Dresden James, a second-grader at Aukamm Elementary School in Wiesbaden, Germany, tries sardines on a cracker during lunch Feb. 2, 2016. Students sampled flavored or plain sardines, then voted on their favorites. (Dan Stoutamire/Stars and Stripes)
Dresden James, a second-grader at Aukamm Elementary School in Wiesbaden, Germany, tries sardines on a cracker during lunch Feb. 2, 2016. Students sampled flavored or plain sardines, then voted on their favorites. (Dan Stoutamire/Stars and Stripes)
Russ Claus, acting principal of Aukamm Elementary School in Wiesbaden, Germany, places mustard-flavored sardines on crackers in preparation for Sardine Day,' an event designed to teach students the real-world applications of graphs and statistics. (Dan Stoutamire/Stars and Stripes)
Aanya Paine, center, and fellow kindergartners at Aukamm Elementary School in Wiesbaden, Germany, enjoy themselves at lunch during Sardine Day, Feb. 2, 2016. (Dan Stoutamire/Stars and Stripes)
Crackers covered with plain sardines sit ready for students at Aukamm Elementary School in Wiesbaden, Germany, to taste during Sardine Day, Feb. 2, 2016. (Dan Stoutamire/Stars and Stripes)
From left, Razan Abdulridha, Gretchen Jensen and Lucille Johnson, kindergarten students at Aukamm Elementary School in Wiesbaden, Germany, enjoy themselves at lunch during Sardine Day, Feb. 2, 2016. (Dan Stoutamire/Stars and Stripes)
Russ Claus, acting principal at Aukamm Elementary School in Wiesbaden, Germany, hands out samples of sardines on crackers to students Feb. 2, 2016. The school celebrated Sardine Day, using taste tests as a way for students to see the real-world applications of statistics and graphs. (Dan Stoutamire/Stars and Stripes)
Tony Williams, a second-grade student at Aukamm Elementary School in Wiesbaden, Germany, covers his nose at the smell of sardines during lunch Feb. 2, 2016. The school celebrated Sardine Day as a way of studying the real-world applications of statistics and graphing. (Dan Stoutamire/Stars and Stripes)
Caleb Eddings, left, looks on in anticipation as fellow second-grader Lemicko Williams tries sardines on a cracker at Aukamm Elementary School in Wiesbaden, Germany, Feb. 2, 2016. Students sampled flavored or plain sardines and then voted on their favorites as way of studying statistics and graphing. (Dan Stoutamire/Stars and Stripes)
From left, Anita Chip, Leah Thomas, Claire Lai and McKenna James, fifth-graders at Aukamm Elementary School in Wiesbaden, Germany, enjoy themselves at lunch during Sardine Day, Feb. 2, 2016. Students could sample plain or flavored sardines and then voted on their favorites as a way to see the real-world applications of math. (Dan Stoutamire/Stars and Stripes)
From left, Aaron Williams, Andrew Lilly and Dresden James, second-graders at Aukamm Elementary School in Wiesbaden, Germany, participate in Sardine Day, during which students chart their sardine preferences as a way to test their math skills, Feb. 2, 2016. (Dan Stoutamire/Stars and Stripes)
WIESBADEN, Germany — Nothing makes a kid want to learn about math like making him eat a sardine.
Teachers and staff at Aukamm Elementary School combined the eating of the slimy little fish with the excitement of graphs and charts at a “Sardine Day” celebration during lunch Tuesday.
The idea was for the school’s more than 200 students — from kindergarten through fifth grade — to sample (or not) any or all of three flavors of sardines on crackers. Then, depending on their taste, the students could vote for their favorite: mustard, spicy tomato, plain, or none of the above. Later, they worked with their teachers to chart the results and see where their favorite placed.
It’s a way to make the sometimes abstract world of mathematics more concrete for the students, the school’s acting principal said.
“A lot of kids are afraid of math, and that’s why they don’t do well in it, and a lot of parents are, too,” said Russ Claus, a deputy director at Department of Defense Educational Activity who is currently in charge at Aukamm. “When a student looks at any set of data, like a chart or graph, it doesn’t mean much to them, but when they know that they’ve had input, when they can see their vote and know that it counted, they can see themselves in that data set, and that makes it real for them.”
There was a definite sense of occasion at the school. As they entered the cafeteria, each class was greeted with a gong and an announcement that it was officially Sardine Day. They could wear hats saying the same.
Claus, dressed in a tuxedo, went from table to table distributing the crackers. Some students were clearly turned off by the smell or appearance of the fish, but the majority accepted his challenge of tasting the unfamiliar food, some even going back for seconds and thirds.
