As per Course,
"Why do we teach Family Studies at the intermediate level?
Family Studies is not a compulsory subject at either the elementary or secondary level in Ontario curriculum, however, it is a subject that impacts everyone, as we all live in a “family” setting. Each of these families will look very different, but will function in a similar manner. What is taught in Family Studies has real-life application in each student’s family.
Historically, skills taught in Family Studies were learned by children at home. Today, this is not necessarily the case. Students enrolled in Family Studies classes learn life-long skills through practical activities. Students are able to take what they have learned in Family Studies and apply it to many aspects of their lives.
Read the following articles:
History of Family Studies/Home Economics Education in Ontario, adapted from the work of Dr. Laura Tryssenaar (appendix 1.1);
Family Studies in Elementary Schools in Ontario Position Paper from CHEA (appendix 1.2);
Home Economics/Family Studies in Canadian Schools by Laura Featherstone (appendix 1.3);
Betty Crocker and Singer Sewing Machines by Megan Davies (appendix 1.4)
From your readings, write a reflective journal on What is Family Studies and why it is important to teach it at the Intermediate Level, grades 7 -10. Upload a copy to the assignment board for assessment as learning."
As per discussion,
"Learning Family Studies in The Tide-pools of The 21St Century: A Review of Literature
Families in Canada are coming to a point wherein, many Canadians are seemingly pondering thee value of family, in data provided by GlobalData it seems that 2021 was the lowest point of average people per household since data collected in 2010 (2022). In a quote from Vanier Institute of the Family, the describe a bleak representation of Canadian families’ disheartening experiences through, Profiling Canada's Families. Ottawa, ON: Author. Also by the same author: Canadian Families: Canadian Families in Transition: The Implications and Challenges of Change; and What Matters f or Canadian Families? (1994). In the 21st century, the students can expect to see a great deal of strife as they continue through the second decade of this millennium, leaving educators, parents and politicians at the figurative batting mound to address the need for support.
Areas of Interest
Given the background knowledge of the education system and lived practice, areas of interest are related to the profoundness of historical event’s cause and effect of various events as they unfold; The origins of change as a history; and The need to address all populations within Canada.
The historical cause and effect as it unfolds
Reading History of Family Studies/Home Economics Education in Ontario, as adapted from Dr. Laura Tryssenaar ignites an interest in past that is long forgotten, the interesting and authentic life and times of people making change (n.d.). The interesting part about the history here is way that what seemed to be the best possible answer to a potentially detrimental issue successfully becomes the “norm”. Quickly thereafter students and educators take on this cause enough to spark an area of academic study, which later turns out to be a relatively too successful program for what was initially expected. The success in organizing humans was so profound that there later needed to be change made in order to best accommodate the new issues that had become so detrimental to the society. “These goals are equally important. They can be achieved simultaneously through learning activities that combine the acquisition of knowledge with both inquiry and design processes in a concrete, experiential context. At the same time, these learning activities must enable students to develop the communication and relationship skills that are an essential component of Family Studies.”(Featherstone, 2011) From this internal communication between a curriculum leader to education system stakeholders, it is evident that the on-going development of not just education curriculum, but societies normative narratives are ever changing. Through observation, population growth, policy-implementation, trend-setting demonstrated the key ingredients for exacting mass impact on a nation-wide scale. To watch all this unravel and unfold is quite profound.
Origins of change as a history
The idea of exacting change in society through educational curriculum and university accredited programming is something that the University of Toronto is seemingly exceptional at doing, a university degree uniquely structured to appeal to the interests of learners while providing guided programming for others, seems to provide onlookers of society with an interesting perspective on what areas are growing/developing with regards to interest and potential on a general level. Lilian Massey-Treble and James L. Hughes were both advocates for a part of the population that needed to be recognized, given the success surpassing (maybe even their own) expectations of policy-makers, Mike Harris called for action to acclimatize the education of grades K-12 paving open-air and blue skies as the potentiality for education in Canada (Tryssenaar, n.d). To be able to articulate and fathom a near-tangible history is quite amazing really and certainly carries a uplifting weight of responsibility on those who are expected to carry it forward to others as a lesson of significance.
Reactions to the Content
When teaching one will want to incite positive growth through constructive criticism, one method of achieving this is through, two stars and a wish. Here, one will observe two positive reactions and 1 reaction that calls for growth on the topic or author of the text.
Star (Positive): Accessibility and Readability of Appendix 1.1
The narrative tone of Appendix 1.1 is short, quick and informative to read, this is something students can appreciate, even with limited English. Strongly recommend this piece of history as something note-worthy for a classroom.
Star (Positive): Advocacy of a Culturally Relevant and Responsive Curriculum Appendix 1.3
In Appendix 1.3, Featherstone places emphasis on change and the myth of continuity in society (2011). She expressed well here wherein actually best reflect a constructive criticism with regards to the lack of recognition towards all groups of people within Canada’s borders.
