Coke and Cool Ranch Doritos. But it's also a science room, chemistry lab and center for applied mathematics. It's a history museum and an institute for cultural studies. Directions are followed. Hypotheses are tested. Critical thinking is deployed. Sticky stuff is spilled. The entry fee is just a few basic skills.

We can drone on to kids about healthy eating, or put up more big nanny government walls between the little dears and mounds of processed dreck. But if we're serious about changing the way kids think about food, teaching them to cook stands a far better chance of getting their attention. I learned just enough to be dangerous in high school classes with a lot of hands-on cooking. Now, I cook the meals my family eats from fresh ingredients, almost every night. Night after night. What was I thinking?

Should schools be mandated to teach kitchen 101? We have enough mandates. Not every valuable skill can be a state requirement. Schools must make the call.

But districts should pay attention to programs like “Cooking with Kids,” which has mixed hands-on food activities into several subject areas in New Mexico elementary schools. A new study of the program found that kids who participated showed a much higher preference for fruits and vegetables and improved attitudes about cooking, especially among boys.

"Cooking is fun, and it's a away to take care of yourself, a way to expand your understanding of the world. And children really enjoy it," said Lynn Walters, executive director of Cooking with Kids, Inc. "They're so proud of what they've done."

Parents can step up. I cringe when I think of how many times I've been busy preparing a meal and chased my annoying kids out of the kitchen. I need to lighten up, take a deep breath, let them stay and help and learn.

Thanksgiving is a perfect time to bring in the kids and give them a supporting role in the feast. They'll feel included and everybody gets a nice memory. Don't worry, they'll disappear when it's time to clean up.