Mary Schmidt
Family and Consumer Sciences Specialist
Contents
Work Information
Job Title
Family and Consumer Sciences Specialist
Substitute Teacher
4-H Leader
Homemaker
Key responsibilities
As a Family and Consumer Sciences specialist I am knowledgeable about many aspects of family living and homemaking. I function as a Master Food Preserver and generalist in 4-H. I judge several county fairs and am available for advice and information to anyone who needs assistance.
As a Substitute Teacher I step in temporarily for teachers who are ill or scheduled elsewhere. I truly enjoy the challenge of working with different students and different subjects each day. I have learned and relearned so much from this experience. Substituting has lead me to seek my teaching certificate in Family and Consumer Sciences. I am also pursuing a master’s in Educational Technology.
As a 4-H leader I have the opportunity to work with children outside of the school environment. I teach all aspects of the FCS curriculum. I also teach Shooting Sports, basic geology and art.
As a homemaker I get to take all of the education I have obtained so far and relate it to real life. I truly enjoy spending time with my family and teaching my children the skills they will need for the future.
Department or workgroup
I substitute teach at
.
Favorite Links
http://links.vintage-mustang.com/
Scheduling Information Links
http://www.nwrel.org/scpd/sslc/descriptions/southridge/pdfs/trimester_scheduling.pdf
http://www.has.vcu.edu/mac/ujw02/scheduling.htm
http://www.education-world.com/a_admin/admin029.shtml
Contact Information
E-mail address
mary@4schmidts.com
Mary Schmidt
The ground floor basis of my philosophy of education is founded in a statement made by my father when I was a small child. My father repeated this phrase until it was completely ingrained in our thought process.
“What you know, no one can take from you.”
It is with this phrase engraved in my head that I approach all things regarding education for myself and my students. My philosophy of education is to give students the tools so that they can help themselves.
I firmly believe that Family and Consumer Sciences Education is essential for all students. There are very few opportunities for students to learn the skills that we teach in our classrooms. There has been a huge political pull recently to devalue technical education in favor of meeting certain academic standards set by government agencies. I agree that there should be some accounting for academic standards but not at the expense of a well rounded relevant education.
The need for Family and Consumer Sciences Education can be very obviously seen in both the newspaper and the grocery store checkout line. I see the lists of personal bankruptcies getting longer every year in the newspaper. A little financial management education in high school could curb that trend. I cringe when I observe people purchase the most abominable piles of processed food with very low nutritional value at the grocery store. Basic foods classes give students the knowledge and skills to prepare inexpensive nutritious meals for themselves and their families. I have read too many articles about abuse within families and often wonder if those people ever had the chance to take a family living or child development class.
We as a profession have to adjust to current education trends. Instead of basic home-making skills we need to concentrate on current family life skills. We also need to fit in with the current trend toward academic accountability and include more reading and writing into our programs. That does not mean that we abandon our goals of life skills. It just means that we approach our goals a little differently than we are accustomed to. Our place in the Professional Technical Education arena allows us the flexibility to teach our skills in a professional context. I would be delighted to teach students family finance and have my students move on to a career in accounting or finance. We need to show how our skills fit in with the rest of the world. Cooking and sewing (though enjoyable) must be put in a marketable skill context if we want to survive as a profession.
Secondary FCS education should concentrate on current family living skills intermixed with a program of FCS related career track opportunities. Our goals should be to prepare students to live independently using skills we have taught them and to offer them the opportunity to train for a FCS related profession outside of the school environment.
Curriculum for Family and Consumer Sciences should be determined based on the needs of the community in which that program resides. In smaller school districts the curriculum might look much different than a more urban setting. I would base my recommendations for curriculum on what the industries of the area are, what the students are interested in and how many students I have to work with.
My personal belief is that Family and Consumer Sciences are best taught using a constructive approach. The skills that we teach cannot be readily absorbed through reading and test taking. Skills must be practiced to be ingrained into your lifestyle. There is always text book work to do. Basic vocabulary and other overview information can only be learned from a book. In depth learning comes from hands on experience. That is what is remembered.
My basic philosophy of education encompasses all that I have discussed and more. What you learn, no one can take from you. It is our job to teach skills that can and will have an effect on our students for a lifetime.
Generalization about Technology and
Teaching
Teaching is now dependent on using technology to enhance and add balance to text information.
This
is a level three generalization because it goes beyond a factual statement into
an analytical statement.
Generalization Phrases to Use
Is affected by is dependent on is related to is the result of
Is a product of is an integral part of is influenced by is subject to
May be associated
with may be developed by may be enhanced by
May be identified by may be necessary for may be modified by
Constitutes a pattern
for contributes to
Personal Interests
Spending
time with my Family
Machine
Embroidery on a Viking Designer 1
Fused
Glass
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