A chef and lesson in mathematics
Concepts can be understood by reading, but internalized only through applying
“Why is it so hard for you to understand, you dolt!” - Ashika yelled at her younger sibling Akash.
Hearing the arguments, her mom Pratima walked into the study room to understand the issue. She calmed Ashika and softly chided Akash to focus more.
She then took Ashika aside - “You have your own struggles with Algebra, don’t you remember how your tuition teacher gets mad at you! “
As she walked back into the hallway, her face wore a troubled look. Prashant, her elder sibling immediately sensed something was not right. He patiently waited for her to settle into the couch and sip her tea. Within moments, she opened up
“Mathematics is such a tough subject to teach, Prashant! I recollect how our mother taught us, but nowadays these kids have no patience. Akash just cannot remember the tables while Ashika cannot get a hang of Algebra” - an exasperated Pratima vent out her emotions.
Prashant - a sous chef in 5-star hotel in Singapore was on a week’s vacation visiting his sister and family. He recollected how he was taught mathematics when Pratima and he were in school - it was a strict environment at home. He reminisced his mother’s shouting and occasional whack on the arms and smiled.
“Shall I try teaching them, maybe in my style?” - he politely asked his elder sister, who he held in awe.
“Yeah, why not!” - retorted Pratima, wondering what different he will try. She thought to herself how he might struggle as he had not encountered this generation’s tantrums.
2 days later, post the Friday dinner, the family had gathered in the living room watching their favorite television show. At the end, Prashant asked the kids that he would be making brunch for Saturday and offered the kids to pick their choices from Asian cuisines.
A wide variety of menu items were talked off for a few minutes until they settled onto the menu as a family.
Pratima interjected - “I will order them off tonight itself so that we get them fresh in the morning by 8am”
Prashant exclaimed - “Oh, that’s not needed Didi! Tomorrow morning, kids and I will go to the Sunday market, pick and get fresh produce. Sounds fun, guys?”
The kids were excited and hugged their uncle. Pratima had a puzzled look, but seeing her brother’s twinkling eyes, she smiled hesitatingly.
Next day, Pratima got up by 7, but the uncle and kids were already ready and about to leave. Akash was filling a water-bottle while Ashika was fiddling with bags. The kids were also carrying a rough notebook, pencils and erasers.
Pratima laughed at the scene, only to be quietened by her younger sibling mockingly.
Within minutes, the trio left the home, and Pratima felt a warmth spreading in her heart seeing the kids excitedly walking with their uncle.
At the Sunday market, the stalls were being put up as the local farmers and traders were still pouring in. Prashant took a deep breath taking in the raw smell of fresh vegetables and fruits. Akash who had usually been to retail stores was absorbing the new scene while Ashika was feeling a bit uncomfortable with the chaos.
Prashant pulled the kids aside - “Now, let’s start with the soup. What all are we going to need - tomatoes, onions, garlic, cilantro and some bay leaves. Usually, for 2 people, we would need 4 tomatoes….” And on he went explaining the ingredients and serving sizes.
He posed then a question to them - “So, for 5 of us, how much of each ingredient do we need to buy?”
Ashika pulled out her rough notebook and pencil and started scribbling. Akash did not understand but he peeped into her work. Prashant let them struggle while he checked out the spices store.
Ashika had figured out the answer and showed it to Prashant. He corrected and then they discussed how they had figured out. Akash seemed to now follow the logic, but the numbers were hard for him to calculate quickly.
The trio then went stall-after-stall checking for each vegetable and buying one-by-one. Now, came the next difficult challenge of money to be paid. At one store, Prashant bought 3 items in different quantities and looked at Ashika. She was already scribbling away and came back with the answer. This time she was correct and was elated that she had got it right. Akash joined in the fun too.
Ashika and Akash were unknowingly solving Mathematics problems. Akash was getting exposed to an early learning of decimals and fractions. The kids noticed that there were kids of their age behind the counter as well. Being a weekend, those kids were out in the market assisting their farmer parents sell the produce.
Some of those elder kids were in fact also packing, billing and collecting money from buyers. Akash was dumbstruck seeing a small boy selling leafy vegetables to customers all by himself - calculating the amount, handling money and handing back change with ease.
Within an hour, Prashant had taken the 2 siblings through a gamut of Mathematics problems using vegetables, fruits and spices. The same kids who struggled to understand formulae were now comfortably enjoying calculations of the money to be paid to the stallholders.
Back home, as the sous chef tied up apron to start his culinary magic, he ushered his two assistants into the kitchen. He introduced them to the spoon sizes, cup and bowl sizes and taught them how to measure ingredients.
By this time, Ashika had become comfortable calculating numbers in her mind. Akash was now scribbling away in the rough notebook. Within couple of hours, the trio had whipped up a lovely meal.
As the aroma of the delicious food spread, Pratima and family got together to savor the brunch items. She had been silently observing her younger brother teach her kids and was filled with pride.
Post lunch, the brother - sister sat by the garden in the balcony.
Pratima - “I never knew you were so good at teaching Mathematics!”
Prashant (laughed)- “Am I? I was an average kid in Math at school. But, my love for food took me to new vistas in life.”
Pratima - “Yes, I am so proud of you.”
Prashant (gazed into the sky) - “Only when I explored and experimented with portions and flavors, I realized how intricate Math was to cooking as well.
The taste of a dish can vary depending on whether you add a teaspoon or 2 drops of lemon juice.
Portions or proportions - When I applied Math to what I understood, I understood Math deeper.
It is the same insight I tried today with Akash and Ashika.
Solving Math problem on paper is boring. When you take the same problem and walk the human mind through it in real life, it is more relatable.
Pratima - “What a beautiful way to involve and teach kids this is, Prashant! There is a professor hiding in there somewhere ...”
Both the siblings shared a hearty laugh. The other two siblings were sleeping peacefully tucked in after a hard day’s work of solving Math problems.