Wish (Constructive Criticism): Credibility and Relevance of Sources
Appendix 1.2 is an article from Canadian Home Economics Journal, issue 46( 4), and discusses the bleak realities of life in Canada during the early 90’s that many experienced (1996). The CHEA Position Paper depicts statistics of the early 90’s in Canada, “More than 1.3 million of Canada's children live in families with incomes below poverty lines. A recent survey by the Angus Reid Group found that economic concerns like finances, the economy and employment prospects are the most pressing issues facing families for 72% of respondents4.” (CHEA, 1996) This darkened portrayal of what seemed to be a colourful and energetic decade was further represented through a secondary source that was not well sourced, and as an educator, learner/student, it is a point of discomfort to find while combing through references as an educator, the painful reality of their folly actions in their youth.
Burning Questions
In the end, there are a few questions left unanswered, as an educator, that need to be acknowledged.
1. How can we inspire students to participate in change as a part of the learning?
2. How can we prepare (as educators) for changes coming (in society) in order to better prepare our students?
3. Considering how authors such as Charlotte Perkins Gilman and James Thurber were alive and writing during these times, change occurred much slower in the past than it does now, is there room to incorporate the need to advocate for your family or a cooperative component to the course?
Conclusion
The reality of living in the figurative tide-pool of an event that has such a historical impact on the way that people conduct themselves on a day-to-day basis, is a very significant moment of reflection when considering that sometimes that event begins with one person. Looking at how that event matches up in the grand scheme of the world’s events is not always the scope readers need to take, but it is important to connect those pieces together in order to develop context.
References
Average size of households in Canada (2010 - 2021). (n.d.). GlobalData. https://www.globaldata.com/data-insights/macroeconomic/average-household-size-in-canada-2096121/#:~:text=Size%20in%20Canada-,Canada%20had%20an%20average%20household%20size%20of%202.51%20people%20in,decline%20of%200.8%25%20in%202021.
Canadian Home Economics association (1985). Home Economics/Family Studies Education in Canadian Schools: A Position Paper. Ottawa, ON: Author.
Featherstone, L., OCT. (2011). Family Studies in Elementary Schools in Ontario [Press release]. https://mycourselink.lakeheadu.ca/d2l/le/content/135706/viewContent/1785085/View
University of Western Ontario (n.d). History of Family Studies/Home Economics Education in Ontario Adapted from the work of Dr. Laura Tryssenaar.
Vanier Institute of the Family (l994). Profiling Canada's Families. Ottawa, ON: Author. Also by the same author: Canadian Families: Canadian Families in Transition: The Implications and Challenges of Change; and What Matters f or Canadian Families?"
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Module 1.2, as follows,
"We all come from different backgrounds and we have a variety of experiences that we carry with us in our “backpacks”. These influence our view of the world. Through education, discussion and broadening our community view, we are constantly shifting in our opinions and perspective.
James Banks (1993) and Peggy McIntosh (2000) wrote about the stages of Multicultural Curriculum Transformation. Go to the following website and read the description of the continuum.
https://www.teachingforchange.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Banks_James.pdf
Where are you on the continuum?
After reading the information on Inclusionary Education and looking at the website Teaching for Change, place yourself on the continuum in your professional work, and explain why you placed yourself there. Devise a strategy with timelines so that you may begin to move along the continuum as this course progresses. Explain how teaching Family Studies in the Intermediate division may help to move you along the continuum.
Upload your reflection to the Assignment board, for assessment of learning. You will be required to add to the continuum two other times throughout the course. As you progress through the course, the strategy that you devise may need to be adjusted.
What is Curriculum?
“Children learn from what surrounds them – not just what the teacher points them to. So the curriculum is the textbooks, and the storybooks, and the pictures – and the seating plan, and the group work, and the posters, and the music, the announcements, the prayers and the readings, the languages spoken in the school, the food in the cafeteria, the visitors to the classrooms, the reception of parents in the office, the races [or race] of the office staff, the custodial staff, the administration, the displays of student work, the school teams and sports played, the clubs, the school logo or emblem, the field trips, the assignments and projects, the facial expressions and body language of everybody, the clothes everybody wears… it goes on and on. I would not for a moment suggest that we can control all of this, but we better be aware of it. We can be sure our students are. I have no intention, even if you had the time, of giving strategies of how to cope with everything. … But if we don’t start thinking of what the effect of all this environment is on all our students we’ll never develop strategies that will work.”
Nora Allingham, 1992 (Former Director of the Anti-Racism and Ethnocultural Equity Team, Ontario Ministry of Education and Training.)
As you have discovered, Family Studies is the study of the interaction of members of a group. This includes: social, emotional, cultural, economic, and physical interactions. Canada encourages its citizens to maintain and celebrate their cultural heritage. As a Family Studies teacher you will encounter a wide range of diversity in your classroom and must make that classroom an inclusive and welcoming place. A Family Studies classroom has considerations that may not be as evident in a regular classroom.
