A Michelin Star Mindset For Teaching

Yes Chef!

Today I borrow the mindset of elite kitchens to rethink what excellence looks like in teaching and physical education. I lay out a simple “recipe” that helps us build joyful classes, reliable routines, memorable experiences, and a consistent standard students can trust. 

• loving cooking shows as a lens for teaching excellence 
• serving up joy daily through fun movement and real connection 
• putting systems in place for attention signals, class flow, drills, and transitions 
• experimenting with games, trends, and creative uses of equipment 
• creating experiences students remember like bikes, obstacle courses, mascots, and tournaments 
• building excellence through consistency, routines, and clear expectations 
• redefining legacy as daily impact rather than awards 

Keep cooking,

Dave

-Check out supersizedphysed.com for more resources, including free PDFs, articles, and courses to help with your PE program. Please leave a review to help grow this podcast and keep pushing our profession forward.

-Article on Outside PE Checklist

-Team Building Games Ebook (with preview): https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Team-Building-Games-and-Activities-for-PE-Class-14063095

-Free resources include Substack and Medium articles with PE tips, games, and strategies

-High Fives and Empowering Lives book available as an ebook or paperback

-Paperback or download: HERE

-Amazon Ebook: HERE

Transcript

Welcome And The Cooking Metaphor

SPEAKER_00 0:10

Hello and welcome to the Super Sides for Zed podcast. My name is Dave, and today I want to talk food more specifically, cooking up excellence in education. And I'll talk more about that after this short break. So here we go. So first of all, I want to tell you I love cooking shows, and I'm not a great cook at all. But I appreciate greatness, kind of like art. I'm can't, I just can't draw anything. I'm not good at anything artistic, but I can appreciate a masterpiece. And now I I want to tell you I watch a lot of cooking competition shows. I watch like uh Hell's Kitchen and uh Next Level Chef and uh The Food Great Food Truck Race. Like I love all those ones, but I also love dramas like The Bear. Um just I love everything about the industry, but especially the precision. I just love how the chefs, you know, use tweezers and stuff. I love how they put uh they just they're so fixated on the tiny details. And I'm not talking about like, you know, the great food truck race, they don't really do that. It's fast food, uh good food, but I mean I'm talking about like how they just, you know, they're obsessed with this the tiny, tiny details. And it made me think of like, well, how does this affect what I do? So the best restaurants in the world aim for excellence every day. Some have or are awarded the Michelin star for such a pursuit. The most stars a restaurant can have is three. And that's only for the elite of the elite. That's like for the best of the best, and only 150 or so in the world can claim that. So I was thinking about, you know, how can I be the best teacher in my field? How can I measure, haha, measure up to the best of the best? How can we recognize as a leader in my field? Better yet, how can I earn a Michelin star in education? And not really, but you know what I mean. We're figuratively speaking here. So I was thinking about this, and I let's make this a boomer. Here's the recipe to follow for excellence.

Serve Up Joy Daily

SPEAKER_00 2:26

All right, so number one, we're gonna use some uh I don't want to say metaphors, but kind of like little fun catchphrases with cooking. So number one is serve up joy daily. And you know, cooking is a great meal, is and teaching have a lot a lot in common. So one of them is a desire to make people happy. Hey, you want to be happy, right? And we may want to make children happy. They do through through food, I do through fun and fitness. I want to make my students happy and I want them to love coming to my class. So I was thinking about how well how can I achieve this? By making movement fun and connecting with children, you're making lifelong bonds. Just as a restaurant needs a team, your classroom and program is based on relationships with your students. So how can this be accomplished? First, I'd say by making movement fun. And that's a sometimes tricky concept. It's like, well, should PE be fun or should it be educational? Well, of course it should be both. But if they're not having fun, they're not gonna be listening. And uh yes, structure and things like that in place, that's a different thing. But make movement fun. Um, ask your students about their lives, you know, laugh with them, be silly with them, use music, add mascots or props, something to make the just the joy of PE fun, make learning fun. And I'd say choose joy with your team and your paras every time, and that's number one.

