Guest Speakers: Why Invite them into your FCS Classroom
Guest Speakers: Why Invite them into your FCS Classroom
Budget-Friendly Lesson Plans · Uncategorized
Do you know the value in inviting a guest speaker into your FCS Classroom? Perhaps you have done this before, or maybe inviting a guest speaker is new to you. I am going to talk about the invaluable impact of guest speakers in the classroom. By inviting experts and professionals into our learning spaces, we open doors to new perspectives, real-world insights, and transformative experiences. All in all, these experiences resonate with our students whether it’s in cooking, life skills, or other vital areas of Family and Consumer Sciences.
Why Guest Speakers are Important in our FCS Classrooms
There are so many important reasons to invite guest speakers into our FCS Classroom. Guest speakers play a vital role in enriching the learning experience in a FCS classroom. By bringing real-world expertise, diverse perspectives, and industry insights into the classroom, guest speakers help students make a connection to these different FCS topics in the real world. Whether you are inviting professionals from culinary arts, nutrition, fashion-design, financial planning, or cultural heritage, guest speakers inspire students and create a deep understanding of the subject. Additionally, they serve as role models, mentors, and sources of inspiration for students as they explore the different career paths in a FCS classroom. Therefore, I am going to provide you with reasons why inviting a guest speaker into your classroom would be beneficial for your students:
Real World Relevance
Having a guest speaker, such as a chef, allows students to experience what chefs do on a day to day operation. Students can also learn essential cooking techniques and life skills. The chef you invite into your classroom could talk about what he or she does every day in the restaurant world. Also, a chef can do a demonstration about a particular technique that you are currently teaching to your students. They offer first-hand knowledge and experiences related to the subject matter.
Many career exploration paths in the food and culinary career choices are present in today’s world. Guest speakers provide students with knowledge about first hand career experience. Inviting an interior designer or a nutritionist can be beneficial for students to learn and explore what a career in that area would look like. In detail, this can provide insights into areas beyond cooking, such as interior design or nutrition. An interior designer can talk about design principles, space planning, and home decor trends, providing inspiration for interior design projects. While a nutritionist, can speak about healthy eating habits, meal planning, and the importance of nutrition in overall health and wellness.
Guest speakers can provide diverse perspectives to your students. This includes insights to cultural cooking traditions and the life skills necessary for cultural adaptation in different parts of the world. Speakers can bring diverse viewpoints and life experiences, fostering a deeper understanding and appreciation for different perspectives. For example, inviting an international chef can share recipes, cooking techniques, and culinary traditions from various countries and cultures around the world.
You can reach out to local businesses in your community that are relevant to FCS topics. For example, restaurants, catering companies, clothing boutiques, interior design firms, and financial planning offices. Many business owners are happy to share their expertise with students. Inspiration and Motivation. In fact, hearing from professionals in the field can inspire students by showcasing potential career paths and highlights the relevance of their learning.
Finding a guest speaker can be overwhelming. It is important for you to know what your area and surrounding areas offer that are FCS related. Do you have a restaurant, hospital, butcher or fire department? These are just a few places that are in your community and that are options for who you can invite into your classroom.
- Where to Look?
- You can check with your community and surrounding areas to see what is being offered. Look into:
- Community Events
- Chamber of Commerce
- Social Media
- Networking Events
- Reach out to community members and staff members
- Ask families of students if anyone has a FCS related career
- How to Reach Out?
- Craft an invitation (*Use my Guest Speaker Invitation Outline on TPT for guidance!)
- Send to a local chef, interior designer, fashion designer, health and wellness coach, family coach or family therapist, etc.
As I mentioned earlier, there are many professionals in your community you can reach out to in becoming a guest speaker for your classroom. Here are a list of a few options to get you started:
- Local Chefs
- Local Pastry Chefs
- Local Sous Chefs
- Culinary Entrepreneurs
- Fire Department
- Library
- Health Department
- Restaurant Owners
- Food Photographers/Stylists
- Nutritionist/Dietitians
- Local Farmers/Food Producers
- Fashion Designer
- Small Business Owners
- Therapists
- Community Service Organization
- Interior Design/Home Decorator
Each school district is different on how to have a guest speaker come into your classroom. Therefore, you may need to go through a process. Make sure these speakers are approved and give yourself time to go through the process before you want your guest speaker to join your classroom.
The role of a guest speaker is to provide relevant topics to your students that aligns with the curriculum and learning standards. These topics could include, basic cooking techniques, knife skills, meal preparation, menu developing, food presentation and plating, hospitality and customer service, career and professional skills, culinary terminology, safety, and sanitation. You want to find a guest speaker who can integrate their knowledge into your FCS lesson plans.
- Preparation and Context
- You will want to provide background information to the guest speaker to ensure they understand the learning objective and the context of the lesson. They will want to be prepared for their role as your guest speaker.
- Interactive Sessions
- Encourage your guest speaker to participate in interactive discussions, Q&A sessions, or hands-on activities to maximize student engagement and participation.
Not only do you want to prepare your guest speaker, you want to prepare your students for a guest speaker as well. It is important for students to know how to respond and interact with your guest speaker in order to maximize their experience. Here are some ways to prepare your students:
- Provide your students with background information about the guest speaker. Who they are, what they are known for, where they are coming from.
- Go over topics the guest speaker will cover during their time in your classroom.
- Have students write questions for the guest speaker. (Use my *free* Guest Speaker Form for your students)
- Set clear expectations for your students. It is very important to be respectful to the guest speaker.
Don’t let the learning stop once the guest speaker leaves your classroom. Make sure you provide the connection between the guest speaker and the learning objectives the students are working on in your classroom.
All in all, you will want to plan follow-up activities or assignments that allow students to reflect on the guest speaker’s insights and integrate them into their learning. Here are some follow-up activities you can use after your guest speaker leaves:
- Reflection Journal: You can have students write a reflection journal entry discussing their key takeaways from the guest speaker’s presentation. Encourage your students to reflect on the speaker’s insight related to their own interests, goals, or career aspirations.
- Thank You Notes: In addition to a thank you note from you, have students write thank you notes or emails to the guest speaker, expressing their gratitude for taking the time to visit the classroom. This not only shows their gratitude, but also helps students practice professional communication skills.
- Hands-On Activity: Design a hands-on activity that allows students to apply the knowledge or skills shared by the guest speaker while also aligning with your learning objectives.
- Career Exploration: Have a discussion or create an activity focused on career exploration. Help students explore potential career paths related to the topic discussed by the guest speaker, discuss educational requirements, job opportunities, and skill development.
In addition, creating follow-up activities related to cooking and life skills will keep the conversation and learning from the guest speaker to continue in your classroom. Students will see the benefits of what the guest speaker has taught them and be excited about future career opportunities in cooking and other life skills.
In conclusion, nearly all guest speakers agree to join your classroom, gain something as well. Many guest speakers “find it very self-revelatory,” and feel as though they, too, benefit from the experience. The inclusion of guest speakers in the classroom enriches the educational experience, empowers students with valuable insights in cooking, life skills, and beyond, and fosters a deeper appreciation for lifelong learning. Let’s continue to open our doors to new voices, new ideas, and new possibilities as we shape the minds and hearts of the next generation.
Need more help planning and implementing a guest speaker in your classroom? Check out my product: Food and Culinary Career Guest Speaker Form!
