Just the FACS
A Curriculum Discussion in Family & Consumer Sciences
About the Curricularist
Mrs. Gayla Randel
Program Consultant for Family & Consumer Sciences
Kansas State Department of Education
Former classroom teacher & adviser for 20 years
Current President--National Association of State Administrators of Family & Consumer Sciences
*name and photo used with permission
Mrs. Randel's Educational Philosophy
"I strongly believe that education should be student-centered and address the needs for all students. This often gets confused with being a 'one-size fits all' approach which severely hinders the ability to meet the needs for all students."
Mrs. Randel does not believe in or agree with college credits being offered to high school students because she feels it takes away their options for exploration in high school.
"Some students come into college as a sophomore or junior [according to their credits] and then are expected to make big decisions about their future. Students lack the background knowledge and skills to make these decisions because their elective options were limited during high school."
So how relevant is FACS, really?
The Time You Have (In JellyBeans)
FCS Curriculum Basics
- Administration and school board need to understand what the goals of your program are.
- The process is just as important as the content.
- We have a fun content, but it is crucial that it isn't seen as a "slough" class or somewhere to escape the "real learning" of other courses.
- When writing a curriculum, look at the following three things:
National Standards, Needs of Students, Curriculum Pieces (scope, sequence, lessons, etc) - Mistakes are still being made and it is hard to overcome those teachers who still treat their programs as places to "stitch and stir."
- Wishes more people realized that Family & Consumer Sciences at the high school level is to prepare students for adult life AND to promote careers in Human Services.
- When discussing the relationship between school and society, Mrs Randel stated, "If, as a society, we are not willing to properly educate our future tax payers, citizens, and workforce (as is happening in Kansas right now), we cannot expect to have a functional society in the future."
FACS is "Life Literacy." There is no one who won't be able to use it in some way.
Introductory
- Intro. to Human Services
- Intro. to Family & Consumer Sciences
- Career & Life Planning
Technical
- Human Growth & Development
- Family Studies
- Consumer & Personal Finance
- Nutrition & Wellness
Application
- Career & Community Connections
- Family & Community Leadership
Anything else?
When asked, "What is one component that you feel is absolutely essential to a successful Family & Consumer Sciences program and curriculum?" Mrs. Randel answered with "FCCLA! There are so many life skills that students can gain from this organization and it is absolutely vital to a program's success because it aligns so well with helping students gain practical knowledge and application of that knowledge."