Some Academics Argue Family And Consumer Sciences Should Be Mandatory

The Los Angeles Times (8/27, Scattergood) reports on "the evolution of the home economics program," now called Family and Consumer Sciences, which since its inception has evolved "into classes focusing on child development, nutrition, family health, food service and hospitality." One thing that has remained constant, however, is student participation. "More than 5 million students were enrolled in secondary FCS education programs in the 2002-03 academic year," or "about 25% of all students, almost the same percentage" as in the late 1950s. Despite "this upbeat picture" however, "FCS programs are overwhelmingly electives, determined state by state, always under threat of budget cuts and frequently recalibrated to fit an individual school's needs, student demographics and teacher ideology." And because of its malleable nature, "it can also mean that basic cooking skills can get lost." FCS educators stress that the skills they teach are "used every day," and some academics are pushing for FCS to be compulsory.