Classes that once prepared students to stay home and care for their families have become a training ground for everything from fashion designers to dietitians.
High schools in Talladega County are now focusing more on building careers from such skills as sewing and cooking than making sure women will make good stay-at-home mothers and men can become stay-at-home fathers.
Ester Hicks, the family consumer science teacher for Childersburg High School said the view has become more realistic in recent years than back in the 50s when everyone referred to the classes as creating a "Becky Home Ecky" image.
"These classes have changed a lot," Hicks said. "It is not about the family, everything leads toward getting a career now. You don't get paid to be a parent. There are still jobs that utilize these skills such as day care, restaurants and fashion, but we focus on the career path and making sure the students are prepared to go on to college-level courses, whether they are interested in a two-year or four-year program."
Hicks has been teaching at CHS for 15 years, and has come into contact with "a pile of careers related to my field" over the years.
She said the school attempts to provide as much hands-on coursework as possible, but there is only so much it can do with its budget.
She said classes touch on cooking and nutrition, housing — ranging from architecture to real estate to interior design — banking and education in training.
"No other school in the county offers education in training," Hicks said. "We go into detail with the students how to become a teacher, counselor, administrative staff and other related support staff. We touch on all fields including the custodial staff when discussing education."
For Patricia Bailey, the family and consumer sciences teacher at Sylacauga High School for the past 18 years, her coursework is constantly evolving to meet the changes in the job market and even the technology used in most careers. This year, Bailey is working to launch a new course of study involving 16 clusters catering to the varied interests of the students involved in the family and consumer sciences classes at SHS.
She said what were once vocational education and a separate home economics set of classes have been replaced by career and technical education, a large portion of which is the family and consumer sciences courses.
"We have not cut out sewing and cooking," Bailey said. "We still have classes discussing foods and nutrition and fashion. But we also have a class for the ninth-graders that is a prerequisite, or a foundation course for all the other courses offered."
The students are also exposed to finance management when they have to balance checkbooks, do their income taxes, fill out a 1040EZ, handle a credit card, reconcile their checkbooks and learn how to protect themselves against identity theft.
With food and nutrition, it's more than just learning how to cook. Bailey makes sure students use "kitchen math" with fractions and measuring, makes them more aware of the foods they eat to help them take better care of themselves, teaches them which foods give them more energy, teaches them about the food pyramid and to avoid foods with sugar and fat and tells them to avoid sodas. They also go over exercise and fitness, how to calculate the Body Mass Index, the importance of getting a good night's sleep and the importance of avoiding drugs and cigarettes.
Students also learn skills that will make them an effective parent. Bailey said she does not focus on prevention; she leaves that up to their parents or a health professional to go over. These skills could also be used to find jobs in daycares or preschool if the students want to pursue a career in teaching eventually.
When working on research papers, students learn about different cultures all the way from what foods they prefer to how the manners and etiquette differ. For example, in some cultures it is acceptable to eat with your hands, while in others, it is proper to eat with the back side of your eating utensils.
Once the research papers in her ninth-grade class are complete this semester, Bailey plans to have each student prepare one recipe for the first-period teachers to enjoy during a Christmas reception.
The list of 16 clusters Bailey offers her students includes agriculture, food and natural resources; architecture and construction; arts, audiovisual, technology and communication; business, management and administration; education and training; finance; government and public administration; health science; hospitality and tourism; human services; information technology; law, public safety, corrections and security; manufacturing; marketing, sales and services; science, technology, engineering and mathematics; and transportation, distribution and logistics.
Bailey said it is also important to have a student organization that volunteers in the community and emphasizes leadership and public service to create a character building experience while participating in class and working in the community.
That organization is the Family, Career and Community Leaders of America.
"We work with the Sylacauga Animal Rescue Foundation by gathering supplies for the animals and making a yearly donation," Bailey said. "The students volunteer with them in other ways such as building a float for the Christmas parade to advertise the animals and help them get adopted. The students ride with animals on the float or walk with larger animals alongside the float."
The students also help with Relay for Life and assist other school clubs with their charity work. The FCCLA helps one club work with the Sylacauga Alliance for Family Enhancement to provide Christmas for local children who might not otherwise get their wish.
The children can pick a piece of paper off a Christmas tree and, based on whether it's blue or pink, shop for items on a young boy or girl's Christmas list to bring them joy during the holiday season.
"The student organization is an integral part of these courses," Bailey said. "I would always like to have and am getting better students in these classes. Some advanced placement students are signing up, and more male students are signing up. More parents are allowing their students to take these courses as we have changed the names and the coursework to get rid of the stigma. Some students say I work them more than their English and math teachers."
But Bailey believes it is vital to prepare students for the changing work environment, no matter how difficult they think the coursework may be. She realizes technology can change daily, and has computers throughout the classroom to help her students stay on top of it.
Just last year, Bailey taught classes such as family dynamics. But this year she is teaching students about the visual arts and merchandising.
Even the state is making sure the programs are helping students become the best employees they can be. The state has implemented a Business and Industry Certification program set up to help students get high-paying jobs and overall become more employable. The state comes to inspect a school's program and ensure it is in compliance, and if it finds the courses not in compliance with the program, that school's program will be shut down.
Bailey said her certification is current until at least 2011.
"In the olden days, they used to say children were being prepared to work in people's homes," Bailey said. "Now they are being taught the information and skills to help them get a career. We are concerned with ensuring they are able to enter the work force and be productive citizens. We want them to do a lot of critical thinking, solve problems, work in teams to tolerate their differences with others and generally make them ready for the real world."
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Information from: The Daily Home - Talladega, http://www.dailyhome.com