The home economics classroom still existed at Thomas Hunter Middle School, but was being used as a special education classroom. Williams recruited a crew of former students to give it a refresh, including removing stickers that had been on the cabinet doors since 2005.
Michelle Williams has taught sixth-grade math and reading at Thomas Hunter Middle School for 14 years, but she’s always dreamed of introducing her students to something more. Mathews Country, Virginia, the coastal region where her school is located, has a population of just over 8,000 people and employment opportunities are limited. “There is no industry,” Williams says. In decades past local fishermen brought in blue crab off the Chesapeake Bay, but overfishing and pollution have made this opportunity all but disappear. Now, the choices for graduating seniors are mostly to become a nurse, a teacher, or a pilot, or join the military. “That’s what it is when you live off the beaten path,” Williams says.
A dedicated teacher who got her degree and certification at the local community college in her early 30s after raising a family, Williams has a broader vision for her students. “You don’t know that you’re going to be interested in a particular field if you’ve never seen it or been exposed to it,” she says. “You might not realize that you want to be a chef or open a restaurant, or be a fashion designer or a product designer.” Even if none of those options appeal to you, Williams believes her students should have an understanding of the basic aspects of living a healthy, productive life including nutrition, personal finance, and creative expression. That’s why she’s always wanted to teach home economics, but in order to do so, she first had to revive a program that had all but disappeared in Mathews County.
Home economics
Home economics as a discipline was developed in the early 1900s and its original aim was to bring science and efficiency to managing a household. For decades, it was a way for women to access science at the secondary and college level. From the post-World War II era through the late 1970s, though, it became prescriptive; girls and young women should learn to keep house in order to please a husband. In middle and high school, boys took woodshop and girls took home ec. Rebranded as Family and Consumer Sciences in the 1990s and offered to boys and girls alike, the curriculum included a basic introduction to sewing, cooking and nutrition, human development, personal and family finances, and consumer awareness.
But then, in the early 2000s, trends in education shifted toward achievement on standardized tests and many school districts did away with home ec entirely. By 2012 only 3.5 million students were enrolled in home economics classes nationwide, a decrease of 38% over the prior decade.
Michelle Williams had always dreamed of teaching home economics, now known as Family and Consumer Science. After years of hard work that involved getting a new teaching credential from the state of Virginia and convincing the school board to see her vision, she is offering the class this fall.
Seizing the moment
Is now the moment to bring home ec back? And if so, what would that take?
Michelle Williams believes the time is right. She says the pandemic highlighted the importance of cooking and sewing skills. “I really think that this was a good outcome because it showed us where we’re lacking as a community. It showed us what we lost when we discontinued these programs.” Her determination and ability to build community support helped her to convince Mathews County to agree.
An avid home cook and sewist, Williams first asked about becoming a home economics teacher when she was studying for her teaching degree at the local community college, but the advisor rolled their eyes and said that Virginia was doing away with those programs. Williams, who has been sewing since she was six years old and grew up cooking with her mother and grandmother, held onto her desire to teach these skills. “I’m not trained as far as college training in either of those two things, but I’m 52 years old,” she says, “and I have a lot of life experience under my belt.”
She found out that Thomas Hunter Middle School offered Family and Consumer Science classes until 2005 when the school system phased out the program. “I’ve been told by a school board member they discontinued the program due to lack of children electing to take the course,” Williams says. “I’ve heard elsewhere that they just kind of absorbed her salary into the budget because Family and Consumer Science is an expensive startup and upkeep. I’m not sure which of those, or a combination of the two, might be the case.”
A few years ago, during her annual review, Williams told her principal she was feeling burned out and mentioned her home ec idea. She spoke informally about it to the superintendent as well. Then Covid hit and Williams, like many teachers, was at a breaking point, ready to quit teaching for good. She proposed a plan to her principal: she would figure out what it would take to earn a Family and Consumer Science teaching credential so that if the opportunity arose to reinstate the program, she’d be prepared. A year later, two teachers in the Career and Technology Education department left and Williams finally had her opportunity.
Nuts and bolts
Getting a teaching endorsement from the State of Virginia wasn’t terribly difficult. Williams discovered that her life and business experience qualified her to take the state teaching exam without additional coursework. She ordered a set of flashcards and took online practice tests. In March 2022 she sat for the test and passed. “Once I passed the test, then the ball had to start rolling in order to get school board approval,” she says. As part of that process, she needed to demonstrate student support for the new offering.
