Rigor, Relevance, & Relationships

Seeking Technical Excellence

Educator Gayle Mindes, Ph.D., has strong beliefs about upholding the relevance of FACS education. The former Chair of University Teaching, Learning and Technology Committee (2000 to 2007) and current Professor of Education at DePaul University in Chicago has devoted her career to studying and teaching child development in a context that is always cognizant of the role of social relevance. Classroom Solutions asked Gayle about the challenges that FACS teachers face today. Her responses reflect a passion for empowering students with the tools and knowledge they need to succeed in a world in which respect, tolerance, and controversy must coexist.

Q: Tell us a little about your background

A: I hold a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from the University of Kansas, a Master of Science in Counseling and Behavioral Disabilities from the University of Wisconsin, and a Doctorate in Education from Loyola University of Chicago Curriculum and Early Childhood, which included study at the Erikson Institute.

Q: What is your philosophy with regard to teaching FACS?

A: Teaching should offer opportunities for students to learn holistically, incorporating text, Internet, and other media. Within class periods, students should have opportunities for individual reflection, cooperative groups, and large-group instruction, as well as related laboratory experience at school or in the field. Assignments should promote student empowerment through the use of self-assessment, choice for demonstration of knowledge, skills, and dispositions. Regular opportunity for student formative and summative assessment facilitates student-empowerment.

Q: What are your thoughts on the increasingly rigorous requirements faced by FACS teachers?

A: Media literacy—including all aspects of written, graphic, and pictorial—is critical for all high school graduates. The ability to understand and use data and to examine research critically is essential for the worker of today and tomorrow. The Internet is a critical resource for all learners.

Q: How do you assess textbooks or other education materials for technical accuracy and thoroughness? What should teachers look for?

A: Texts should expose students to the important theories of the subject at hand. The texts should provide pedagogical tools to guide the reader and to support the teacher. Readability, examples, questions, pre-reading guides, pictures, and graphic tools aid readers. Texts should be free of bias in content and diversity should be believably presented in picture and text discussion.

Q: You reviewed Glencoe's newly revised The Developing Child. Does the text meet the criteria you just described?

A: I found the content up-to-date, inviting, and readable. The format makes the text approachable, and the pages are not too busy. The pedagogical tools are accessible to the reader as well as the teacher.

Colorful, inviting pages and a clean, fresh format help The Developing Child bring its topic to life.

Q: Some of the content that FACS teachers work with can be delicate. How can an educator maintain accuracy and relevance without stepping over the line on topics that touch on personal choices and values?

A: I believe the following statement is important to keep in mind when considering the teacher's responsibility:
Academic freedom to explore significant and controversial questions is an essential precondition to fulfill the academy's mission of educating students and advancing knowledge. Academic responsibility requires professors to submit their knowledge and claims to rigorous and public review by peers who are experts in the subject matter under consideration; to ground their arguments in the best available evidence; and to work together to foster the education of students. (Excerpted from the January 6, 2006, Association of American Colleges & Universities Board of Directors' Statement, "Academic Freedom and Educational Responsibility." For the full text of the Statement, go to http://www.aacu.org/About/statements/academic_freedom.cfm.

Q: How can K-12 teachers balance such academic freedom with the responsibility to stay within family and community sensibilities?

A: Exposure to controversy must also match the developmental level of the students as well as respect family and community values. There are several good sources for teachers to consult to develop strategies to approach controversy in the classroom. (See below for a brief list suggested by Dr. Mindes.)

Q: What do you think is the most compelling trend in FACS education today, and how should the FACS community respond?

A: Preparing graduates to be engaged, literate advocates for family and community. The available public policy statements of the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences (http://www.aafcs.org/policy/index.html) seem well-founded, current, and important contributions to this goal.

Dr. Gail Mindes' publishing credits include:

• (2007) Assessing young children, 3rd Ed., Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall/Merrill
• (2006) Teaching young children social studies. by invitation of Early Childhood Series Editors: Doris P. Fromberg and Leslie R. Williams for Greenwood Press
• (2006) (co-written with D. Koralek) Spotlight on young children and social studies. Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children

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