A Cookie Isn't Just a Cookie...In My Humble Opinion

Fore ward/Introduction:

The age old chocolate chip cookie is one of the best and simplest desserts in humanity. It has been something millions enjoy, and something the food manufactures and marketing experts have picked up on rather quickly. Every company is out there to proclaim that they have the best cookie! Millions of dollars poured into advertising, gimmicks, packing, etc all to entice the consumer to buy their cookie, because it is "the best there is!" 

The simple truth is that a not all chocolate chip cookies are the same. Each person has their own criteria into what makes the perfect cookie or one that can be bought at the supermarket that is just like grandma's. I set out on this quest this weekend while at home. It is important though to develop your own personal criteria for what makes the best or perfect cookie. Below are my own three criteria I used to evaluate a cookie brand that is most likely in every American home, Chips Ahoy by Nabisco.

The criteria:
1) The moistness/chewiness of the cookie. Cookies come in all different styles, but for me it is important to have a cookie that isn't rock hard. Yet at the same time you don't want a cookie that crumbles as soon as you pick it up.

2) Absorption ability. The best compliment to a cookie is milk. How often have you had a cookie that you dunk but never seems to moisten in the milk? At the same time how often have you lost half your cookie in the milk, because it becomes soggy. The simple fact is that you want something in between.

3) The amount of chocolate chips in the cookie. A cookie that is covered in chocolate chips just might as well be a chocolate cookie, and one without any or less than 3-4 should just be called a waffer. You need to have an average of chocolate chips so that each bite has the flavor of the cookie and the chips, but is not dominated by one or the other.

The Subject: Nabisco's Chips Ahoy Original Cookie 

The Results of the Evaluation:

After buying the package of cookies these are the results of my testing.

Test Cookie 1:
Criteria 1:Moistness: The cookie is not moist or chewy at all. When I bit into it the cookie literally has crumbs everywhere and doesn't quite taste like a cookie to me.
Criteria 2: Absorption: The cookie is perfect! It absorbs the milk without crumbling because of sogginess in a matter of seconds.
Criteria 3: Choc. Chip Ratio: The ratio is off. I only spot about 3 chocolate chips in the entire cookie. I was not impressed at all.

Test Cookie 2:

Criteria 1:Moistness: Again the cookie fails this test. It is hard and crunchy with no moistness what so ever.
Criteria 2: Absorption: The cookie again is a great absorber of milk!

Criteria 3: Choc. Chip Ratio: The ratio is better this time with about 4 chocolate chips, but lacking in general to the rest of the cookie ratio.

Test Cookie 3:
Criteria 1:Moistness: All the cookies seem to be the same. Hard, crunchy, and once in the mouth it doesn't even moisten.
Criteria 2: Absorption: This cookie is a great one for dunking in milk!

Criteria 3: Choc. Chip Ratio: The ration is awful this time. I counted/tasted only one chocolate chip.

Conclusion: 
After my tests I believe that while Nabisco Chips Ahoy are a fun snack it is not by far the best chocolate chip cookie I have had according to my criteria. The three cookies I had failed each time on my first and third criteria. The cookies are good with milk, but not always do I have milk on had...let's face it I'm a college student! So while the marketing genius's ask in the commerical below if "I want their cookie" my response is I'll pass unless I am looking for a simple dunking cookie.

GRADES (averaged):

Ratio of chocolate chips to cookie: C

Absorption: A+

Chewiness: F
 

Literacy in the 21st Century

After taking a long time to review about researching and how to go about finding appropriate research on the Internet I was pleasantly surprised.

If you are like me you most likely feel that you have been through this already. Why does it matter? Isn't it just the same thing over and over again? I felt this way, but I was surprised at maybe how more I need to be aware of when I research topics and use online information.

So often we are in such a rush that our 21st century culture doesn't have the time, and take info for face value. From going about finding false websites to learning how to more appropriately research websites I found out that I would fail in ability to research.

