Testing the Hypothesis Part 1

Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1

Opportunity: I think that right now there is a big opportunity to educate children nationwide about different cultures apart from their own. I think one very fun and easy way of introducing this to kids is through immersing them in the food of different cultures. Growing up my mom tried to steer with my sister and I away from the typical American classics seen on all kids menus, and by doing so she taught us much more about the world and the different traditions of all kinds of people. She did this by cooking simple but ethnically diverse meals for us and even bringing us to local festivals. These opportunities are great ways to teach your ids and bond with them at the same time.  Giving kids insight on other cultures starting at a young age will only help them in the long run as they grow to connect with people from different backgrounds and walks of life. 

• Who: This could be for American families with young children looking for a simple way to introduce their kids to more cuisines and cultures. Most households nationwide could benefit from culturally diverse festivals and programs to become more worldly. 
• What: The opportunity at hand would be to introduce kids to new cuisines and cultures that are different from their own through food festivals or programs put on by the school system that include both the kids and the parents. 
• Why: Most children today have no food knowledge form different cultures apart from classic american dishes. When going around a classroom and asking each student their favorite foods a wide majority of them would probably pick either chicken fingers or pizza. By exposing them to different foods from around the world they will not only become more well rounded individuals but they may also find out things about themselves they did not know existed. 

Interview 1: 

For my first interview I decided to go ahead and ask the family I nanny for on a weekly basis. I started off by asking the kids what their favorite foods, both of them immediately answered "pizza". Then I turned to the parents and asked if they had ever tried to introduce any 'exotic' dishes to their kids before. Knowing that the father was from France, I had high hopes that the kids might have been exposed to some different flavor profiles. They responded and tole me that last summer while vacationing in Paris they introduced the kids to some classic french cuisines, and surprisingly enough they really loved it. My next question was asking if they had tried to implement these dishes inter own home and the kids actually answered forth and they said once a month they "turned their home into a french bistro" as a fun thing for all them to take part in. After asking if they would be interested in doing this once a month dinner with a different cultures cuisine each time and they said if they had an easy to follow recipe they would be. 

Interview 2: 

For the second interview, I asked a mom while waiting with her to pick up the kids I nanny for at extended day. I explained the opportunity and my assignment then asked "do you feel your kids have any knowledge about the world and the diverse cultures in it". She responds very quickly saying unfortunately she was a very busy working mom and did not really have the time to make elaborate meals she's never cooked before for her picky children. This is a very understandable issue that I anticipated so I responded with asking her if a program was implanted within the school system like some sort of food fair/festival would she be interested in taking her kids to it as a bonding and learning experience. With this question she changed her tune and seemed very interested in an event that had less time commitment for her but also allowed her kids to experience new things. She said if the school provided some sort of event like this she would be very interested. 

Interview 3: 

For this interview I decided to call my aunt and someone with 3 kids who I used to babysit all the time. Knowing that her family travels often I asked her if she ever works different cuisines into their nightly dinner routine.  She explained that while she finds it extremely difficult to cook event the easiest of American dishes, they often take their kids to food festivals around town whenever they hear of them. They love the greek festival that comes to town about twice a year and the kids beg to go because they love the food. This was music to my ears because she basically answered all my questions. The next thing I decided to ask her was whether she thought teaching kids about different cultures through food was something that most children/families were lacking. She immediately responded with " I think it is such a big problem nationally, not enough kids are learning that there is more than just chicken fingers out there and it is causing them to become picking eaters for life. Not to mention the lack of an understanding of any culture other than their own which is showing itself as a big problem in almost every teen I have talked to recently." 

Interview 4: 

This interview I decided to reach out to my professor during his office hours to ask him some questions. I mainly chose him because he is always talking about his family during lectures and seems to really place a heavy emphasis on spending time with his kids. After explaining the assignment and the opportunity he responded that unfortunately he was definitely guilty of not exposing his kids too much. Even though he is a professor and deals with people from different walks of life everyday he neglects to teach his kids about the various cultures his students are form. During the conversation he did bring up though how he did not feel he was doing his kids any sort of disservice by not having them try different sorts of foods. He said "growing up in middle America not being exposed to anything different than what all around me I was able to learn about the world in different ways, my parents watched the news and I learned things in history...". I got the vibe that he did not feel he had to make any change within his household to improve his kids lives. 

Interview 5: 

For my final interview I decided to take a different approach and ask a friend what her childhood eating experiences were like, was she exposed to different cultures early on, and if she thought exposure was important. Coming from a background similar to mine she explained that her parents should occasionally take them to Indian and Chinese restaurants so she had decent exposure to various cultures but not as much as she would've liked. She explained that she thinks it is super important to educate kids early on about the different cultures around the world. She thinks it would have helped her a lot coming into a big university like UF if she had known more about the world, mainly because being more worldly is an advantage in social situations. 

Summary: 

After conducting these interviews I found that a majority of parents would like to teach their kids more about the world and would not be opposed to doing it through food. I also found that while most families aren't cooking ethnic dishes themselves they are doing small things here and there to immerses their children in different cultures, such as taking them to food festivals or restaurants. The overwhelming majority of people I interviewed agreed that they would be more inclined to opt into a program that helped teach their children or bring them to some sort of festival rather than cook the food themselves as most of them lead very busy lives. The one piece of information I found interesting that I did not expect to find initially was that some parents feel that teaching their children about different cultures is not their responsibility but rather something that will come with time.