The
standards document includes academic standards for family and consumer
sciences at four grade levels (third, sixth, ninth, and twelfth) with
the emphasis on what students will know and be able to do in the
following areas:
- 11.1. Financial and Resource Management
- 11.2. Balancing Family, Work, and Community Responsibility
- 11.3. Food Science and Nutrition
- 11.4. Child Development
The
family and consumer sciences discipline is composed of strong subject
matter concentrations that form a framework for learning based on these
tenets:
- Families are the fundamental unit of society.
- An understanding of individual and family development helps create strong families whose members are lifelong learners.
- Meeting individual and family needs inside and outside the home are shared responsibilities.
- Individual, family, and community well-being is strengthened through an awareness of diversity.
- The use of diverse modes of inquiry strengthens intellectual development.
- The content learned in family and consumer sciences classes enhances and supports the mastery of academic standards.
- Standards-based
learning within family and consumer sciences classrooms can best be
demonstrated through performance-based assessment.
The academic standards
for family and consumer sciences are written to empower individuals and
families to manage the challenges of living and working in a diverse,
global society. These academic standards address the functioning of
families and their interrelationships with work, community, and society.
The focus is on the recurring, practical problems of individuals and
families. Comprehensive classroom experiences allow students to develop
the knowledge and skills needed to identify, create, and evaluate goals
and alternative solutions to significant problems of everyday life.
Students are taught to take responsibility for the consequences of their
actions as they make choices about personal, family, and work
responsibilities.