Indigenous Education
“A new body of research is beginning to demonstrate that Aboriginal students’ self-esteem is a key factor in their classroom success. An educational environment that honours the culture, language and worldview of the Aboriginal student is critical. Schools need to meaningfully represent and include aboriginal people’s contributions, innovations, and inventions. Aboriginal students require a learning environment that honours who they are and where they have come from. These strategies nurture the self-esteem – the positive interconnection between the physical, emotional-mental, intellectual and spiritual realms – of aboriginal students.” Retrieved July 11, 2013 from: www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/literacynumeracy/inspire/research/Toulouse.pdf
The Ministry of Education in Ontario has developed excellent resources to enhance the teaching of and to Aboriginal students. The suggestions and strategies in these resources are applicable to all students. Visit the website below.
Ontario Ministry of Education Teacher’s Toolkit
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/aboriginal/policy.html
Post your response to the following question:
What conceptual/theoretical frameworks and understandings of equity are you currently using in your work with teachers and students? Read and respond to 2 of your colleagues’ postings."
As per discussion,
"Being an international high-school teacher, a lot of content presented to students is from a more 'western-centric' perspective to begin with. That being said one practice that is important to utilize is an 'unpacking' of one's privilege, this goes for one's own and that of the stakeholders (whether this be colleagues or students). Being in an international school, there are colleagues on staff who are not OCT, that being said, there is a lot of guidance that veteran teachers are called upon to provide. Likewise, in a classroom, with students that all hold another language in common beyond one's own understanding, there is a degree of mutual respect that needs to be appreciated when language is discussed as a means of communication.
Students are at an advantage and hold monopoly on what is culturally relevant and responsive, with that being said, as a Canadian, one cannot be expected to be able to recite the story "Journey to the West" in Chinese or with full native understanding. A couple years ago now, my colleagues and I have been careful with how we delve into various topics and how we delve into them, that being said though, there is usually and authentic learning opportunity that can usually occur wherein teh class finds itself respectfully onlooking into a new culture with the ability to draw understanding through connections to history and technological methodology. That being said, where "Totem Poles" are not just "Sign-Posts", but hold a great sacred value in various Indigenous cultures, Chinese ancestry of architecture is one that utilizes a column, 'HuaBiao' for different purposes, one of these purposes being most notably, the marking of an ancestreal site (tomb). This sparks a great deal of confidence in students who initially feel far away from a topic, but provides an access point of familiarity and sometimes, especially in studies of Canada/Ontario (in particular), this is important.
Ultimately on the most extreme level hyper-sensitive level, 'Ethnic-Additive Approach' is going to get turned down, however that being said, through the copious amount of time spent in the North, the positive interactions with various cultures, the studies of indigenous teaching that I have participated in, I'm not afraid to talk about what I have learned, seen and come to understand without restructuring it-talk about restructuring though, this give me a good idea for a literary theory lesson in the future. I digress, reflecting, on Susan Dion's "The Perfect Stranger" (2013), one thing I really appreciated was how she isn't trying to further gap cultures, but develop a warmth and appreciative embrace between how we recieve them. She presents an excellent example of when enough is enough, "create a myth" *cringe* when talking about belief systems, but isn't that it, we take courses like this as teachers and professionals to be able to appreciate, obsserve, communicate and interact with other cultures about life and society in varying degrees."
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Module 1.3 As follows,
"Background on Ontario College of Teachers
Currently in Canadian education, (2020) Ontario is the only province with a governing body, the Ontario College of Teachers. This professional organization oversees all aspects of teacher education and teacher conduct in and out of the classroom. All teachers teaching in the province of Ontario belong to OCT and, as such, have a professional designation of Ontario Certified Teacher. This designation is accompanied by a set of ethical standards and standards of practice that teachers must abide by. Curriculum is designed to follow and uphold these standards. As you work through this course you will be required to carefully consider the Ethical Standards and Standards of Practice and their relationship to the Social Sciences and Humanities document, specifically Family Studies. You will also be required to align these standards with your classroom practice.
For a copy of the standards go to:
https://www.oct.ca/public/professional-standards/ethical-standards
https://www.oct.ca/public/professional-standards/standards-of-practice
In this module you have completed an overview of Family Studies education, as well as Inclusionary and Global Education. From this module, complete the relevant sections of the charts (Appendix 1.5 Standards of Practice Reflection Chart and Ethical Standards Reflection Chart). (More than one Standard of Practice or Ethical Standard may have been met). Include what you have learned about Family Studies and how you will apply this learning. Following the example given, include your own thoughts where appropriate.
Upload your partially completed chart (about ⅓ complete) to the assignment board for assessment of learning.
At the end of each module please return to this chart and enter what you have learned about Family Studies and the relationship between the subject area and the Ethical Standards and the Standards of Practice for the Teaching Profession. You will submit this work at the end of Modules 1, 3, 5. At the end of this course the chart must be complete. It will become part of your final grade."
As per discussion
"see chart link in post 'OCT Chart of Standards/Ethics' "
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END OF MODULE 1
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