Family and Consumer Sciences Teachers: The Practice of Compassion and Support

Abstract

What distinguishes family and consumer sciences (FCS) teachers from other teachers in a K-12 setting is the population they teach and the subject matter taught (Poirier et al., 2017). FCS teachers teach students social, emotional, and cognitive skills including cooking, sewing, finance, life/relational skills, and child development. This variety of skills is taught through courses that synthesize foundational components of science, math, reading, and communication—skills that are ideal for preparing students for careers in agriculture, architecture/ construction, hospitality management, human services, and many others (Minnesota Department of Education, 2019). FCS teachers are tasked with teaching subjects that are not strictly academic—they are life and career skills that are invaluable to their students. This responsibility has its own set of challenges, which can include scheduling difficulties, low funding, and increasing class sizes. One of the most prominent issues is the separation from other faculty that FCS teachers experience due to the eclectic nature of their courses (Godbey & Johnson, 2011). Quite often, schools have only one FCS teacher. This limited connection with colleagues can contribute to feelings of loneliness and frustration by FCS teachers.