So you just entered a new course for term and learn that you are required to bring a homemade snack to the next course. If your group does not bring a snack, the professor will not teach the course.
This is no joke for Professor Parrott at California State University in Sacramento. Parrott implemented the required a couple of years into his position after starting in 1969. Most students seem to be onboard with the requirement. There seems to be a recent push back, but for Parrott who is soon to retire still wants to keep the expectation.
Overall, it seems like a great idea in bringing a community of students together. There brings meaning and order to a routine task of attending a course. Students have to plan and work in teams to meet a goal. Students can not duplicate snacks from week to week and they are homemade.
I was thinking about this idea for the weekend course of 695 and how it would have been nice to have this concept. A few times people from the Greeley section brought some snacks (donuts, tea, and some other homemade treats) and it was not only nice, but really added to the start of the day. We were able to try new things and it provided a time to mingle before and during breaks. Last week someone brought fudge with M&Ms that went around. I jolt of chocolate was great at mid-day of the last class.
I have to say I miss the celebrations of milestones and coming together as a community of people in person with food. As we left our last class on Saturday it was odd to not celebrate.
Kudos to Parrott for setting the bar high for his students and for so many years.
People bond over shared-experience. For centuries one easily accessible experience is that of eating together. There is something primal about it - and evolutionary imperative of sorts. It's well documented that sharing food brings people together - both through the physical and social act of eating together and through a shared chemistry...probably part of the reason why chocolate is a favorite under such circumstances.
ReplyDeleteFrom an engagement perspective this idea has merit - students are going to get hungry and bring food to snack on anyway - why not leverage this HEALTHY behavior for a learning and community-building purpose? Furthermore, it extends the responsibilities and academic accountability of learning to an environment and activity outside of the learning environment - anchoring the learning process in the lifestyle of the students...something any instructor or teacher would be envious of achieving...
David Dorr
I like the idea however refusing to teach class if the snacks aren't there is a bit much.
ReplyDeleteThe concept is admirable, and their are many benefits to sharing food in a large group. Many of these benefits have been pointed out in the original post and the first comment. I also see how such a task could add to the classroom experience and impact student development in some manner. It may be appropriate to develop a learning outcome if this is the goal, as it would make the task seem more legitimate. I agree that refusing to teach the class is a little over the top though. If one student forgot to do a homework assignment in any other class would the instructor refuse to teach the class? I do not think so. If this were to happen, I can think of many undergrad courses that would have never been taught. Offer snack participation as extra credit, or build it in to the grad if necessary, but punishing all of the students in class by not teaching them because other students did not do their "assignment" is not a productive method in education.
ReplyDeleteI also read this story with a mixture of amusement and stunned disbelief. My residential academic program is focusing on the theme of food this semester, so we have extracurricular activities such as chili cookoffs and BBQs. In addition, we study food access for people around the world, and team projects are a significant portion of the course and the students' grades. In these ways, it seems that I could reasonably figure out how to incorporate the food preparation concept directly into the learning goals. So, on that level I understand this professor's intent. However, there are so many variables in people's lives that dictate whether or not an individual has time and access to resources to make "home made" snacks for an entire class. For that reason, certain students are less likely to participate in actually making the snacks; leaving the remaining team members responsible. I can see how that would be a learning experience for groups, but I am not sure that the experience is what the professor thinks that it will be.
ReplyDeleteLast year I was enrolled in a different program, and every week the cohort had agreed to bring food for one another since classes during dinner time, 430 to 7:30 PM. It was a great way that our cohort ended up bonding. We love the idea of learning about other people's food ideas, and it was also an interesting lesson in dietary restrictions.
ReplyDeleteHowever, this "requirement" by this professor strikes a social justice nerve with me. What if a student is not have the economic means to purchase enough ingredients to create a snack for the entire class? How does this impact the learning environment? More importantly, might a student go so far as to skip class in order to avoid this requirement due to a socioeconomic barrier? If this is the case, then this is obviously a problem.