Maine West culinary teacher lauded for adaptive cooking curriculum benefiting all students
Theresa Hardin, a culinary arts teacher at Maine West High School, recently won the Illinois Council for Exceptional Children Outstanding General Education Teacher of the Year Award.
Hardin was nominated by Maine West High School principal Eileen McMahon, special education teacher/case manager Gabriella Goldman, and department chair for special education Lisa Lupo Murphy.
The council is an organization whose mission is promoting the education and welfare of exceptional children by advocating throughout all levels of legislation, offering professional development and promoting practice based on professional standards.
Hardin has been a teacher at Maine West for more than 24 years and has worked to create an inclusive environment that honors the individual needs of students and helps them to not only learn valuable skills in daily living, but also elevates their self-esteem and contributions to the larger school community.
“We want to make sure students have skills like teamwork, cooperation, time management and all those things that they can take and go to any job or career,” Hardin said. “That’s really our foundation — teaching those kinds of skills first and then moving into the culinary aspect of it.”
When it comes to the culinary aspect of the teaching, Hardin ensures students know about measuring, knife skills and seasoning — but also about grocery shopping, managing your own personal kitchen, planning ahead and adaptability in the kitchen.
Hardin recognizes that sometimes students may need different tools for different reasons and she takes the time to research what those needs may be and provides a level of accessibility for her students — but she doesn’t do it alone.
“It’s a team effort with other staff members — they’re teaching me, I’m teaching them and then we’re getting resources the students need to help them grow and learn better because again — everyone needs to eat and that’s never going to change,” Hardin said.
When a visually impaired student was having trouble differentiating between the flat buttons on the stove, Hardin got to work researching and designing a template that would allow the student to “feel” the buttons and memorize which ones to push.
Together with the Maine West design team, Hardin was able to bring that template to life and put it to use in the classroom.
Additionally, Hardin regularly works with the special education department to better accommodate students and gain access to research materials — like those provided by the ICEC — that will yield a greater student experience.
“Ms. Hardin has worked with students with vision impairments, learning about adapted equipment and tools to increase safety and expertise in the kitchen,” wrote Lupo Murphy. “She has eagerly honored students on the autism spectrum into her class, brilliantly adapting lessons to include visuals and clear expectations that enhance the experience of all learners.”
“The students who get to work with Theresa Hardin are deeply lucky, and each and every one of our students deserves a teacher of her caliber in every setting. She is entirely deserving of the ICEC Outstanding General Education Teacher of the Year Award,” McMahon said.