It’s got snap, crackle and pop, but does middle school home ec have any substance?
Help. My youngest two children begin middle school in 10 days, and I just received their schedules. They are both in “family and consumer science,” for which there is no description on the school Web site.
Rice Krispies treats are tasty, but do we need a middle school course to teach kids how to make them? Can't they just read the instructions on the cereal box?
I looked at course descriptions at other schools around the country, including this one from Illinois: Students will learn basic sewing techniques, operate a sewing machine and complete a project. Students will have an understanding of the food pyramid and prepare simple nutritional foods.
Sounds like a souped-up home economics class to me.
As a former consumer reporter — I once wrote a column called “Check it Out” where I would test product claims — I think it is important to teach savvy consumer skills. I am just not sure 11-year-olds are the right audience as I think people become interested in consumer education when they become serious consumers.
I called my oldest who is about to start grad school in Washington. She recalls taking this class in middle school. The highlight, she said, was making Rice Krispies treats.
She contends that the class would be more valuable if it taught kids about writing checks and balancing checkbooks. I disagreed, questioning the value of teaching a practical skill that children aren’t ready to use in real life and won’t be for years. (It reminds me of getting training on new computer systems that I won’t be using for six months. When I finally have to sit down and do it, I have forgotten virtually everything I learned.)
I would love your views on family and consumer science and whether it’s valuable or a time waster, which I find is a problem in a lot of middle school offerings.
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69 comments Add your comment
only test-related classes are needed
July 25th, 2010
9:48 pm
everything else is a waste of taxpayer dollars: PE, art, music, technology (c’mon, what kid doesn’t get enough exposure), home ec, business (keyboarding? puhleese) are NOT NECESSARY for our children to compete in the global race for most correct answers on a standardized test. schools are only good if students learn the rightest answers for test-related classes.
schooled
July 25th, 2010
10:09 pm
Some Facts about FACS
1. The middle school courses are introductions to the various areas studied in the different areas of FACS: housing and interiors, child and family development, clothing and textiles, food and nutrition, and consumer economics.
2. These types of courses are to provide students an opportunity to Explore varioius CTAE programs they will have a chance to pursue in high school and college.
3. Some middle schools in Georgia offer 6, 9, 12, or 18 week version of these courses. The school’s schedule determines how in depth the teacher can go with the students. This would help explain the differences in activities and depth of understanding.
4. Since many middle schoolers are cooking for the very first time in the class a teacher might start with a very simple lab like rice krispy treats. This activity would reinforce several important concepts: gathering materials, safety considerations, measuring, reading directions, etc. Once students have mastered these concepts the teacher could move on to a more difficult lab activity if time permits.
5. In the schools with 6 or 9 week programs the teacher would be expected to cover concepts in each are of family and consumer sciences with very little time.
6. The family and consumer science classroom is an excellent place to practice real world activity while emphasizing science and math concepts. This classroom is also perfect for practicing technical reading.
7. Where else might one learn to measure using kitchen equipment, sew on a button, hem a pair of pants, balance a checkbook, child development basics, how one should care for clothing made of various textiles, space planning for a new home, etc?
8. One might assume the ideas taught in a family and consumer science class are taught at home, but this would be the same as assuming all parents are doing their job as parents.
adam
July 25th, 2010
10:44 pm
since its not on the crct, drop it
College Professor
July 25th, 2010
10:51 pm
Maureen,
I’m very curious: What is the gender of your middle schoolers? Are boys scheduled to take this class? I find it very disturbing that girls would be automatically scheduled for this class and boys not. Frankly, I think it is a total waste of time and tax dollars. Are your middle schoolers also taking art, music, physical education? Those classes would be much more valuable to them and to the taxpayers.
Ole Guy
July 26th, 2010
12:16 am
Well, hells bells, if we’re gonna stuff life skills into the 12 year pipeline, then let’s do it right. There’s potty training, proper brushing of teeth, skin and hair care, and the ever-popular blowing of the nose in socially acceptable fashion. Hell, why stop there? There’s table etiquette (fork on the left, knife on the right), the keeping of elbows off the table, not speaking with mouth full of hamberger helper…THE LIST IS ENDLESS, but (clearing of throat) very helpful and necessary in making ready for life generations who, in complete, harsh reality, WILL NOT HAVE A CHANCE IN HELL OF SUCCESS if the educational system insists on this flowery foofoo stuff.
If these kids want/have to learn to make cookies, treats, sew buttons, etc…FINE! MAKE IT SO. JUST DON’T DO IT ON MY TAX DIME!
HS Teacher
July 26th, 2010
1:17 am
@Old Guy – You have many to convince of your opinion. What about music and the arts? Do you also want to get rid of those all together since they are also on your ‘tax dime?’
Dr NO
July 26th, 2010
8:13 am
The answer to the question is NO!
Now pass those krispie treats!
schooled
July 26th, 2010
8:33 am
I’m laughing because ole guy thinks kids don’t need courses like business and home economics to compete in a global society. Where else is a kid going to learn keyboarding other than in a classroom? Last time I checked employers still want efficiency in the workplace. This being said an employee needs to know how to type. If parents don’t teach table etiquette, where would a kid learn it other than school. Many business deals are worked out by people sitting at a table enjoying a meal. Wouldn’t it be nice for students to be armed with the skills necessary to participate in such business meetings? These courses are important for preparing our kids for success.
