“A Day With a Dishwasher at a Top NYC Restaurant” is an 18-minute film from the New York Times Cooking series, “On the Job With Priya Krishna.” In this episode, Priya follows Drevon Alston as he hustles through his workday, managing the dish pit at one of the oldest restaurants in Brooklyn. While cooks furiously arrange oysters and clams on seafood platters and baste steaks with butter, Mr. Alston and his fellow dishwashers scrub pots, scrape char off grill grates and run stacks of plates up and down the stairs.
What did you learn from Mr. Alston’s busy day? What does the film reveal about the people who shape what we eat and how we eat — and whose jobs often go unseen?
Students
1. Watch the short film above. While you watch, you might take notes using our Film Club Double-Entry Journal (PDF) to help you remember specific moments.
2. After watching, think about these questions:
What questions do you still have?
What connections can you make between this film and your own life or experience? Why? Does this film remind you of anything else you’ve read or seen? If so, how and why?
3. An additional challenge | Respond to the essential question at the top of this post: What are the unsung jobs that make the world a better — and tastier — place?
4. Next, join the conversation by clicking on the comment button and posting in the box that opens on the right. (Students 13 and older are invited to comment, although teachers of younger students are welcome to post what their students have to say.)
5. After you have posted, try reading back to see what others have said, then respond to someone else by posting another comment. Use the “Reply” button or the @ symbol to address that student directly.
Want more student-friendly videos? Visit our Film Club column.
Students 13 and older in the United States and Britain, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public.
