"It's really fun," Nadya tells The Enquirer. "I've been wanting to do stuff inside the school, but I've been at home (all year)."
Before the pandemic hit, Norwood middle and high school teacher Leila Kubesch says she often visited her students at home to meet their families. For the last year, she’s been doing porch visits instead, keeping her distance to avoid spreading COVID-19.
Norwood City Schools has returned to five-day in-person learning in its last quarter, though officials said about one-third of students have opted to stay remote.
Some of Kubesch's students are home without an adult during the day while their parents work, she says. They have younger siblings to care for. Kubesch heard the same request over and over: we need a cooking class.
No problem, Kubesch said. She teaches Spanish, not home economics – but if her students are excited about something, she jumps on it.
"It really is precious and priceless when a child comes to a teacher and says, ‘I want to learn this,’ " Kubesch told The Enquirer.
Kubesch was named the 2020 Ohio Teacher of the Year by the state Department of Education. The program was launched in 1964 and recognizes Ohio's most exceptional teachers for their work both in and outside the classroom. Three years ago, Kubesch secured a performing arts project grant and helped her students create a 100-foot display detailing their dreams. It was featured in a special exhibit at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Downtown Cincinnati.
More: Ohio's 2020 Teacher of the Year works in Greater Cincinnati, shares teaching wins
Chow and Tell really began with one student, Kubesch says, who was very adamant about learning to cook for his siblings. During one of her porch visits, Kubesch dropped off a brownie mix and some oil for him.
But she quickly realized ingredient drop-offs wouldn’t cut it. She tried to teach a recipe through Zoom, but that didn't work, either. Some of Kubesch's students didn’t have the materials necessary to cook from home: pots, pans, baking dishes. This was something she would need to provide in person.
Kubesch's first face-to-face cooking class, held in the middle school's special needs classroom in late February, ended in disaster when the roast chickens did not cook all the way through. She sent a couple of students home with instructions to discard the meal or put the chicken straight into the oven before consuming.
Thankfully, Kubesch says an anonymous donor provided the school with a new electric range. The new oven and stove work just fine, and Kubesch bought new plates, bowls and cups for the Chow and Tell series. She brings fresh ingredients to each Tuesday and Thursday after-school session.
“It’s what teachers do," she said. "It’s really nothing out of the ordinary.”
Kubesch funded the project at the beginning, and various guests have contributed since. The rest of the project will be funded by the National Toyota Family, of which Kubesch was named 2020 National Toyota Family Teacher of the Year.
Teaching culture through food stories
Kubesch says the cooking program has increased parent engagement. Parents send her photos of her students proudly serving their home-cooked meals to their families. She hopes it gives the students an opportunity to talk with their families over the meal about what they've learned that day.
“When I was a kid, that’s how I learned from my grandmother about culture and about food, and so it made certain food very special," Kubesch told The Enquirer. "And so I wanted to bring that back, the storytelling element."
She has a lineup of leaders to serve as special guests in the weeks to come, including world traveler and book author Scott Stoll, and Ohio State Board of Education vice president Charlotte McGuire, of Dayton. Kubesch says she's excited by how the community has pulled together to make Chow and Tell happen.
"It's kind of exploded," Norwood High School principal Tina Acres said.
Kubesch says over 30 episodes of Chow and Tell have been recorded by Norwood Community Television, and will air the third week of May.