Build Systems Before Chaos Wins

SPEAKER_00 3:50

Okay, number two, it probably should be number one, put systems in place. And I've talked about this before, but without systems, they're just chaos. If you want to write run a tight brigade in a restaurant or a classroom, the systems have to be solid. Restaurants are constantly under pressure to serve their customers in a timely, organized fashion. Without leadership and set expectations, everything else will fall apart. That's why it's vital to your classroom or program that students know what is expected of them and what the rules and procedures are. And you need to think about these before the school year begins. That's why I want to put this out during summer break. Practice and reinforce these concepts with your class, especially in the beginning of the school year. So here's some things to think about. First, what are the signals you'll use to get their attention? So you can't just say, okay, class, class, class, listen, listen, listen. Okay, you need to have some kind of signal or some kind of um phrase or something that gets them back on track. Uh second is what is the class structure? Like what does your clo average class look like? Like what do they do when they first walk in? What do they do in the beginning, middle, end of class, things like that? The next one is, you know, when can we get drinks and use the bathroom and what are the signals? How do we line up? How do we clean up? How do we travel from station to station? And what happens if there's a drill, like a fire drill or lockdown drill? It's your classroom, your program. Think of your favorite restaurant and lock down your act your systems and expectations. And that's number two.

Experiment With Games And Equipment

SPEAKER_00 5:19

All right, number three is have the courage to experiment. That's my favorite part of teaching. I love watching cooking, you know, documentary shows where a two-star chef who wanted a third one was, you know, attempting to master the smallest ravioli possible. That that really was a thing. He was this these little tiny raviolis. He even used a ruler and a microscope to measure the diameter of the pasta. I'm not kidding you. So, you know, this goes back to my word, precision. I want to create the best games and activities that will serve, hey, hey, serve, right? My students as best as possible. It's not a one-size-fits-all program I'm making. My school, my students are different than other schools. And even my former school, you know, 15 minutes away. That's because they value different sports, have different, you know, after school, you know, activities and facilities, and are unique in their own way. And and different things, trends, you know, start uh like like pickleball. Pickleball wasn't really a thing. Um, I don't know when it was invented, but it wasn't really a thing uh around here until the past, I don't know, five, ten years. Like it just got really big. So that I made sure that's one of our things we learned at the end of the year. We we went through his pickleball and you know the skills and strategies and the rules, just so they can go out in the community and and build from there. So, you know, experimenting is so much fun. You know, I look at the equipment, the games in new ways. I try to, you know, uh get some new equipment in, um, writing grants, things like that. Um, you know, for instance, my my PTO, you know, the parent-teacher organization, uh, bought my program six new frisbee targets last year. And we use them for frisbees, but because there's frisbee golf parks around a lot. But this year, you know, I've I've been using them for football targets well the past school year. Um I I want to do a new game where it's almost like a, I don't know, almost like a Quidditch type game, but they score it in the frisbee golf targets. So, you know, I'm excited to give these things a try. And that's you know, having that courage to experiment every day. You know, use what's at your disposal, but don't be afraid to mix it up a little bit. And that's number three.

