Introduction
As each teacher’s philosophy should be, mine is unique, personal, and current. My philosophy is riddled with traces of my educational journey, personal values, and beliefs derived from life experiences. Through reading this teaching philosophy and rationale, I hope that you, the reader, will understand my thought process, then appreciate, critique, or applaud my teaching aspirations. This is a working document; therefore this draft may change multiple times, from tomorrow until the end of my teaching career. I hope it does change as well; I plan to be dynamic in practice and constantly be reflective in order to improve myself for the calling of Home Economics education and, most importantly, for the students. No matter what discipline or background you are from, I ask that you view my philosophy and rationale with an open heart and critical eye.
Philosophy
Here are my goals as a Home Economics teacher:
- To equip our youth with practical knowledge of the various aspects of a healthy lifestyle, so they can become confident, socially responsible, and mindful independent citizens of present and future
- To introduce and hone students’ critical thinking skills that will allow them to make informed judgements as a consumer and food advocate
- To help make connections between their head, heart, and hand
The first goal is in hopes of teaching students to be confident in carrying out hands-on skills in each of the three core Home Economics subject areas to model a healthy lifestyle. For instance, knowing how to cook healthy, nutritious, and quick meals will be useful for anyone living alone or with others. Family studies can teach students what it means to be in a healthy relationship, and how to positively deal with conflict. The ability to exemplify a healthy life can boast one’s self-confidence and outlook on life, and they will be more likely to be a positively contributing member of society. Furthermore, the skills learned and practiced as a youth will not easily be forgotten, and it will be useful no matter what stage or place in life they are going through.
The second goal is heavily based on my personal belief that everyone has the right and responsibility to know where their food is sourced. It is unfortunate because if not for a discussion in the Home Economics classroom, many people would never know or be misinformed of ways of thinking critically when making food choices. Especially in this age where food fads are heavily marketed by companies, it is crucial that consumers can differentiate falsified information. Furthermore, we reside in the developed world where cities are becoming less self-sufficient, where there is still a prevalence of food insecurity, where agriculture and transport is one of the greatest contributors to global warming, and where much of the crop industry is monopolized without consideration for sustainability; these are the issues we, and students, must be aware when voting with our dollars. In my vision of an ideal society, students will advocate for affordable, fresh, and locally grown foods including ethically and sustainably raised animals, to not only nourish ourselves, but also to create a strong local economy. As Reynolds puts it, “[teachers] should be promoting intellectual rigour—higher order thinking, deep understanding, presenting knowledge as problematic…” (p.52). Making informed judgements using critical thinking processes is not necessarily about food alone either. For instance, a textiles classroom could discuss sweatshops, and in family studies, students could critically analyze research done on the effects of divorce on children. The process of critical thinking is a lifelong skill, and Home Economics is just the subject to hone it.
Lastly, I adopted the third goal from John Dewey, who “advocated home economics as a means of educating the whole child through “head, heart and hand.” (de Zwart and Smith, 2011, p.3).” The phrase “head, heart, and hand” was what caught my attention. I perceive each element as reflecting a key aspect of Home Economics education. The ‘hand’ mirrors my first goal; I will teach my students through hands-on activities. The ‘head’ speaks towards my second goal. In order to become a well-rounded individual, the student should be able to critically analyze information he is being exposed to. So leaves behind ‘heart’ for interpretation. This topic of connecting Home Economics with the ‘heart’ should not be communicated explicitly as a lesson in spirituality or religion. Rather, I regard this as a philosophy of moral vision so that we can lead “a meaningful and purposeful life… in which we live and work together creating our common good.” (Vaines, Badir & Kieren, 1997). Connecting with the heart sounds abstract, yet it can be a key way to guide development of a student’s moral self. We can teach students, for instance, ways to manage change in their lives, so they will be able to handle life’s curveballs, such as loss of relationships or moving to a new school. Teaching though the Home Economics ‘trinity’ of head, heart, and hand is, in my opinion, a great philosophy to adopt to remind teachers of the greater picture of what we are teaching, and not get weighed down by the small details.
Rationale
However, there are several reasons I have heard as to why Home Economics classes are not important, and inevitably we as teachers will be confronted with some of these accusations in our careers. Some people think it is not worth school resources, as cooking and sewing can be taught at home, and they see it as teaching only those two skills, nothing more. They claim it’s the class where only troublemakers are enrolled, and unfortunately, some still believe it to be a “female only” class. Some of these claims may have been relevant in the past, but it does not reflect what the vision of Home Economics is in the present day; in fact, each of these myths can be debunked!
Moreover, due to the nature of students, a Home Economics program can be crucial in a high school setting. Students may find cooking and textiles as an outlet for expressing creativity, curiosity, boredom, pain, anger, or a multitude of emotions. Students heavily involved in academics may enjoy taking a break in the day to cook a meal, or a student who cannot afford to purchase a graduation gown is able to sew one at a fraction of the cost in a textiles lab. It is clear that offering Home Economics courses in high school has the potential to appeal to and benefit a wide range of students from different backgrounds, socioeconomic statuses, experience levels, and personal interests.
It should be in the nation’s interest to support Home Economics as well. de Zwart and Smith (2011) believes that “Home economics has an educative and preventative mission”, which translates into our need as educators to embed into students a healthy eating mindset. It is better to prevent diseases by taking time to nourish oneself, rather than spending money to heal from chronic ailments that accompany poor dietary habits. Cooking or baking and textiles are something that could also create a sense of home and belongingness, a benefit that creates intimate connections among family members that only strengthens over time. For instance, a grandfather’s signature pie, or a grandmother’s knitted sweater evokes feelings of gratitude and fondness.
The modern workplace is changing as well, and employers are increasingly looking for skill sets that can be learned in Home Economics classes. For instance, employers are seeking students who work in a team, make decisions, solve problems, and plan, organize, and prioritize work (Adams, 2013). In Foods 8 through 12, students are often placed in groups, so they are increasing their teamwork skills. During labs, they are constantly communicating with each other to sort out work, and troubleshoot issues that may arise.
Conclusion
Being engrossed in the world of Home Economics, it can be difficult to justify its importance to someone whose lifelong belief was the exact opposite. By creating rationales for Home Economics education, the purpose and reasons for keeping these courses have become ever clearer to me. It has become a source of inspiration to teach with an even greater passion and enthusiasm, and to truly solidify my teaching philosophy. There are already many ideas in my mind for helping students to learn new hands-on skills, hone critical thinking processes, and search in their hearts for a sense of overall well-being. I am nervous yet excited to see what the future has in store for my teaching career; hopefully when I next revise this draft, there will be some affirmation that I was on the right track, but I expect to be making lots of edits. After all, as a teacher, I still have much to learn.
References
Adams, S. (2013, Oct 11). The 10 Skills Employers Most Want in 20-Something Employees. Forbes. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2013/10/11/the-10-skills-employers-most-want-in-20-something-employees/
de Zwart, M.L., and Smith, M.G. (2011). Chapter One: Home Economics as an area of study and a school subject. Education for Everyday Life: Curriculum and Pedagogy in Home Economics.
de Zwart, M.L., and Smith, M.G. (2011). Chapter Two: What is Home Economics?. Education for Everyday Life: Curriculum and Pedagogy in Home Economics.
Reynolds, J. (n.d.) Nutrition Education—Making it Work.
Vaines, E., Doris, B., & Kieren, D. (1997). People and Practice: International Issues for Home Economists. 5(3).
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