When Breakfast Becomes a Shockingly Good Lesson

As a special education teacher working at a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center, we start every academic school day with the students eating breakfast. As part of promoting healthy choices, we want to ensure that students start the day well-nourished, since not all families in the program are able to provide that.

The students often had bagels and would toast them using the toaster provided by the facility. That morning, Alec put a bagel in the toaster and waited for it to pop back up. I was focused on their morning assignment and wasn’t paying attention. When I looked up, Alec had a knife in the toaster trying to get the bagel out. The knife was metal and, as we all know, is considered a fire hazard if stuck into a toaster.

I immediately told him to step away from the toaster. He complied and loudly asked, “What?” I explained that it was dangerous because if a metal knife touches the coils while the toaster is plugged in, electricity can travel through the knife and into his body, potentially causing a severe or even fatal electric shock. Alec shrugged and said he had never heard that before.

I told him, “You have lost your toaster privileges—you cannot use the toaster until you pass a toaster safety course that I will make for you.”

Alec protested, “You can’t do that!”

I responded, “Oh yes I can. I have a master’s degree, state certification, AND the sacred power to revoke toaster privileges. It’s in the handbook. Page… uh… somewhere.”

What We Learned

That morning reminded all of us—students and staff—why small routines matter and why safety lessons sometimes show up in the middle of breakfast. Alec learned that toasters aren’t just warm bread machines; they’re electrical appliances that can be dangerous if handled the wrong way. Our students learned that even everyday tasks have important safety steps, and that asking questions (before sticking knives into things) is always a good idea.

I learned that when you work in a setting like ours, you have to be ready to teach anything—from algebra to anger management to emergency toaster safety courses—sometimes with zero notice and a bagel halfway toasted. Most importantly, I was reminded that humor, structure, and clear expectations go a long way when building trust and teaching life skills. Sometimes the best teaching moments rise up just like a perfectly toasted bagel… preferably without sparks.