Bring Back Home Economics Education
You may recall that about two weeks ago an e-mail was sent from me, on behalf of AAFCS, regarding "Bring Back Home Economics Education". I am sorry that some you were not able to open the article as a PDF file. For those that were able to answer and respond thank you. Click here to view the PDF FILE NOW.
Below is a response to the JAMA article from AAFCS.
Dear Dr. Lichtenstein:
Your article “Bring Back Home Economics Education”(attached) in the May 12, 2010 issue of JAMA presents a logical argument for strengthening the knowledge of food preparation in the nation’s schools as a route to addressing the obesity epidemic. We are grateful to you and Dr. Ludwig for shedding light on the profession and its vital role in educating school-age children.
The field of study that was founded as home economics changed its name in 1994 to family and consumer sciences. Today, when people hear the term “home economics,” it often times conjures up images of cooking and sewing. The field has changed dramatically but the public perception of it unfortunately has not. As the nonprofit organization in family and consumer sciences, AAFCS is working hard to present the “new” face of the profession to consumers, parents, educators, administrators, policymakers, and health professionals because the curriculum today addresses multiple critical issues including obesity and poor nutrition, the economic crisis, teen pregnancy, and many other contemporary issues such as sustainability.
The comprehensive curriculum you reference in the article would teach students about “the scientific and practical aspects of food….basic cooking techniques, caloric requirements, sources of food, budget principles….” This is exactly the content covered in today’s family and consumer sciences classes. And you are correct—food preparation principles involve core science, English, health and math concepts. Thus, they help to meet those educational mandates. In fact, English, math, and science concepts are well integrated into family and consumer sciences courses.
We believe that it is time to refocus on core issues that are costing society a fortune, such as obesity and financial illiteracy. Indeed the economics of home food preparation go hand-in-hand with the nutrition and wellness aspects you address in the article. Again, we applaud your message and seek your assistance and support in conveying the importance of students taking family and consumer sciences courses in middle and high schools. And we also hope that you and JAMA will help to reverse the stereotypical image of “home economics” and educate our citizens about the value of today’s family and consumer sciences principles.
By increasing interest in today’s family and consumer sciences content, we can increase the quality of life for individuals, families, and communities. We plan to submit a shorter version of this email as a Letter to the Editor in support of your article. Also, we would like to have a dialogue with you and Dr. Ludwig so that we can explore this vital topic further and share our perspectives as to how best to advance this mission. Please let us know how to arrange an appointment.
On Behalf Of American Association of Family & Consumer Sciences
Sent: Friday, May 21, 2010 7:28 PM
To: Carolyn Jackson
Subject: Urgent--Respond to BlogPosting
Dear Members:
Family and consumer sciences has been in the news quite a bit lately! We want to point out two particular pieces and ask you to respond to one of them.
The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) published an article entitled “Bring Back Home Economics Education,” in the May 11 issue. We have been in touch with the lead author, Dr. Lichtenstein, to clarify that the field is no longer called “home economics” and we are submitting a letter to the editor in support of the general message that FCS education is needed today to combat obesity.
We are in touch with the blogger to clarify the name and show our support for her main message. Many FCS professionals have already posted comments on this blog, and we are urging you to do the same within the next 72 hours or as soon as possible.
Here are the details:
In the navigation bar just under The Washington Post masthead, mouse over “Arts & Living” and when you see “Columns & Blogs,” click on it.
Scroll down to “The Check-Up” on the right column, and click on that title.
Scroll down the left column to “Recent Posts,” and click on “Bring Back Home Ec!” (It will drop off at some point so you may have to go to the category of “Family Health” and scroll down to the “Bring Back Home Ec” article.) When you click on the article, read it, and scroll down to see all the comments posted.
To post a comment, scroll down to the very bottom and you will see the “Post a Comment” section. You will have to sign in to www.washingtonpost.com and then sign in again here in order to post a comment.
We have an ideal opportunity right now to ride a huge wave of support so we need your assistance. We also encourage you to be positive in your approach and not criticize the blogger, or other reporters, who simply need to be better informed. An “attack” on the media and/or bloggers will not help our cause!
Thank you for your help.
Warm regards,
Marilyn Swierk, CFCS
President
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