Why teach Family and Consumer Sciences?

I am sure you, your parents, or maybe your grandparents took a Home Economics class in high school. Depending on when this class occurred, it may have been only girls, both genders, required, or an elective. FCS has gone through many changes, including it's name. Family and Consumer Sciences is the "new" Home Economics. It is now a Career and Technical Education course, this means it is aimed at helping students learn some skills to succeed in a career after high school.

Some FCS teachers do not like it when people refer to their course as "Home Ec." I can see where they are coming from as home ec. used to be considered only for girls to train them to be good wives. Cornell's explanation of how FCS changed women's history I, on the other hand, don't mind at all when people refer to my career choice as home ec. This is because it gives me a chance to correct them and explain how far FCS has come. University of Michigan's short history on Home Economics

For years FCS classes were removed from schools because they were considered non-essential. This lead to many students graduating from school without the skills they needed to live on their own. This is not entirely caused by FCS classes being cut from schools. As more and more families found necessity in both parents working outside the home (the great U turn- caused by the cost of living increasing without the average wage increasing) it became increasingly difficult for parents to be at home to teach their children basic skills.

Here are a few links to articles about the necessity of teaching Family and Consumer Sciences in school:

 The Boston Globe has as great argument for the case of keeping Family and Consumer Sciences in school. They discuss not only the essential skills taught in a FCS curriculum, but provide a short history lesson as well.The Boston Globe's Case for teaching FCS in the classroom

This article discusses the "lost" boys and girls who graduated high school with little to know domestic skills and the experience of one of these young women. It's a short article and has a personal touch!  Cooking Light Magazine weighs in on the importance of FCS 

I hope this is helpful for those of you who are new to Family and Consumer Sciences!