“I’m very open with my students. They knew I make homemade purses and bags and wallets, and they’d see me bring things in to deliver to people that have bought them. During my planning period, I’d sit and I’d work on English paper piecing or hand work on a bag or whatever, so they’d seen me doing these things,” she says.
“They’d strike up a conversation, Hey, can you teach me how to do that? And I said, Well, now that you ask, I would love to teach you how to do that!”
The School Board approved her proposal (she found out later that it inspired a round of applause) and enrollment opened. The Mathews Country district is sparsely populated and there are less than 200 students in grades 6-8. The Family and Consumer Sciences course will have every sixth grader as an introductory experience and to Williams’ delight, 49 of the seventh and eighth graders chose it as their elective this fall.
Getting ready
Over the summer, she began collecting supplies and equipment. She’s gotten 2,000 yards of donated fabrics and is hoping to apply for a local grant to cover the cost of sewing machines. She recruited a crew of former students to paint and reorganize the existing home economics classroom which had, until recently, been occupied by a special education class. “It was clean, but the paint and the cabinetry were old and they didn’t use the kitchen,” Williams said, “They’d just left the stickers that were there for the previous teacher 18 years ago.” The first day of class was August 20.
Williams says the school administration’s support has bolstered her confidence that she can successfully revive this program after its nearly two-decade hiatus. “The superintendent told me that this is the focus for this year. To me, that’s a staggering thought. She told me, Michelle, you’ll have what you need. We’ll make sure you get what you need.”
Abby Glassenberg
Co-founder
Abby co-founded Craft Industry Alliance and now serves as its president. She’s a sewing pattern designer, teacher, and journalist. She’s dedicated to creating an outstanding trade association for the crafts industry. Abby lives in Wellesley, Massachusetts.
My hat is off to Michelle Williams and also to Abby Glassenberg for sharing the good, “old-fashioned” knowledge to a newer generation, making them better people with more practical knowledge.
I grew up in Virginia and am still here; I find being a native Virginian, I am one of fewer and fewer “home grown” Virginians. It makes me proud to know about Michelle.
I also have very fond memories of my eight grade Home Ec class.
Thank you for caring, Michelle!
Ms. Doyle, I too am a native Virginian! Our students started school this week and I can not put into words the feeling that I have had as a teacher, hearing students walk out of my classroom talking to friends saying “I can’t wait for all the stuff we are going to get to do in this class this year!” After teaching Math 6 and Reading 6 for 14 years, it is so refreshing!
You go girl! I am so excited for you and to watch how your program expands. My kids can cook squat and they won’t take any instructions from me. I have had several young people who make up the bones of customer service say to at least 3 times in the past 5 months: “You sew??”, in respinse to refusing the polyethelene “more than one use” consumer bags they had out at the til, as I say, I have already made a few (organic cotton left over from ++ projects. I was taught to sew by my mother at age 9. She wanted to be a Home EC teacher and take it at university. Her father did not think it was appropriate to be spending $ to educate a women when there were 3 brothers to send to tech school or whatever blue collar work they all did.
My kids are not intersested, they still refuse foods a day past the “buy before” date, I can’t get through to them. They were taught the Renaissance x 3 months this past school year, nothing on foods and nutrition, financial management, and not one word about the dangers of fentaynl.
OUTSTANDING!!!! THANK YOU!!!! This will give more value to the lives of the Students and something they can use for the rest of their lives.
I am very proud of you Michelle. Practical knowledge and creating with ones own hands is more of what young people need.
Wow. Lovely article. Yes creativity should find a way back to class. Home ec is a great way. Ì hope you consider knitting and crochet in the future
Great to hear that you did this. Taught middle school for years and they did to be exposed to classes that give them some practical experiences.
Thank you so much for this article! I actually have a Bachelor’s of Science degree from a department of Home Economics where I studied textiles and clothing design. I am thrilled to see how Michelle followed her vision and got support to make it happen! thank you to both of you!
Certainly an inspiring article of one woman with a vision for young people. I too have a Bachelor of Science in Home Economics and am pleased there are others that see the value of passing on homemaking skills to the next generation. 4-H involvement is also another great place young people can take advantage of these types of opportunities. Hats off to Michelle!