We are in such a rush, and are teaching this in every aspect of our life that it has leaked into the discipline of academia, and our children today have lost the ability to "seek the truth." The questions are no longer the most important thing, but rather the emphasis has switched to the answer. In our culture the faster you get the answer the better, and you are done. So we take everything at face value. It is important to me, and I believe that the following questions from Berkley University are a good criteria to follow.

Remember to look at: 1) Accuracy 2)Authority 3) Objectivity 4)Currency and 5) Coverage

What is Technology's purpose in the education?

We are a people who live in a time that is very exciting. Each day almost brings a new advancement in the field of technology. To think back to my first encounter with a computer, an Apple that ran on DOS, to sitting in my bed on a computer no bigger than a textbook is absolutely amazing. Technology is no longer a luxury for most of the western world and power nations, but rather a necessity. Technology is an essential these days in order for us to communicate with each other, and to complete the work needed to maintain a competitive edge in the world.


With this technology comes a major question. Is technology a means or tool to get us to an end result or is technology the end result? The question is most prominent in our education system. Schools invest thousands of dollars into technology in the classroom. I remember as a grade schooler the renovation of one of the rooms in my private Catholic school. The room was gutted, and later dedicated with a plaque above the door that read, "Room 220: The Room of the Future." Inside the room was fitted with the latest technology. An LCD projector hung from the ceiling and projected onto a Smart Board the newest technology at the time. Surround sound filled the room providing the most high quality and high tech sound for watching movies or listening to audio. The whole room from audio/visual to the lights was controlled by the teacher's podium. At the time this was big news, and maybe the plaque wasn't so off at all, because in most school settings this is the technology that fills our classrooms. Along with these high tech rooms our schools are filled with laptops. Some schools in the Saint Louis metro area require that laptops be purchased at the start of high school. Technology has become not only a want these days, but transpired into a need. We must have technology in the classroom to succeed. 


If we go back to the original question I posed and put into the context of education we can ask, "Is technology a tool in which we use to educate our children or is technology what educates our children?" This is the very question that was raised at my high school when considering moving to a completely electronic system for textbooks and requiring students to have a laptop. My high school, a private Catholic school, eventually decided that to require laptops was not in the best interest of the student. The reason the school ultimately decided is that they could not in good conscience come to see that the laptops would be a tool. After looking at other schools they saw that the laptop had become a distraction. Thousands of dollars had to be invested in IT taking funds away from other aspects of the school, because of the need to develop firewalls to block students from instant messaging, Facebook, and games. The research also showed that the technology had begun to replace the value of a teacher, and in the mission of my school this was unacceptable. On top of that if the system crashed then school was debilitated for the day because it revolved around the technology.


Why even tell these stories or ask these questions? These correlate with the two videos above, because we are indeed in a society that revolves around technology. As a student in college I myself know the temptation to log onto Facebook during a boring lecture. I know that when I am bored the first thing I do is text someone or get on my laptop and waste time. I don't like to buy books for class, because I never pick them up. I listen to hours of music, because it speaks to me. All of this is not bad, but have we as a society lost the beauty of slowing down and returning to simplicity in our lives?


At the opposite end we must also look at our failing education system. If we are to remain competitive in the world our educators must figure a way to incorporate what our students use into their lessons. I have witnessed an all lecture class with no use of any technology in my college terms and watched students doze off. The fact is that we are over stimulate as students, and now expect to be entertained in everything we do. It is a fact, because there are courses offered for educators in training on how to use technology, so that the future of American education can adapt to our youth so that they have an interest and remain competitive. 


The simple fact is that we must find a balance between education as well as a way to teach a return to normalcy. If we become a people who are constantly stimulate without reflection we run a great risk of losing identity of who we are as a community, people, and as an individual. We must use technology as a tool and the not the end result while seeking to uphold the traditions of reflection, slowing down, and simplicity in our lives.