Do you know what FCCLA is all about? As a Family and Consumer Sciences Teacher and FCCLA Adviser I do - but I often find my students and their parents are not quite sure.
A common misconception is that FCCLA and/or Family and Consumer Sciences are interchangeable terms with Home Economics. This is far from true about today's FCCLA (Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America) and FACS (Family and Consumer Sciences). When people say "Home Economics" it does not make me angry or irritated (it does make some FACS teachers irritated, so tread lightly) it usually just causes me to smile and nod because most people generally relate Home Economics to a fun part of their life where they probably learned a lot. The downside is often times if asked to describe Home Economics people would describe something that looks much like the picture below.
The problem with this idea about FACS is that most people also relate Home Economics to something that is ideally strictly for women that want to be "homemakers" and for FACS and FCCLA that is simply just not the case.
I hope this blog can help you understand what FCCLA and FACS have to offer to students (Male and Female), families, communities, future employers, etc...For myself, I hope this blog can clear up some questions for current and future students and their parents!
Here are 10 reasons why FCCLA and FACS are for ANYONE.
1. FACS is not just cooking and sewing. Sure many of us cook and sometimes we might sew but we do so much more! Classes often offered within FACS Departments could be any of the following; Child Development, World Foods, Culinary Arts, Hospitality and Restaurant Management, Housing and Interior Design, Intro To Teaching, Human Development, Parenting, Relationships, Resource Management, Personal Finance, Health, Career Exploration, Career and Family Leadership, Leadership, Nutrition and Wellness.
All FACS classes are designed in a way to hopefully help students put their knowledge from their core subjects into real life situations. FACS classes should promote students thought about the future, their goals, abilities, dreams, wishes, etc... I believe FACS classes are great to help students realize their potential, set goals for their future, and get training or experience in fields that they may want to pursue as a career one day.
2. FCCLA is a organization with lots of opportunities. Want something interesting to write on that on a college application? Being an active member of FCCLA and you can do just that! FCCLA offers chances to travel across the United States and even possibly to Japan through the Japanese Exchange National Program. You can be a leader with a Chapter, State, or National Officer position or you can be a Competitor in STAR Events. Through participation in community service and other state programs students also have many chances to work along side community, state, and national leaders to make changes and express their views.
Carissa with Representative Entlicher at FCCLA Legislative Shadowing Project. Feb 2016
3. FCCLA and FACS can be competitive. Who doesn't like a little competition? Through Skill Demonstration Events offered at the National Cluster Meeting each year and STAR Events (Students Taking Action with Recognition) students have various chances to get active on a competitive level. Students get to take their school projects, community service activities, or sometimes their career skills and compete with other students from across their state and country! Some FACS Departments are even lucky enough to have culinary classes and ProStart to even further jump start students career learning.
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| Chapter Service Project Display Jr. Category - Gold 2016 Regional Competition |
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| Betty Glasgow's - 3rd Place Prostart Restaurant Management Team - 2016 |
4. FACS lets you express yourself. Many FACS classes are about YOU! They are about making yourself a better YOU! Who can honestly say that they could not improve something about themselves? Not me! I KNOW that I am a daily work in progress. I love seeing my students work on their abilities, attitudes, dreams, and goals to better themselves so that someday they can become that better business owner, employee, or parent someone would value and be proud to know.
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| Community Service Project - Rare Breed Springfield MO Fall 2015 |
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| ProStart Teams at Competition - 2016 |
5. FCCLA Students Travel. I have yet to meet a student that HATES traveling. In the 3 short years that I have been teaching I have traveled with students to various places across the state of Missouri and the rest of the US. It is not so much just the traveling that is amazing it is how much students grow through these trips. The planning, fundraising, and collaboration that leads up to these travels are always a lesson for themselves. Lessons often for me, but for the students too. It take responsibility, planning, and willingness to work together to pull off these trips especially when multiple people and organizations are often are involved. Through trips both near and far I see students learn so much about themselves and who they wish to become. Students always come back from trips more confident and hopeful for their future.
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| Promoting FCCLA at our Nations Capitol - July 2015 |
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| FACS Students and FCCLA Members visit the White House while in Washingtion DC for NOYS Safe Driving Summit - October 2015 |
6. FACS Classes and FCCLA Members usually end up feeling like family. We sit together, eat together, discuss life together, travel together, WE DO A LOT TOGETHER! Most FACS classes and FCCLA chapters generally end up feeling like family. They are who you are close to. They know you. They know your struggles and they even know when we need to send out a search party to find you and lead you back to the bus at Silver Dollar City because your phone is dead and you can NOT find your way around.
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| Region 10 Meeting - Silver Dollar City - Branson MO Fall 2015 |
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| National Cluster Meeting - Dallas TX - November 2015 |
7. FCCLA Competitive Events are called STAR Events. STAR stands for Students Taking Action with Recognition. STAR Events are a way that students can get recognition for their hard work and actions that they take during the year to make a change in their self, family, school, or community. STAR Events are awesome because there are tons of choices. With just about anything that you believe to be important in life, you can focus in on the change you would like to see, set goals, and find a way to make it happen. After success or even failures students can create presentations to compete in STAR Events to share what they did and learned. Some students choose to complete STAR Events after school especially if their schedule does not allow for a FACS Class at some point but other students are able to start and carry out STAR Event projects in class. In this way students are taking control of their learning and learning by doing!
A complete list of STAR Events, descriptions, and rubrics can be found at FCCLA STAR Events.
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| National Leadership Conference and National STAR Event Competitors - San Antonio - July 2014 |
8. FCCLA and FACS can and does involve a bit of everyone. FCCLA and FACS are inclusive in the way that anyone from Middle School through High School can be involved if their school has the program available. The program FACS and the organization FCCLA are easy for anyone to find their place if they have interest in bettering themselves, their families, their school, or even their community. Students can find something they are interested in as long as they are willing put forth work to make it worthwhile.
9. FACS Teaches Life-skills. From everything from being able to plan and prepare healthy meals to being able to communicate more clearly in difficult situations at work and home - FACS helps students work on those skills. I personally cringe every time I see the post being shared about the things people wish they would have learned in High School. Something like:
Why does this make me cringe? FACS can and does teach all of these. I would actually teach even more of them if at my school I needed to teach personal finance (but in my district this is taught by the business teachers). When people like and share this all I can think is "How in the world did all these people make it out of school without taking any CTE (Career Technical Education) Classes??" because nearly all of them touch on these subjects in some way!
10. FCCLA Members and FACS Students make great leaders! Through tons of project based learning and presentations of subjects that interest the students because they usually can directly relate the projects to their life, FACS students become great leaders. Not just great leaders but great thinkers, great people. FCCLA Members tend to be compassionate, loyal, loving, and willing to step out of their comfort zone to help people around them. I for one am proud to be a past FACS Student and FCCLA Member and a Current FACS Teacher and FCCLA Adviser!
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| Bolivar and Logan Rogersville FCCLA Students discussing the importance of FACS and FCCLA with past FACS teacher and current Missouri Representative Vicky Hartzler while in Washington D.C. |
Please share if you too are proud to have FACS and/or FCCLA be a part of your life!
*Written by Ashley DeVore, FACS Teacher & FCCLA Adviser at Bolivar High School in Bolivar Missouri. B.S. in Family and Consumer Sciences Education from Missouri State University.
