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What does a Home Economics Teacher do?

Sheri Cyprus
Sheri Cyprus

A home economics teacher typically teaches students lessons in what can be called domestic science or family economy. Home economics teachers instruct students in skills such as sewing, cooking, and budgeting so that they can have some knowledge about how to run a household as they move into adulthood. Most home economics classes are taught at the high school level. A home economics teacher usually must prepare coursework and cooking or sewing sessions, as well as quizzes and exams.

Home economics teachers typically must keep within a budget issued to them by the school. It can be challenging to purchase foods within the budget for students to prepare as one home economics teacher may teach many different cooking classes each day. The budget for sewing classes usually is not as difficult for the teacher to manage since the students typically supply all of their own materials. Patterns and fabric – as well as thread, fasteners, and other sewing notions – are almost always supplied by each student. The school typically provides sewing machines in the classroom.

A home economics teacher may instruct students in many different cooking classes each day.
A home economics teacher may instruct students in many different cooking classes each day.

Many home economics classes help students learn to purchase groceries in an economical way. Home economics teachers instruct students on how to choose the freshest produce as well as offer tips for saving money when grocery shopping. For instance, a good tip that a home economics teacher may offer students is to plan their menus around the sale items featured in weekly grocery store flyers.

A home economics teacher usually teaches sewing to students.
A home economics teacher usually teaches sewing to students.

Students usually keep the garments and recipes they make in home economics classes. They may try similar crafts and recipes at home to expand on the skills they learned. In the 1950s, most home economics classes were only for girls, but many of these courses later became coed and were taught to boys. In return, the once male-student-only auto shop classes became coed so that female teen drivers could also learn about how to maintain their vehicle.

Home economics teachers must carefully plan cooking classes so that recipe preparation and clean-up times can be completed within the time allotted for the class. Since home economics classes are typically offered at the high school level, class times may be exact to allow for the groups of students in their current classrooms to get to their next subject in another classroom. Most home economics teachers create short quizzes based on the cooking skills learned in each class. Typically, mid-term and year-end exams must also be prepared and graded by the home economics teacher.

Discussion Comments

anon112738

Welcome to the new century! Home Economics is no longer, instead we are family and consumer Sciences. We are certified to teach any one of the 40 possible classes within the 17 career clusters. Update your calendars and your terminology, please. from a FCS Teacher.

anon76853

i strongly agree with you that Home Economics teachers are the first to arrive and the last to leave because of the number of responsibilities the teacher shoulders. All the practical classes in a day, leave us tired. The teacher is always on the guard to ensure safety.

anon71958

I am a retired Home Ec teacher. We, in one day may teach consumer education, child development, interior design, relationships, sewing, and foods and nutrition. That means that during a school year we can teach six different areas of Home Ec.

We can teach in one class of 18 weeks three areas (foods, child development, consumer education) and in another 18 weeks (sewing, interior design, child development). Whew!

The Home Ec teacher is usually the first one to arrive in the morning and the last one to leave at night. I taught 30 years. All lessons are prepared by the teacher, as current information is only usable for about three years.

Please revise your description. thank you.

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    • A home economics teacher may instruct students in many different cooking classes each day.
      By: bst2012
      A home economics teacher may instruct students in many different cooking classes each day.
    • A home economics teacher usually teaches sewing to students.
      By: dulsita
      A home economics teacher usually teaches sewing to students.