Create Unforgettable Student Experiences

SPEAKER_00 7:26

All right, number four, the secret sauce. Well, that's experiences. So the best chefs in restaurants don't just make great food, they create experiences. So the restaurants I want to visit around the world are the ones that put art on a plate. They create mystery, they help us celebrate important moments of our lives. It's not just food, it's an experience you will never forget. So, my favorite chef um that I watch on TV is Grant uhchets, I think that's how you say his name. Um, he's from Chicago, and he just is constantly creating these new things. Um, I've seen him create these edible floating balloons uh dessert created on top of the guest table, like um basically a Sunday on top of the on top of the table. They they smash freeze-dried ice cream and an explosion of flavors all over the table for them to enjoy. It's it's amazing. It's art on a table. It's and they create art on plates. So I want that for my students. Um, you know, I barely remember my elementary PE class, and that has to change for my students. I want them to remember these experiences. You know, I know it's it's gonna be tough when they're my age and be like, well, I remember Coach Carney and all the things he did, but I hope there are some things that stick with them, and definitely some the skills, but I'm talking about the experiences. So here's some things we've created in the past that I want to get going in the future. So I've been talking about this for a little bit. We had a bike trailer, and um the grant, the district grant or whatever got lost, not lost, but it they they lost funding. So I want to create my own bike trailer, and that's by donations and getting a like a shed and bike helmets, things like that. Because man, it's it was amazing having bikes and PE and kids learning, literally learning how to ride a bike and PE or scooters. Um we've had martial arts in the past, and I want to bring it back in the future. Um, the giant obstacle course. I I again, not many schools have that obstacle course, especially here in my district. I think, well, there's there's two schools that have it. It's the one that I wrote a grant for in my former school and my current school. So I brought them to both schools. Um, you know, I'm planning on amazing and doing an amazing PE race or something with our mascot Webster. Um, and he's one of the things. I will some kids still ask me about Webster in high school. They're like, hey, I remember Webster or the Chukeball Tournament for fifth graders. Again, I've had kids recently ask me about that, uh, like former students, um, this treasure hunt I'm working on with uh, you know, like an escape room kind of kind of thing. Um, but I'm always creating and always trying for new things to create experiences for my students. I think that's what's most important. They're not gonna remember if you taught them about the human heart, um, although you do need to, but um they're gonna remember the experiences and you know how you made them feel. That's a whole other thing. But that's definitely create experiences, and that is number four.

Excellence Through Consistency And Routines

SPEAKER_00 10:15

All right, the final one is excellence through consistency. So one day of greatness is not consistency. Just as every dish must be the same for patrons of a Michelin stars, you know, restaurant. Uh, I must be consistent for my students. They can't serve one burnt and two undercooked scallops to a patron. There has to be a standard of excellence and consistency. And that's what children need too. They need consistency. They need routine, they need a safe place where they know there is order, rules, and expectations. And I strive to put uniformity in my program. You know, I want them to know here's how we do this, here's how we do this, here's how we do this. And yes, I like to mix things up, of course. But I want them to know there's a there's a pattern, there's consistent routines and things they need to know, and they feel safe and and you know, empowered as well. So here's what my students know how to do exactly. They know this, how to come in the come into the pavilion, how to ask for help, drinks, bathroom breaks, things like that, how we do warmups, how we travel from station to station, how and where they store their water bottles, how they set up and clean up, and they know our schedule for the week. So, you know, just like a restaurant, we need to create a consistent, in this case, safe environment for our students that they can trust and they know that they can trust you. And that's number five.

Legacy Tip And Closing Links

SPEAKER_00 11:41

And now it's time for your cowbell tip of the day. All right, so your tip of the day is well, I mean, some of you have won awards. Um, I've never won uh, you know, a golden apple or something for my teaching. And I may never, and I'm okay with that. I may never have a pavilion or anything named after me. Um, you know, I've come to accept that. I really have. I'm I'm okay with that, but I want to know if I put these ingredients into my craft every single day, and I've made a difference in my students' lives, that you know, that's that's the main thing I want to my legacy to be. You know, I want to use the tools I've been given to help my students achieve their goals and continue to shine well after I've taught them and well after, you know, they're past elementary school, they're into middle school, high school, college, whatever. And there's a saying in the restaurant industry, that I love the saying, every day is a super bowl for someone. So it's it's someone coming in for the first time. You know, every day is a super bowl. And you know, because sometimes there's people that have been to your class, you know, every day for six years, but there are new students too. And I keep this with me at all times. Every day I need to make my students feel welcome and special. And that's what a Michelin star teacher does. Yeah, let's go. So that is your cowbell tip of the day. Thank you everybody for tuning in today. I really do appreciate it. As always, go to super sizefized.com for more information. Or if you want to read some of these articles, and this was an article that I put out, uh, you can go to the links in the show notes for my substack or medium posts. Um, I have Twitter and my book I wrote, everything. It's in the show notes. If you want to check those out for more information, for more content, hopefully it'll help out in your craft. And with that, PE Nation, have a great day, week, weekend, in my case, summer. When you're listening to this, and let's keep pushing our profession forward.