DD missed a cooking lesson so has to do it at home?

[EdwiniasRevenge]

Last week DD was ill, had the day off school. First one this term. She probably averages 1-2 days off per academic year and only when genuinly ill. She had been up all night with fever and still had a fever that morning (38+).

She was due to bake lemon biscuits in her food class. Yr9, not an examined course. In fact it is an 'option' not a compulsory subject.

Today she has been told that because she missed the cooking session last week she must bake the dish at home (biscuits) and take a photograph with a name label shown in the picture. What is the teacher going to gain from this? What is dd going to gain from this?

Now - if it was an academic subject I would feel there was some justification for catching up on the missed class content. But to complete a practical she missed?

She cooks competently at home -bolognese/chilli/soup/cakes/biscuits all from scratch and with minimal input from me.

AIBU to think that this task is unnecessary?
AIBU to politely email the teacher and explain that I feel this is unecessary.

But... it's not work, it's biscuits. Would it be OK if she'd missed PE and the teacher told her to video herself running round a field in the rain multiple times? Or whatever they do nowadays?

Boulevard has it spot on.

They did it in class, she wasn't there, it's not critical to have done it to move forward in this class. Therefore the teacher is out if order making her do it. Yes, it's fun, it's baking...but it's the principle of the thing. The child was off sick, they should only have to do things of importance that they missed. What next? Double assembly for her tomorrow?

Maybe the teacher had the ingredients ready for her and wants her to have them?

Or more likely it is so she can participate in a follow up lesson evaluating them.

"what has DD to gain from it?" ......errm ...the experience of making the biscuits as her peers have, learning from any mistakes she makes, not feeling that she has missed out on something everyone else has enjoyed. If she is a competent cook, what's the problem? You will all enjoy them as a family. Get over it!

Since you have only had the text it is quite possible DD will arrive home with the ingredients.

my DD is in yr 9. She takes her ingredients in to school. All of the things she makes over 6 weeks are evaluated to give her an overall score. The teacher probably wants your daughter to complete all tasks to get the best possible mark. She/he has "asked" your DD to do it at home, she/he can't make you. But, what example would you be setting your DD to get all hot and bothered about this. Think how impressed the teacher will be if your DD makes them well and has a photo at next lesson. It shows commitment and discipline which can only be a good thing.

It may be a task the teacher has chosen to assess them on.
Or, the conversation may have gone like this:
"So, what did you learn from baking lemon biscuits last week MiniEdwina?"
"I wasnae here miss"
"Oh, well you could always bake them at home - take a photo of them and we can add it in to your jotter".
"Okay miss" (goes off to text mother).
You need to speak to your daughter face to face.

Spot on Iggi999!

It seems a pointless thing to do, not least because photos prove nothing - they could be biscuits you have made, or bought from a shop. I'd be heavily tempted to tell the school that the oven's broken, what a shame.

so next time she misses PE, will she be asked to do a few laps of the back garden? She missed the lesson, thats it. No point in faffing around. She has plenty of time to learn biscuit recipes.

Can you make some for me please? I'd love a lemon biscuit right now - it's teatime.

I gain knowledge from every recipe I bake/cook - my dcs are hopefully the same....techniques, textures, flavours, things going wrong and trying to recover the situation, thoughts on refining and improving the recipe, there's always something.

I expect the teacher is trying to get the dcs to take their subject more seriously - it's a subject your dd is studying and therefore it's important - or is your dd just wasting her time. I don't like this idea that there are important subjects worth working at and everything else is just a waste of time - it's a poor attitude to promote.

And finally you are objecting to having homemade lemon biscuits to eat....really? They sound lovely!