I am in Canada. My grandchildren took some of these courses in middle school here. …but only for 3 months, and sometimes taught by a teacher who is not really qualified (i.e. may not be a sewist themselves). Another grandchild in Colorado made a duffle bag as their project. When she asked her teacher how to put in the zipper, the answer was, “just put it in”. Having said that, I am always glad when kids are given the opportunity you are giving them. I taught children’s sewing classes in my home for 11 years (until the pandemic). My students were often recruited by their “home ec” teacher to help the others since they were too advanced, i.e. they knew how to thread a machine.
Wow, good on you! I would like my kids to take “cooking” lessons as they won’t listen to me, or observe me or their grandmother who is great at cooking everyday food, the kind my kids need to learn. If I had more time, I would love to do what you did, teach kids in my home.
Port Moody, BC
A true labor of love and a wish come true. Congrats Michelle! You are doing a fantastic service for your students! Keep up the great work!
Hooray for Michelle! Thank you for sharing her story! I have a Bachelor of Science degree in Consumer and Family Studies from Buffalo State College and worked for many years as a home economist with the Cooperative Extension Service. Public speaking, nutrition and sewing were life skills I shared with many 4-H leaders and members. Teaching young people how to live within their means, balance family and work life, and prepare nutritious foods are essential skills that need to be taught in middle and high schools today. Kudos to Michelle for recognizing a need and pursuing her teaching credentials as she turned her dream into a reality!
Kudos to Michelle Williams. I agree it is misguided, to say the least, to get rid of home ec classes. I took them in junior high school in the 60s, and, while I already had the skills taught, I know many students didn’t. When “woodshop” and other basic repair skills are merged into cooking, sewing, hygiene, etc, then we will have modernized the content appropriately.
I thank you for the article and send kudos to Michelle for what she did for her students.
Congrats to you Michelle. I taught home ec and work study child care for 23 years in Fairfax County until I retired in 1984.
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Hated to see home ec go and maybe this time for the turnaround.
Good luck!
Hurray for Michelle!! Home economics is such an essential part of life learning. Our kids need to know these life skills, but it’s not always possible for parents to teach them. I had home ec in high school in the early 60s and was told, of course, that I couldn’t take auto shop or other shop classes because I was a girl. My argument that I would own a car some day fell on deaf ears. I’m so glad those gender restrictions have changed. Michelle is a gem and a blessing to her school and her community. Let’s hope other districts will follow her wonderful example.
What an inspiring article! Kudos to Michelle and thanks to Abby for covering it.
THANK YOU! I retired after teaching Home Economics in a NJ middle school for 35 years and the program was discontinued shortly after that. I hope you’ll be able to bring this back!
Joanne
https://shareably.net/bring-back-home-economics-basic-life-skills/?utm_source=iawog_fwd&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=iawog_fwd
Good on you Michelle – you’re an inspiration! Sending very best wishes for the start of class and I hope it bears fruit in years to come.
I’ve noticed, as a sewing teacher to adults, that students who did sewing at school (even if it was just a term and it was years ago and they never did it again) pick things up much faster than those who haven’t done any.
Here in Australia, a decline in home ec in schools regrettably mirrors the US.
In country Australia where I live, home ec is still taught in some high schools.
A couple of years ago I was a guest at a quarterly gathering of regional home ec teachers (to talk about my sewing book). Of the schools represented, all of them taught cooking but only half taught sewing as well. Some of them were fairly young teachers and said they became teachers specifically to teach home ec!
They talked about some of the challenges facing them: there are no shops to buy fabric here anymore, so they can’t give students the experience of buying a pattern and choosing fabric in a shop. It requires an excursion to the city at least 3 hours away, but some get around it by teaching upcycling clothes and other textiles. Likewise, it was hard to buy some of the ingredients they wanted students to cook – for example, here in inland Australia seafood is very expensive, hard to get and not always super-fresh, and their course doesn’t have the budget for these foods. Still, they were very committed to continuing home ec studies in their school. They said Masterchef on TV made students more interested in cooking.
