It has been a busy year for me.
I have not been very active in the education FACS/FCS ( I will use FACS in my writing) world but I keep my nose in just deep enough to know what is going on catch a glimpse of FACS through former co-workers and friends that continue to work in the field.
I would like to note that the two Facebook pages started by young FACS educators have been a break though in our field. These two pages: Family and Consumer Sciences Teachers: https://www.facebook.com/groups/FCSteachers/ ( a closed group ) and Share the FACS https://www.facebook.com/groups/153174388072065/ ( a closed group ) have helped countless individuals through personal struggles, classroom conflicts and educational crisis. They have also been an outlet for FACS teachers to share their successes and feel good about the work that they do in their field.
I know that AAFCS has dedicated time and energy to be a part of this work on Facebook and is willing to work with all educators even if they are not members. Although this is wonderful, I hope that those of you that are not members take the time to look at joining the group because strength in numbers and advocacy is what we need in our profession.
I also hope that as a FACS group we can collectively find a way to compensate the young lady that started this Family and Consumer Sciences group: Sarah Jill, she has worked so hard to keep the group updated and accessible for everyone. (Over 3,600 members) If you have an educational idea that you would like to share send it to fbfcsgroup@gmail.com. She will review the information and put it on the groups page.
The page access for members only is: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gTEErODZ1COvCg2ps9PCus3UKq6f2D9fYKSNu8XEcc0/edit
Let us give Sarah Jill a round of applause for her effort and work in administering the FACS group.
My second piece of this reflection is the constant wonder as to why FACS professionals in education have such a difficult time getting the attention of the general public and business as a group. In reality the restaurant association has been by far the best and really only advocate for the group through their competition in Pro Start. (And thank you to them!)
FCCLA and FACS have been such a driving force in leadership through out the nation. Please continue to share the good that you do, share the importance of the skills that you teach. Share that these skills are not just for personal use (although very important) but for our future designers in housing and fashion, our future child care providers and social workers, our future nutritionists and chefs, our future family counselors and insurance agents.....the list goes on.....but make your very valuable field known and share.
It has been 21 years since the name changed from "Home Economics" to "Family and Consumer Sciences" in the United States. Yet we still get the question, "What happened to Home Economics"? So please make sure that you let your people know what happened to our field and how we have changed. Here is a quote from AAFCS about our name change, use it.
"In 1994, home economics-related organizations and programs decided to change the name of
the home economics field to family and consumer sciences to more accurately reflect the complexity of
the field. Evolving with the cultural norms, home economics was repositioned as family and consumer
sciences to better serve the needs of individuals and families. Today, family and consumer sciences
continues to evolve and provides an even broader foundation of essential research-based knowledge
and skills to help today’s generation of families be better prepared to live, work, and succeed in an
increasingly complex and diverse society."
Lastly, I would like to congratulate the AAFCS board and office on their promotion of Family and Consumer Sciences through the "Dine In" campaign. It was again a great success and we hope to see it continue to grow through out the years because of our FACS team effort!
With love and reflection,
Your retired but not out of touch FACS teacher.
Jane
P.S. Have a great BREAK!