At our school, we made a recipe book of each dish the children cooked. Also, the end of term assessment grade was based on the appearance & opinion of the pupil & person(s ) who ate the food. Maybe this is what happens at your daughter's school. Certainly the teacher would rather that each pupil has cooked the full range decided for that term.
I personally see nothing wrong with making the biscuits at home. In fact we suggested to our pupils that they may like to do exactly the same, if they missed the practical lesson. Normally a list of ingredients required was given a week ahead, so should all have been purchased & ready to use anyway. IMO it doesn't send a good message to imply that a cooking lesson, properly researched & taught by a qualified member of staff, is somehow inferior or unimportant.

And just an extra comment....how sad to see so many Mums here are completely missing the point about their children's valuable education.

Yes, it's completely missing the point for the OP to have already taught her DD to cook.

I'd be heavily tempted to tell the school that the oven's broken, what a shame.

And then the DD would learn it's Ok to lie to teachers rather than how to make biscuits

Go buy some cookies. Display them on a cooling rack along with a label. Take photo. Eat biscuits. DONE!

YABVU.

Firstly, your daughter is taking this subject - which is an important life skill. To diminish it as 'not academic' and therefore 'not important' is snobby and patronising. Maybe you should go visit a Michelin-starred kitchen and see how very hard the chef works, and how very expert they are at what they do. Cooking can be as fine an art as any other cultural activity!

Secondly, just because the point of a lesson isn't obvious to you doesn't mean it isn't there. Maybe the lemon biscuits are the foundation for a recipe later in the term, e.g. to teach the children the difference between biscuit and cake mixes? Maybe it would actually do your daughter good to learn that difference - and might help her in other areas of the curriculum, e.g. chemistry which has obvious affinities to cookery.

Thirdly, there is a wider issue about discipline and respect for both the teacher and the school. All valuable skills.

God this is making me so cross. The fact that there is this expectation + the fact that so many posters are being so sanctimonious about it.

I think schools are completely out of order in their sense of how much family life, time, and resources should revolve around them. If you have an exam year child who had a day's illness then you should make sure they ask the teacher what they missed and make it up. Otherwise they need to back the hell off.

Cost of ingredients = money the OP had earmarked for other things (the dd is on FSM so they aren't rolling in it)

dd's time = time the dd would be better spending on catching up with academic essentials from the day, resting to make sure she is genuinely better, or just like having a life

OP's time = time there are a million and one things she could or should be doing with it, either to support her family through paid work or not - or just being with them - or just doing something for herself

Biscuits = something the family are now going to eat whether or not sugary biscuits are a normal part of their diet. wouldn't they prefer to choose for themselves when to have a treat, and what it should be?

Overall this whole thing is ridiculously high handed and feels like a punishment for being ill. I know that after I have been ill I wouldn't appreciate working late at home on pointless tasks just to show who is boss. I am usually back at work before I am ready and taking great care not to be dicking about expending energy on anything I don't have to. dd's teachers should be telling her to get an early night and take care of herself.

When I went to school (a million years ago) my parents made sure I got there (well - they made sure I left the house), made sure I had the uniform, went to an annual parents' evening, and that was it. I did my homework but they never invested a second of their time on it and it was none of their business.

Nowadays it honestly feels like teachers feel they haven't done their jobs properly unless they have accounted for the whole family's time every weekday and all weekend

rosdearg, thank you, sanctimonious is exactly the right word but I just couldn't think of it.

If the OP feels she is dead right then why is she on here checking her reaction? She can do what she pleases but don't expect others to agree, she did in fact ask AIBU?

I do find it odd that people think this is such an imposition. Yes, I accept the cost of the materials is an issue. But that aside, I honestly don't see the slightest problem with catching up on a practical. And I don't see why it would be any imposition on the OP- I wouldn't expect to have any input at all in my year 9 making biscuits.........

Green18 - really, you think every OP on AIBU should just roll over and play dead?

If these biscuits count as course work or go into a portfolio on which the DD is later judged, I can sort of understand it.

If not, I think the teacher has to reassess some priorities.

Please can someone post the recipe for these biscuits, as I quite fancy some? :)