This article was joyful. Thank you, Michelle. The practical side of domestic arts is important, yet there is much more. There is art, accomplishment, expression in sewing, cooking, etc. that become real healthy outlets to counteract the hardships of life. I retired in January 2020. Two days later I broke my wrist. Everyone knows what happened shortly after that: Covid. The outlet of sewing masks was a lifeline for me and many others. Thank you for following your heart and sharing your passion with your students. I hope this inspires more teachers!
Several friends and I were just discussing the need for home economics classes. All the young people need to know the things that get taught in home economics classes. I majored in it in college, only taught a bit before having my own family. We all live in Maine. We are quilters, gardeners, and crafters. This was a timely article and I will share it with my friends. It is amazing what one person can accomplish. Congratulations, Michelle, and best wishes for the coming school year!
I am so happy at Michelle has fought to bring back Home Economics. Michelle’s story is similar to mine. I graduated high school in 1973. I have been sewing, crocheting, cooking, etc since I was 7 or 8 years old. I really wanted to be a Home Economics teacher, but my high school counselor steered me in the direction of business. I enjoyed my career but I was very happy when I was able to be a stay-at-home mom. I have taught my daughters and grandchildren to cook and sew. I guess that is my Home Ec. Teaching
This is wonderful news! I took every home Ec class that was offered. Everything I learned 40 to 46 years ago through junior high and high school home Ec classes I use in my career creating for my sister’s business. My dad taught high school Metal shop and my husband uses all the skills he learned in metals, wood, and auto shop classes. My children had very few electives in high school and it was so frustrating for them. I’m hoping these classes make a comeback everywhere.
I just want to offer an update! Since the publication of this article, our tiny community has shown up in a huge way! Three local civic groups and some private donors donated the necessary $4,000 to purchase a class set of PS200T Brother Sewing Machines! Two sergers, another Janome Embroidery Machine, 3 KitchenAid Stand Mixers, and 3 stainless steel kitchen islands have been donated to make the kitchen a better work space, and several sizeable financial gifts have been delivered. I am just one teacher with a passion to help kids experience hands on learning that they can carry with them for a lifetime. What has happened in my tiny community can happen elsewhere if people will band together to make it happen! Our community has spoken loud and clear. Maybe others will follow along!
Wow! This is so inspiring to hear, Michelle. Thank you for sharing this update!
Wow! Good on You as they would say in Ausse, and I say it here in metro Vancouver. I am really happy to hear of your progress toward this incredible goal! I had planned on taking an industrial sewing class this fall offered by a new Fashion Design Academy downtown. However, they cut the Saturday class for this fall, and it would mean a long walk, two Skytrains, a mile walking between stations in a dicey area of town, then another long bus to the school, resulting in a 6 hour stint from home to school, class, and back on a Tuesday night for the once/week class until December, and and the sun is already starting to go down early. However, I am resolved, and will see if they can bring back their Saturday class. The new to my daughter’s high school offers food and nutrition and I was really pushing it, but after the elective choices for art, media, and film, an area they are gifted, talent was demonstrtated early, there was no more room, and I fear it will be the same next year. However, since parents are now allowed in the schools as per the Covid situation. I am going to talk to the F and N teacher, get an idea of her lesson plans, and ask about me, possibly teaching sewing. (My kids are not interested, but I am quite sure there are others who might actually listen to me).
Michelle, that is so great! How wonderful to be supported in what you know is such an important subject by your whole community! I wish you the best. I’m retiring after my 25th year this year teaching Home Ec. in HS and MS in Southern NJ, but I don’t know if they will be able to replace me, or if they want to replace me. So sad. Keeping pushing for everything you want for your program!
Michelle,
If you are interested, I have things I can donate for your sewing and stitchery classes. I had a yarn shop for 20 years and I sell my unsold merchandise on Etsy. I have lots of fabrics, yarn, knitting, needles, etc for knitting hats and embellishing bags and patterns to make bags. The upholstery fabric pieces are perfect for making bags.
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If you are interested and want to see the kinds of things I have, you can check out my Etsy shop here:
https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheFiberGoddess?ref=seller-platform-mcnav
I love this! I wish you great success on this new journey. My mom is one of the few Family & Consumer Sciences teachers in Miami. She’s been teaching it since I was a little girl and it was still called Home Economics. It was also one of my favorite subjects that I got to do right through high school and it’s taught me so many things that I’ve used throughout my life, even more than the traditional subjects.