Knightly News

Episcopal’s story with children’s author Alda Dobbs is not yet complete. The first chapter began in October when Lower School students and seventh graders welcomed her to Lower School Morning Meeting to discuss her book “Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna.” The students had numerous questions for the author, including how long it takes to write a book, what challenges are involved in writing a book and why she chose to write a story based on her great grandmother’s experiences. After the meeting, seventh graders began reading the novel in English class and another question came up. What is the recipe for making pan pobre?

As English teacher Katy Valentine led students in a discussion of the traditional cornbread, she realized that incorporating a hands-on experience would be a great addition to the book study. She emailed Dobbs and explained that her students were interested in learning more about the bread that Petra and her family ate at a church in the middle of the Mexican desert in 1913. While waiting for a response, Valentine enlisted her husband and Episcopal Sous Chef Joel Valentine to help students learn more about the science of cooking. Students were asked to think about the ingredients that Petra would have had available as she fled through the desert. With that in mind, they created their own recipes for pan pobre with Chef Valentine’s guidance. “I wanted it to work but I wanted them to have ownership,” he says of his role. He helped students determine the ratio of dry to wet ingredients based on a more traditional cornbread recipe. The Valentines also demonstrated how to ground flour from wheat berries, which is something the duo does frequently at home.

Valentine says this was the first cooking experience for many of the students, and she was glad to be a part of it. “This is the stuff that’s awesome about education,” she says as she recalls having the opportunity for individual moments with students as they measured or stirred. As often occurs, the kitchen provided a backdrop for those in it to come together and relate through shared stories and experiences.

Chef Valentine also appreciated the opportunity to connect with students and enjoys the role of school chef. Throughout his career, Chef Valentine has found food to be a way to learn more about other cultures. “I enjoy connecting culturally with food and connecting people to cultures with food,” he says. He says cooking is a way to put yourself in someone else’s shoes. While he may be teaching students how to measure, he also feels that he is teaching students how to have empathy for others.

In an exciting twist, Valentine received a response from Dobbs sharing her family’s pan pobre recipe. In a reply, Valentine shared the recipes created by Episcopal seventh graders and inspired by the story. Dobbs was ecstatic.

Now that the flour has settled and the students have attempted baking, what’s the next chapter? Valentine says classes will move on to a nonfiction study next. No doubt, there will be surprises along the way. “English is a catch-all for everything,” she says with a smile. “You can slide a lot in.”

Brainstorming recipes, learning to measure and exploring new cultures all in one class is a great illustration of the Episcopal faculty’s ability to adapt lessons to student interests. It highlights the in-depth experiential learning that takes place across all divisions. 

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