Julie Martin explains the respiratory system with a lung to students at a health fair at P.J. Jacobs Junior High as part of her health education minor at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. She completed her teaching degree in the high-demand field of family and consumer sciences.

Demand strong for family and consumer sciences majors

Don't suggest that Julie Martin teaches home economics. That name was changed in 1994, two years after the recent University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point graduate was born.
 
What your parents, or grandparents, might have known as home economics is now family and consumer sciences. It's so much more than sewing and baking, said Martin, who recently completed her first year teaching in the New Glarus School District.
 
"We teach such a wide range of life skills," Martin said.
 
Martin covers nutrition, healthy relationships with friends and family, refusal strategies, goal setting, self-awareness, human growth and development, health science and financial literacy.
 
"They need to have these skills to become successful citizens in any community," she said.
 
Family and consumer sciences teachers are in high demand across the state and nation in rural and urban districts. A strong job market is expected to continue for the next decade as many teachers retire and schools recognize the need to teach valuable life skills, said Susan Turgeson, family and consumer sciences educator at UW-Stevens Point.
 
Of the 10 UW-Stevens Point students who completed family and consumer sciences degrees in May, Turgeson said most had at least two job offers. Martin knew of more than 20 teaching positions open in the state.
 
Martin was hired after interning with New Glarus schools. She teaches seventh- and eighth-graders a series of exploratory sessions. Basic Foods covers nutrition, healthful choices, local foods and easy after-school snacks. Her students learned to manage money, hand sew buttons, sort and do laundry, stain-removal techniques and iron skills and safety.
 
"Nobody leaves class thinking, 'When will I ever use this?'" Turgeson said. "We all need to manage time, budget our money, eat nutritious food and have positive interactions with others on a daily basis."
 
With agriculture and tech educators, Martin's team teaches sophomores employability skills. They create résumés, write cover letters and thank-you notes and develop interpersonal and communication skills. They interview and job shadow.
 
"Yes, you can Google something like the top 100 interview questions, but if you learn it and practice it in class, you develop skills and confidence," Martin said.
 
Courses vary by school district. Life skills may be required in middle school, and high schools offer electives such as financial literacy, human relations or marriage and family.
 
Students in the family and consumer sciences program can pursue teacher education or a child, youth and family studies option.
 
"Once students discover the major, they tend to get excited about it. They love the breadth of things they can teach," Turgeson said. Family and consumer sciences touches on many subject areas. Doing a recipe cost analysis, for example, teaches math, money management and nutrition, she said.
 
Outside of teaching, careers are as varied as financial planning, child and family services, nutrition counseling or international human-rights advocacy.
 
"If you have this degree, you can do anything," Turgeson said. "It's a springboard to so many careers."
 
The program prepares graduates for professions from "womb to tomb," Turgeson said, including those in family resource and childhood development, YMCA programming, Boys and Girls Clubs, Extension offices, United Way programs, culinary arts, community outreach, family intervention services, fashion and textile industry, aging disability and resource centers and long-term care.
 
Family and consumer sciences students learn about topics as basic as food, shelter and clothing, and as complex as child development, consumer economics and family relationships.
 
"The things that were important 100 years ago are still very important," Turgeson said. "We're not as focused on technical skills, the 'how-to.' We want to know 'why should' and which method is best for each situation."
 
UW-Stevens Point is one of only two universities in the UW System to offer a family and consumer sciences program. Graduates with teaching certificates are licensed for pre-kindergarten through grade 12.
 
An online graduate certificate program is also available, and has seen strong growth, Turgeson said.
 
Martin credited Turgeson and other faculty and staff for their support.
 
"UW-Stevens Point was an absolutely terrific school that paved my path for success. What differentiates UWSP from all other UW's is they are so committed to making sure their students succeed," Martin said.