CHARLYN JOY A.

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MISS ESTER HERAWON
FAMILY AN CONSUMR LIFE SKILLS

Home Economics: A History

1841- One of the first books about educating home economics published
by Catherine Beecher (Beecher was one of the early advocates for home
economic Ed.) “The Treatise on Domestic Economy for the use of
Young Ladies at home” this books helped young girls and women on
how to conduct and realized the importance about home, and consider
as the first complete guide to housekeeping in America.
1872- The Public School Act that allowed schools to be funded by
provincial revenues to establish school districts, this Act permit every
child to gain knowledge and opened up doors for the opportunity to
establish home economics in schools.
1893- Ellen Swallow Richards (The wonder Women of History) created
the Rumford Kitchen (Rumford Kitchen and the World’s Fair 1893, n.d.)
where Ellen made the first attempts to educate people on scientific
principles underlying nutrition.
1896-1941- because the home economics was trying to expand and
overcoming barriers at every step along the way was called “Weathering
the Storm”.
1899-1909- It was here that the leaders and advocates in the field
discussed advances in home economics and developed the guiding
principles of what home economics was and should be (Matthews, 1987)
The Lake Placid conference were important because it will determine
what exactly home economics was and will be, then science enter to help
to drive forward education to deign with examination under microscope
and Alice Ravenhill started to work in hygiene. This conference was
participated by Annie Dowey, Maria Daniel, Ellen Swallow Richards,
Alice Peloubet Norton and Maria Parloa.
1903- The first school in North America (Macdonald Institute (MINS)
co-founded by Adelaide Hoodless and Sir William Macdonald) finally
serves as an open door for home economics allowing women to achieve
degrees and show home economics worth. The same year Winnifred
McKeand who taught both “the theory and practice of household
management along with scientific lines” was appointed as the Domestic
Science Instructor for the Victoria School Board.
1910- In 1909 the American Home Economics Association (AHEA)
founded and later changed in 1993 to American Association Family and
Consumer Sciences where Ellen Swallow Richards was elected as the
first president of AHEA until 1910. Betty Lamp symbol of AHEA was
made that means to “make better” that share the same goal of AHEA
which to advocate and promote consumer sciences an education.
1911- Manitoba Home Economics Association (MAHE) met to discuss
issues and social concerns like food laws and which objective is to
promote family, community and standard of home economics
professionalism was founded on 1911 assisted with many home
economics where the most prominent being A.B. Juniper the director of
Manitoba Agriculture College.
-MAHE was a great asset in helping create the Canadian Home
Economics Association in 1939 (Organizations,
n.d.).
- New Brunswick Home Economics Association: 1918 (NBHEA history,
2016)
- Alberta Home Economics Association: 1935 (Our History, n.d.)
- Saskatchewan Home Economics Association: 1969 (About, n.d.) where
Edith Rowles Simpson Help to fund.
- British Columbia Home Economics Association: 1975 (Fonds, n.d.)
- Ontario Home Economics Association: 1979 (OHEA, 2004)
1914-1918- during World War I women started to fill and take roles of
taking job in homes (tend own gardens, work the farm to plant, harvest
and care for livestock in order to feed the local population) while men go
to battle. During this time the value of non-academic courses like home
economics drop drastically because of shortage of teachers so the home
economics students work and help to sew more than 2000 articles of
clothing for men in the trenches and teachers taught student on how to
change ingredients in recipe for ration.
1911- School for blind helps to knit items for men in the battle and
compulsory school attendance raised to 15 increasing the student base
but not necessary to attend as families claimed they also need to assist
their children with child care and manpower.
1939- The Canadian Home Economics Association (CHEA) with the goals
of continuing to advocate the home economics education across Canada
and have a closer cooperation with various branches for making unified
home economics. The co-founder Katherine Middleton and its first
president Jessie McLenaghan.
1939-1945- the women went back to fill in the jobs of men during World
War II where they work in factories, as nurses, sew uniforms, cook food
and as the war drew closer to end most of the women back to its
traditional role, however Rosie the Riveter helped to inspire women to
push their rights and launch a wave of feminism.
1940- Human relationship and development become more a part of
home economics where it is not only limited to sewing and cooking. Ruth
Binnie became the first supervisor of home economics for Nova Scotia
where she bring refuge children from Europe and Canada where she
fostered them and give opportunity, she also wrote on how to engage
children in different ways at different development stages as she
encourages teachers that the school was a part of the community not a
separate entity.
1948- The Macdonald Institute offers a 4 year degree program in home
economics. The first students graduated in 1952 and by the mid-50’s
Guelph’s MacDonald Institute was the known as the premier home
economics school in North America
1950-a book Childhood and Society by Erik Erikson where he
introduced his theory about the stages of psycho-social development and
the concept of identity crisis.
1951- Established under the faculty of Arts and Science. “Pressure to
establish a Home Economics course at the University of British Columbia
began as early as 1923. By the mid-1920s the Provincial Parent-Teacher
Federation mounted a campaign amongst B.C. women to establish a
degree course at UBC. Dorothy Lefebvre served as the first head of the
Department of Home Economics. She resigned within a few years and
was replaced by Charlotte Black who served as director until the 1960s.
In 1951, the status of the program changed as it became the School of
Home Economics, part of the Faculty of Arts and Science.”
1955- Margaret McCready where she promotes a democratic family
model that boys should partake in Home Economies courses so that they
would appreciate the hard work that the women in their lives contributed
to the household (Peterat, 1995)
1960-1970- women have more time for their careers because of the
introduction of First Oral Contraceptive Pills which lead to gained control
for their lives. Equality was not just for women but also males. This was
a great time of change in gender norms as boys began entering the Home
Economics classrooms. Before this time Home Economics studies were
seen as education for women. This was an effort to help balance sex in
both course enrollment and curriculum materials (Eyre, 1989)
1968- Changing Mission of Home Economics is a significant publication
as it show that home economics needed more attention and more
funding of money.
1971- Self-proclaimed radical feminist Robin Morgan verbally attacks
those assembled at the American Home Economics Association (AHEA)
Convention for perpetuating traditional roles of women (East, 1980).
Women were divided. Being a feminist is at odds with supporting home
economics education. During this transitional women sought a new
identity that became more that a housewife; as Peggy Lee immortalized in
her song I am Woman: “I can bring home the bacon, fry it up in a pan,
and never ever let you forget you're a man".
1975- The British Columbia Home Economist Association was formed
in 1975. Still functioning today as Teachers of Home Economics
Specialty Association (THESA), it works to provide support, professional
development to promoting its areas of studies.
1982- Teachers where challenge because of some social education
implementation of “inclusion” to provide equal learning for a diversity of
learners (that includes learners with special needs). Home Economics is
seen as a subject area that will help students develop social and
communication skills while gaining practical knowledge.
2006- Alert noted that there was a shortage of Home Economics teachers
and that there were full-time positions that were impossible to fill, these
shortage shows the importance of home economics. This was confirmed
by the BC Public School Employers Association (BCPSEA) report that
indicated that there was not a shortage of teachers in general. There had
been a temporary surge in retirement as the average age of teachers
peaked in 2004-2005
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