FACS in the News/American Teacher Publication

I am not sure if you all saw this..but in the most recent American Teacher Publication Vo.93 No.5 Feb. 2009...on page 18 Retired teacher Margaret R.King from Southhampton, NY responds in the mailbox section....she says...

"she couldn't wait to read the Eating across the curriculum article in American Teacher (Tools for Teachers, December 2008/January 2009). But was disappointed, as a retired family and consumer science teacher, nowhere was the valuable subject matter mentioned as a resource in the article. She goes on and is quoted as saying:

"In our classes we teach math, science, health, history and language arts.Food has always been a wonderful starting point to teach students about the everyday things that they take for granted. We teach math when we double or halve a recipe. We teach science when we discuss leavening agents before making breads. For 30 years, I taught about culture and foods. Why do people eat the way they do? Why is one food a staple of a particular culture and not of another? In these economic times, what we do in family and consumer science class is more important than ever, including teaching how you can get the most out of your limited food dollar".

HATS off to Margaret...Fun to see FACS in the "News"!
Thought you would enjoy this-
Heidi

Feeling Lucky

At St. Francis High School, we have an enrollment of about 1750 and three full time FACS teachers. We get a lot of support from the administration for our classes. They appreciate how flexible we can be with our curriculum and in accomodating students. I'm sure you have all been there. We have 13 different class offerings. I don't know exactly what we are doing right, but something is working. There are always things that can go better. For instance, all of our classes are electives. It would be good for students and us if students were required to take one FACS class during their high school career. I keep waiting for the right time to launch that campaign. Now doesn't seem to be the right time though. Budgets are VERY tight and we are just trying to stay under the radar as much as possible. We are constantly working to update and improve our curriculum. We listen to students and try to adjust as much as possible. I get curriculum help from teachers outside our district and I am willing to share whatever might be useful. I wish I knew why so many administrators feel FACS is expendible. It breaks my heart to see FACS shrinking. Even at the college level, there are not enough students graduating with licenses to teach FACS. Are we not getting enough of the "high level" students to carry on the program?

Beth Widell
St. Francis High School
St. Francis, MN

Keeping FACS in the forefront

True Confession: This is the first time I have ever blogged! But I am doing it
because I truly feel that one way for FACS professionals to succeed is to stay ahead of the trends in technology. Schools are so hungry for technology that if you can teach students new skills in this area while teaching your subject matter, students will want to take your classes and other teachers will see you as a curriculum leader. My second suggestion for success is to promote what you do in as many ways as you can. I share my successes in the classroom with the school board every month and through the media outlets (newspaper, etc.) in our area. Sometimes I have students write the stories and take the photos. If you want to see some of the news releases we have done, go to the website of The Daily Journal in International Falls and search the archives for Indus School. Currently, our Teen & Family Issues class is producing documentaries to enter into a C-SPAN contest. Finally, we should regularly promote student achievements, such as students who ranked in the top 25th percentile of the National Financial Literacy Challenge. This shows we are making an impact!

Lois Lewis
FACS teacher
Indus School
Birchdale, MN

Moving forward

We as FACS professionals face many difficulties with financial cuts in our field. The FACSed group and MAFCS are looking for ways to "help" each other in times when programs are facing school boards and the board of directors giving valid reasons for their schools FACS programs.

It is vital that each of us stay involved and make sure that we are current with the teachings in our state. Career Pathways is well underway and their are many workshops available to help us understand the direction of our field in the coming weeks.

FCCLA will be hosting a day with speakers on March 2nd and the department of education along with MAFCS with be hosting two informational sessions in Feb that can be seen by via media in several locations through out the state. The first is being planned for Feb 5th and more information will follow.

If you have presentations and facts about FACS that have helped you sustain your school and work programs please share them with others so that they can use these tools and their areas of work or school districts.

Jane H.

Middle School FACS Programs

I have been teaching Middle School FACS for many years. I love what I teach but am constantly looking to update my curriculum and try new things with my students. We often hear about what is going on at the high school level and yet the middle school programs are the feeder programs for the high school. I would love to have a strong network of middle school FACS teachers in Minnesota get together and share ideas. Any thoughts?

Karen Smith
Monticello Middle School

Budget cuts and career loss

There is a continued concern about FACS positions being lost in schools due to budget issues coming from the state department.

If your department is doing well and you are stable please share some of the courses that are taught in your school and what you do to keep your enrollment steady. There are schools out there fighting to keep the few classes that they have and they want some advice. If you have some please share it.

I hope that these hard times are making MAFCS members aware of how important our organization is and how important it is for us to support one another as FACS professionals in good times and bad. Jane H.

Pictures needed for Centenial Celebration

Hey gang, MAFCS is looking for pictures from you of you.

We would like a picture of you early in your career and a current picture of yourself. Please send them in jpeg form to Jane Hinrichsen at justmejane@msn.com as soon as possible. Please label the pictures with the date and your name. Thanks.