My View of Teaching

I realized that my method of teaching consists of the following: Encourage, and guide the student to grasp their true potential, never control.  I hate when people try to control me, so why would I try to control them?  Also, never under pressure, while some may work well under pressure, in my opinion, few learn well under pressure.  While I am not yet a certified or a licensed teacher, I was practically born with a passion for teaching.

Most likely, it started with the birth of my younger brother when I was 20 months old.  I guess I always felt that I was the one who should help instruct him.   Of course, most the education in my home came from my mother.   My mother was an excellent teacher, she homeschooled all of us during our first years, and she taught me how to read before I was five.  However, I always assumed that I could relate to my brother, and be on his level, mostly because of our age proximity.  I remember when I would always try to instruct him to color inside the lines.  In my home, this was very common with all of the members of the family.  My father would speak to us about complex theories from a very young age, and my sisters were always helping me learn new things.  Learning, in my house was not limited to school or during homeschooling hours, my parents treated learning as something very natural.  Therefore, I always loved putting together the pieces of information I would capture in different places: school, movies, books, etc. I would, then, love sharing what I learned with those around me. Then, throughout most of my life, I have always loved being able to help people realize something, or learn.

I would say I began realizing my love for educating when I was in high school.  My boyfriend’s father, who was a former NYU math professor, was having a difficult time giving math tutoring to his 10-year-old granddaughter.   The reason for not succeeding in this attempt was not the lack of knowledge, but the lack of being able to meet her at a level she would understand or that would spark her interest.  Frustrated, they asked if I would give it a shot.  I did, I sat down with her, and told her to explain what was being taught in the class, and then helped her realize that she already had everything necessary to understand the lessons.  I also focused on the weak areas, mostly the times table, and the results were excellent.  My now father-in-law, always jokes about how everything happened.

I later moved on to be a freelance tutor in the university, mostly for accounting, but I ended up tutoring my classmates in any of the various courses I was taking.  I started working for the university as a Math tutor, however the one hour I had with the students was never enough to be able to help those who were very lost.  The next semester I was hired as an English tutor, which I was hesitant about at first, but  I succeeded with the help of another English tutor who became my mentor and good friend.  I would say that my teaching style started to be set in place while working as a tutor. Even though my major in the university was in accounting, I realized more, and more everyday that I wanted to be a teacher.  Of course, I believe in finishing what I start, so I finished my bachelor’s in accounting, and then took the courses needed to be an accounting teacher (business education teacher).  Mixing the two subjects I loved most.

I love teaching those who are willing to learn, but the challenge is getting them to that point.  While there will always be students who absolutely refuse to learn, most students are willing to learn when something interests them.  I was able to find what sparked the interest of most of them, and used this to teach them.  To get to know them enough to know what interests them, and to go to their level, they needed to feel comfortable being around me.  To accomplish this, I had to be pleasant.  A pleasant personality is usually underestimated.  However, when educating, some students may tune you out completely if they feel you are unpleasant.   Those are the subjective aspects of it, feelings have to do a lot in this process.

Finally, I always think that students learn things that they consider important for everyday life, so I always try, and help them find real life, and daily life applications for their learning. I like showing them that learning is a natural process, in reality they learn everyday without realizing it.

What a Hamburger Should Be

I am just going to open with this:  I am not a meat lover.  That said, a few foods containing meats do attract my attention, and appetite from time to time.  You may have read my review of my much-loved pastrami sandwich.   As I stated, this is one of the foods that stop me from completely being a vegetarian, along with some other fabulous proteins.  Therefore, once a week or so, I indulge in one of these treats, sticking to mainly a vegetable diet the rest of the week. (I cannot deprive myself entirely!)  Now, on to the hamburger!

This might sound backwards, but I start with the bun.  When I first look at a hamburger, what attracts me the most is the bun.  The holder of the entire creation.  Yes, it may just be because us hypoglycemic people are just carb crazy, but if the bun is not right, the hamburger is ruined.  The shape is definitely important, but more than that, it has to be fresh.  So fresh, that when pulled apart, it has to stretch, not crumble. Bread flour is higher in gluten than other flours, giving it the elastic consistency.  Cakes are the opposite, they are meant to crumble, but breads and pizza dough are supposed to stretch, have elasticity.  I always check for that.  If the bread falls apart, it ruins the hamburger.  Also, I never used to notice it, but when the bun is toasted on the grill it makes a big difference.  You get that buttery yellow color on the otherwise pale bun, with the caramelized, crunchy sears from the grill. Amazing! Now, that is a new requirement for the hamburger buns.

Besides the bun, the most important component of the hamburger is the actual hamburger patty.  The meat has to be real meat first of all.  I hate those fake meats that contain some meat, and then meat fillers, and it all looks and tastes too synthetic for me.  While I am not a vegetarian, I do like to eat foods as close to natural as possible.  So, if I am going to eat a hamburger it is going to be real, and real good tasting.  Of course, it has to be seasoned adequately, not too much or too little, just right.  It cannot be too tough, or break apart soft.  It has to have the right texture, because I am very particular about texture.  Even if food tastes excellent, if the texture is not right, I won’t like it. The patty, which I always have to look at from all angles before eating, has to have the sear marks from the grill, not all of them, but I want to know it was cooked on the grill.  And, yes, I order my hamburgers well-done.  I do not order any meat less than well done, I have just always been like that since childhood.  It probably has something to do with the fact that my father loves rare meat, and that has always grossed me out.

About toppings, I am a vegetable lover, so pile on the lettuce, tomatoes, onions (red, preferably), and any other burger-worthy vegetables.  To me a burger looks more appetizing when it has more vegetables. I remember Guy Fieri talking about his meat to vegetable ratio, mine tips the scale in favor of veggies.  I love cheeseburgers, but mostly mushroom-swiss.  If it is american cheese, for me, it should be between two patties so it can melt really nice.  Yes, I have my requirements for cheese, like I do for ketchup.  Ketchup can only go on dark meats, or textured meats.  For me, ketchup does not belong on grilled chicken, breaded chicken maybe, but not smooth meats, it doesn’t go on lunchmeats either.  However, hamburgers are perfect for the application of ketchup.  Oh, and since I usually don’t drink anything with my meal, the foods I eat cannot be dry.  Hence the love of veggies, and ketchup, (mayo is accepted, but not required).

I have to say, the majority of the fast foods (at least the ones I have in my area) do not even come close to making hamburgers right.  I have only tasted my ideal hamburger once or twice, but I do not yet have a place to find them.  Most of the burgers I have tasted fail in at least one of my established criteria.  Thus, falling short of being the ideal burger.  Therefore, I will continue my search for that burger, and when I find it, I will definitely update this post.

 

> June 22, 2012- I think I found it:  It’s called Rock-A-Burger https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Rock-A-Burger/160678270714951