I asked what they liked about cooking class and what they would change. Here are a few more of their responses: "I liked how you didn't just show us how to make the food and then let us eat, but we actually got to do all the steps ourselves, and learn where our food comes from and how it is made." "I liked how we tried so many different foods from such different places around the world." "Next year, there should be more recipes from each of the different countries, so we can see all the different foods people eat in each place." "It was nice to work together as a community." "Next year, you should buy a freezer, so that when we do the sushi lesson, we can have the option of using fish."

    Some of the most rewarding moments in teaching our winter cooking classes come when a child connects to the cultural content of our lessons and is given the opportunity to be proud, before their classmates, of their own ethnic heritage. Such was the case when I pulled out chopsticks instead of forks in Colfax's second grade classrooms. There would be a quiet chatter of excitement, often in another language, and smiles would appear on the faces of those students who were already familiar with chopsticks. As I presented chopsticks to those students who hadn't used them before, I'd let those students who were more experienced share their knowledge and assist their classmates. Quickly, the classroom became a community of learners, helping each other to acquire a new skill.

   When it came time to fill out our worksheets, we were able to fill out the blank "Country:________" not just with the word 'Japan,' but also with the Japanese character for Japan, thanks to a student who proudly volunteered to write the character on the board. I began to feel less like a teacher in the traditional sense, and more of a facilitator in these students shared learning, and this felt good. The next week, after preparing Rice Noodle Salad, students were begging for chopsticks, and used them to proudly and happily slurp up their noodles.