James
July 26th, 2010
9:27 am
Half the kids in middle school could probably do with a simple class that teaches them to fry an egg, bake muffins, make pancakes, mend a hole in cloth (simple sewing). One upon kids learned this stuff at home.
James
July 26th, 2010
9:29 am
Kids SHOULD be learning this stuff at home not at school. This is ridiculous that we’ve fully accepted that that nanny state should teach our kids every life skill.
Cere
July 26th, 2010
9:45 am
Just make them watch, “Supersize Me” and then teach them how to eat properly and schools will save society billions in healthcare costs in the future.
Ole Guy
July 26th, 2010
9:51 am
Jim, Schooled, I completely agree that many critical decisions are made in the most seemingly innocuous settings, be they at the bar or at dinners of state. However, the question comes down to the reality of prioritization. Do you honestly feel that YOUR taxes and MY taxes are well-spent on classes in domestic activities while the academic basics continue to suffer?
Schooled, I am not too sure about your comprehension capabilities. I have always advocated classes relative to the business applications of the real world. While a fleeting familiarization of Chaucer and company may or may not have direct applications in the real world, everyone MUST be grounded in the mathematical applications and sciences of the world in which we function. Until, and ONLY until that happens to any level of acceptability, I think we can do without TAX-SUPPORTED classes on muffin-making.
Maureen Downey
July 26th, 2010
9:54 am
@COllege Professor, I have a boy and a girl. I don’t think gender was a factor in assignments. I think it had more to do with scheduling and whose schedule best fit.
Maureen
Joy In Teaching
July 26th, 2010
1:07 pm
@ Maureen
I’m not sure how your middle school does it, but for the most part, the middle school where I work has a computer randomly assigns connection class schedules for students.
There are always exceptions, of course. Band students have to be scheduled into band. If there are any gifted teachers teaching connections, then gifted students are shuffled there en masse in order for the school to get extra gifted funding. Some students get adapted P.E. and so on.
Several years ago, I gave a detailed suggestion to have students do the regular connections shuffle in 6th and 7th grades, but then allow them to have at least some choice in their choice of classes at the end of their 8th grade year in an effort to prepare them for high school. But, of course, I was shot down as that would have required a bit too much work to do.
life skills required
July 26th, 2010
3:12 pm
If these classes can teach real life skills… as many of these posts attest…. how fabulous! 11 is not too young to fix simple meals at home, sew on a button, repair a hem, etc. When I was 11 (many decades ago) my Mom opened a student checking account for me and my two older brothers. Once a month we received a lump sum that included our allowance, bus money, lunch money, and a clothing allowance. She taught us how to use a check book (these days a debit card, but keep up with the receipts) and balance it at the end of the month. How to look at what we spent for what.
How to save for that fabulous green leather mini-skirt that I HAD to have (talked to me about how It wouldn’t be something that I could use alot — but allowed me to buy it and experience that). None of the 3 of us have ever got into financial trouble — even when my oldest brother’s wife was in ICU for 8 weeks in his 20’s — he paid all of the hospital bills off over some years. Your children are much more capable — but you do have to spend time with them and help them learn. Classes about this would give kids a real life view. An 11 year old could do a 1040EZ tax form…. let them see what that is like and that it is a part of being a citizen. Sure,depending on the school and teacher, this can be “boring” or pointless (rice krispie treats as nutrition?) but that is true for all classes.
Teacher
July 26th, 2010
10:07 pm
Ole Guy: Have you heard of the Ron Clark Academy here in Atlanta? He is HUGE on teaching manners and all the things you mentioned above and wildly successful in the classroom.
Ole Guy
July 27th, 2010
2:15 am
No, Teach, I am not familiar with the R Clark Academy, nor with the successes. I would presume this is a private institution. I have no problem sending kids to institutions, outside of the home, for the purpose of learning the “fine arts” of civilized living. I have no doubt these skills will enable the kid to go far in assuming responsible positions on the totem pole of life. However, I stand firm in my belief that public monies expended within that 12-year pipeline should…make that MUST…be devoted to hard academics in the arts and sciences of a basic education.
If the kid has a solid education, but spits “terbacci” at the table, he/she still has a good chance of becoming a productive member of the society which, in a very few short years, they will have to run. However, impecable manners won’t mean a thing if the kid is incapable of applying his/her intellect.
FACS teacher
August 27th, 2010
8:28 pm
I am a middle school FACS teacher! When I ask parents what they think the most important class they their child is going to take this year, they always say, math, science, history, etc… I then ask them what is most important to them in their life. They always say, family, health and money. I then proceed to let them know these are the things I’m going to teach their child this semester. They will learn how to be a responsible family member, how to set and reach goals, manage money, make healthy eating choices and yes, prepare healthy foods as well as sewing a button on. Real life skills are what we are teaching students. Along the way, they develop self esteem and confidence to believe they can reach any goal they set for themselves. This is the 21st century and our curriculum reflects this. I have 24 computers in my classroom and no, we are not gluing, cutting and pasting as some of you believe! What a valuable course this is for all students. It should be mandatory in all states!
A. Payne
September 16th, 2010
1:00 am
Family and Consumer Science is home ec, the name just changed. Classes include: Foods and Nutrition, Sewing, Interior Design, Child Guidance, Financial Literacy, Adult Roles, and many more. It’s the study of families and consumers. Depending on the grade, they student is able to take certain classes. They teach basic skills and knowledge everyone needs to know to be successful in this world.