FACS Spotlight:
Meet FACS Educators Vikki Jackson & LeeLinda Baggett

When LeeLinda Baggett started teaching in a small, K-12 rural school in Pilot Grove, Missouri, boys did not take Home Economics classes and one of LeeLinda's responsibilities was as a sponsor of the Future Homemakers of America to work with the Future Farmers of America to put on an annual barn-warming activity. In the years that followed, through her subsequent move to North Kansas City, and then to Gwinnett County, Georgia, where she teaches at a middle school today, LeeLinda witnessed dramatic changes. And the name change from Home Economics to Family and Consumer Sciences was just the beginning.

"Pretty soon I went from seeing students for six weeks at a time to nine weeks. Eventually, FACS teachers went to a block schedule, seeing our students three times a week for nine weeks," LeeLinda reports. LeeLinda Baggett is now in her 31st year of teaching.

Vikki Jackson's professional beginnings were also based in a small town in rural America, but Vikki did not change her location--the location ultimately changed itself. "I have been teaching FACS for 28 years, 27 of them where I am now, at Kathleen Middle School in Lakeland, Florida," Vikki relates. "Kathleen began as a strawberry school in the 1920s and, for many years, the students were off from January to March instead of the summertime, so they could pick strawberries." Over the decades the area grew, however, and combined with other rural areas to become a sizable and diversified region. Kathleen now serves more than 700 students.

GREATER DEMANDS

As always, with growth come challenges. Vikki speaks frankly about the increasing demands made of FACS teachers, and teachers in general. "Though it is true that many of the demands made on teachers are to improve the quality of education, it is also true that if too many demands are placed on a teacher to chart, track, document, plan, entertain, and interact with parents—and students, which is absolutely necessary—we are taking away the fun young people should be having in our classes," she says. "The demands for standardization in middle school FACS classes can detract from the time and relationships these students need at this time. These young people and their teachers need to like school."

LeeLinda expresses a similar sentiment. "It seems like every year or so something new is added to the teacher's job list," she says. "With the No Child Left Behind law, there seems to be more pre- and post-testing done. Fortunately, FACS instructors have always been pretty flexible and we change when the need arises. For example, all teachers at my school this year have to incorporate a student writing goal as part of our evaluation. We are focusing on academic skills more and more."

VITAL RESOURCES

The teachers agree that the need for current educational texts and other materials in today's FACS climate is crucial to their and their students' success. "These resources provide excellent, up-to-date information that we need as supplements to our teaching," Vikki explains. "Of course, a teacher should not always teach from the text, but use the many activities, ideas, and resources it offers. I love the texts that have the small sections that cover a specific subject that can be the spring board for discussions, debates, or group activities." In LeeLinda's county where the FACS instructors have written their own modules, texts serve as reinforcements. "The books are an important resource of information for students; they find definitions and information on how to perform certain skills," she says.

Experience has taught the teachers what to look for in a textbook. "I know I must find things that are 'catchy,' that will draw the students' attention," Vikki says. "I also look for a moderate reading level, and a book that is as current as possible, real and relatable. The pictures and other supplemental information is where my students look first." The books should also be time-savers, says LeeLinda. "The right textbooks make our jobs easier, offering activities for the students so we don't have to spend our time reinventing projects."

Vikki's and LeeLinda's comments on Glencoe's revised Discovering Life Skills reflect their very specific requirements. "I found the career information in each chapter, as well as the Financial Literacy features of great benefit," LeeLinda notes. "Also, my students like using graphic organizers, which are in every chapter." Vikki, who has been using Discovering Life Skills since its first release, appreciates the layout. "The small units within each chapter give me the opportunity to lengthen or shorten the lesson as needed," she says. "The students like the projects and I love the Closer Look features. The book has been a great tool in helping the students develop 'reference and research' skills for their standardized testing."

Features spotlighting career choices provide essential and practical guidance to students throughout the Discovering Life Skills text.

MAKING IT REAL

Today's FACS classes are becoming increasingly crucial conduits to succeeding in the real world, note Vikki and LeeLinda. The teachers' passion for what they do is evident in their personal philosophies. "FACS is one of the most important classes a young person can enroll in. It gives real life application to the core classes by demonstrating the practical applications to the academics," Vikki says. "As we help students understand these skills, we also help them relate the questions on the standardized tests to real life. We bring the questions to life."

Helping students understand "real life" is a tall order, and includes everything from mastering individual survival skills to becoming a contributing, valuable member of society, say these teachers. "Our job starts with preparing students to effectively balance the home, family, and work roles that will be required of them," says LeeLinda. But that description is deceptively simple in a world that seems to be getting smaller every day. "In this time of America's financial crisis and energy problems, we must teach our students about consumerism and budgeting. A lot of our food today comes from all over the globe, so teaching food safety is relevant. They must get involved with environmental issues and learn to conserve so they can make the world better for their children's children," LeeLinda.

Discovering Life Skills devotes two sections of material and activities to environmental resources, conservation, and protection.

Now more than ever, FACS must survive and thrive, the teachers say. "We need to let the world know how important we are to daily living," reminds Vikki. "Without the skills we offer in FACS, we see a nutritional crisis, a financial crisis, and the breakdown in families. FACS teachers must make themselves indispensable to their schools! We are a unique group of educators who teach all areas of the curriculum, and we have the ability to change lives and the future—if we accept the challenge."

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