A common quotation cited by those who rebel against advocates of efficiency and organization is, “If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is any empty desk a sign?” This quotation is often misattributed to Albert Einstein, likely the result of the picture that Life magazine snapped of his “last desk” at Princeton after he passed away in 1955 that gained wide circulation after the internet exploded. After doing a little digging, I discovered that the actual author of the quotation is Dr. Laurence J. Peter of Peter Principle fame. Go figure. 

Regardless, the quotation is an example of something that sounds quite nice but is extremely poor advice for the grand majority of human beings, who possess significantly less brain power than a unicorn like Albert Einstein. Allowing our desk to overflow with paper because “Einstein did it” is analogous to wearing North Carolina shorts under your basketball uniform to “be like Mike.” Einstein and Jordan’s success was much more a result of hard work and, let’s be honest, some natural gifts, than cluttered desks and game-day superstitions. Besides, we generally possess an incomplete picture of human success, and grant significant weight to incredibly insignificant factors (i.e. a cluttered desk). Modeling our own behavior based on the top .0001% in any sector is a fool’s errand. In fact, with all due respect to Einstein, I would argue that maintaining a cluttered desk is counterproductive to success for 99% of us mere mortals.

To illustrate this concept, I return to France (check out my last blog post re: student achievement trends in France). I recently read Good Habits, Bad Habits by Wendy Wood and was particularly inspired by her discussion of the concept of “mise en place,” which translates to “everything in its place” in English (although it sounds much more beautiful in French, of course). She describes the French kitchen as one of organization, cleanliness, and order. Prior to initiating the cooking process, chefs gather ingredients, ensure the ingredients are chopped and placed in applicable bowls for use during the cooking process, place required culinary implements in their designated locations, make sure pots and pans are where they are supposed to be, and verify that all chefs know their precise role in the lunch or dinner service. Everything in its place. Only then does the cooking begin. 

Often, especially when conversing on the subject of art, in any of its manifestations, our mind creates a mental picture of what we think the production process of art looks like: scattered materials, hustle and bustle, random utterances, sudden bursts of inspiration, etc. Then, a beautiful final product. A “mad scientist” at work. She has her “vision,” and heaven forbid one interrupts her “process.” And while that description may, to a small degree, be the reality in some art-producing environments, it becomes readily apparent upon visiting places like the kitchen of a high-end restaurant that it’s less Jackson Pollock and more Henry Ford. As we continue to tear down the wall between perception and reality, we discover that “artistic” tasks are often executed in an orderly and systematic fashion. Some decry the absence of individuality in these processes (Are we just a bunch of robots?), but as we see, organization and orderliness allows us to consistently execute at a higher level in the service of others. Mise en place allows eternally fallible human beings to be less so.

As is often the case with concepts like mise en place, we can translate the idea to other sectors of society. In fact, George-Auguste Escoffier, the famous French chef who is credited with originating the term “kitchen brigade” and codifying mise en place, was deeply influenced by his military past. He took what he learned as an officer - order, discipline, hierarchical structure - and translated it to the kitchen, even down to the uniforms (the “chef’s whites”). Mise en place allows the military to quickly and efficiently move around the world at a moment’s notice and set up sophisticated installations, prepare equipment for operations, and feed thousands of soldiers. Even more importantly, mise en place can also save lives.

At the Eisenhower Army Medical Center (EAMC), the military has developed a special table that houses all of the required instruments that a surgeon will need for a given procedure in a cantilevered array, complete with a special tablet that contains step by step procedures for the applicable surgery. A surgical assistant can use the tablet to follow along so s/he can provide the right instrument at the right time to the surgeons. This special table, in concert with concise checklists (see Atul Gawande’s work on this subject), helps drastically reduce the potential for human error and make a complex job a little easier. In addition, employing mise en place prior to commencing a complex task allows one to save brain power for challenges encountered down the path. For example, if a surgeon nicks an artery during a procedure, her energy is much better spent attending to the mistake rather than hurriedly searching for blood to transfuse into the patient in the interim.

While matters of life and death are not as immediate in education as healthcare, educators can glean a tremendous amount from how other sectors of society have employed the concept of mise en place. Whether it is a principal thinking about how to proactively set up her school for efficiency (Our curriculum room is a mess! How can I ensure that materials are organized purposefully to ensure they are being deployed to classrooms consistently?), a teacher pondering how to ensure her students select the right text to read independently (My books are completely out of order! How can I design a system that guarantees books are returned to their subject-area bin?), or a family member consumed with how to provide a productive homework atmosphere for his child at home (The kitchen is way too noisy. Where can Kamara complete her homework, and how do I set up the space for her?) are all examples of how we can utilize mise en place in our role as educators. 

We owe it to our students to support them in creating the organization and order necessary for most of us mere mortals to grow academically and succeed in life. In an age of almost constant distraction, our students need guidance. Mise en place can be astonishingly simple - one easy example for teachers would be to visually scan the classroom prior to the start of each class period to verify that only the required materials are on student desks (the fewer the better!). This routine takes just a few seconds and can ensure that not only the student can more easily stay focused, but the teacher as well. Instead of pausing constantly and wasting time giving student X a packet or student Y a pencil throughout the period, the teacher can focus on what’s most important - delivering content. 

Recently I was working on some foundational phonics concepts with my daughter at our kitchen table. She is starting kindergarten next year. The table was cluttered with mail, some cups, and some Legos. Naturally, my daughter started playing with some Lego bricks while I was trying to teach her some blends. And naturally, this made my job pretty tough. While I was clearing the table, my daughter wasn’t very pleased, saying she could still focus with the Legos. I made her a deal. Once she wins the Nobel Prize, she can drown her desk in Legos. For now though, mise en place.

Ben Pacht is the Director of Improvement of the School Performance Institute in Columbus, Ohio. The School Performance Institute is the learning and improvement arm of the United Schools Network. Send feedback to bpacht@unitedschoolsnetwork.org.