The Return Of Home Economics
It’s Back To School For Home Ec
As summer comes to a close, kids are gearing up to head back to school. But it looks like kids may not be the only thing coming back to school after a long absence. Home Economics classes, or “Family and Consumer Sciences,” as they are often called outside of California, are becoming popular again after years of perceived obsolescence. Some educators are even pushing to make these once-forgotten electives part of the mandatory high school curriculum, suggesting that basic cooking skills, which are being taught less and less in the average home, are essential for healthy living.
The above photograph, which has been preserved via photo scanning, shows a home economics lab at the University of Wisconsin in 1948. The second photo, also digitized via photo scanning, shows an Indiana home ec classroom in 1931. Test kitchens like these were once commonplace in high schools across the country, but have become forgotten relics of another time as recent decades have shown a significant decrease in the percentage of American high schools offering home ec. But recent trends suggest that home ec is on the rise once again. According to Patricia Scott, a longtime teacher and home economics expert for the Los Angeles Unified School District, says that the home ec program in her district is one of the most popular electives offered. Scott believes that the image of cooking has changed, and that the advent of the Food Network and popular cooking shows like Bravo’s “Top Chef” has made it seem cool to know how to cook.
According to a recent survey conducted by the National Coalition for Family and Consumer Sciences Education, the number of high school students enrolled in home economics classes is currently close to what it was in the late 1950s, though the classes themselves have changed. In the ‘50s, ‘60s, and ‘70s, home economics classes were composed almost entirely of female students learning a curriculum of traditional homemaking skills. But home ec is no longer about teaching girls how to become good housewives; the classes are often very specialized, and focus on topics like catering as a business, international foods, or food service and hospitality careers.
Alice Lichtenstein, a nutrition scientist at Tufts University and the co-author of an article in the Journal of the American Medical Association entitled “Bring Back Home Economics Education,” is one of many educators who believe that home economics, especially basic cooking skills, should be a mandatory part of high school curriculum. According to Lichtenstein, the disturbing rise in child obesity and the generally poor diets of young people in America could be combated by teaching youths how to cook and eat well. She suggests that adolescents rely on packaged and fast food at least in part because they lack the skills to prepare food themselves. Lichtenstein goes on to suggest that “(t)he only way to really ensure that more kids get this type of instruction is to have it mandatory.” She and other educators believe that school should prepare students not only for careers, but also for life, and that important life skills like cooking should not be left out.
Radio and television pioneer Art Linkletter passed away in his Bel-Air home on May 26th at the age of 97. Author of the bestselling 1957 book Kids Say the Darndest Things, Linkletter was best known for hosting the daytime television show “House Party,” which ran from 1952 to 1970 and featured comically candid interviews with children. The above photo, which was digitized by photo scanning for use in the Los Angeles Times, depicts Linkletter’s uncanny talent for the impromptu child interview.
Mother’s Day has come and gone, but it’s never too late to show your appreciation for Mom. If you feel like that box of chocolates and those overpriced flowers didn’t quite cut it this year, perhaps something a little more personal would fit the bill. It’s not that your mother doesn’t like that “World’s Greatest Mom” mug you got her. And those bouquets of cleverly disguised fruit really do make great centerpieces for the breakfast table. But if your mom is anything like mine (and you’re lucky if she is!) she’d really go for something a little more sentimental, something uniquely made for her.
Newspaper publisher E.W. Scripps Co. has agreed to sell its licensing unit, United Media Licensing, to licensing company Iconix Brand Group Inc., which owns the clothing brands Joe Boxer and London Fog. United Media Licensing, which owns the rights to several comic-strip characters such as Dilbert and Raggedy Ann and Andy, pulls in the majority of its licensing revenues from the “Peanuts” family of characters, including the lovable loser Charlie Brown, and his imaginative pup, Snoopy.
As the makers of Guinness beer happily remind visitors to the brand’s Dublin museum, “everyone’s Irish on March 17th.” Indeed, St. Patrick’s Day is widely celebrated by Americans of various ethnic backgrounds, and annual St. Patrick’s Day parades in the U.S. date all the way back to 1737, when the first one was held in Boston. But for many Irish-Americans, St. Patrick’s Day is also part of Irish-American Heritage Month, which is a time to recognize and celebrate Irish history and family heritage. While many Irish and non-Irish Americans join in on the wearing of green and the merrymaking on March 17th, most of us miss out on the opportunity to explore and celebrate our family heritage throughout the month of March. One great way of doing this it to make a photo family tree on your computer.
On March 1, 2010, California Attorney General and former Governor Jerry Brown announced that he is running for governor once again. Current California law prohibits constitutional office holders from serving more than two terms in any single position, so the Republican incumbent, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger cannot run for reelection. But this two-term limit has only been in effect since 1990, and does not apply to terms served before November of that year. Democrat Jerry Brown served as the 34th Governor of the State of California from 1975 to 1983, so he is eligible to run once again in the November 2010 race. As part of his campaign to “get California working again,” Brown has launched a multimedia website dedicated to promoting his gubernatorial candidacy and cataloguing his career.
These days, photo scanning has become an integral part of the modern “digital experience.” Though many people have digital cameras, most of us also have large collections of old family photos, and a professional photo scanning service like ScanDigital is the perfect way to preserve and share those memories. But what if you’re on the go, and you need a quick scan of a receipt, a contract, or other document? These situations pop up all too often. Perhaps you’re on a business trip, and you need to submit a hefty receipt for immediate reimbursement. Or maybe you have a contract that you need to sign and send off, but there’s no fax machine in sight. Or you have a printed document, and you need to turn it into a PDF before the big meeting starts in 10 minutes. You have What do you do?
