Mrs. Allison Matthias teaches Family and Consumer Science at the Middle School. Her classroom/lab is spotless and cheerfully decorated. When I walk by and class is in session, the students are always engaged and having fun. Our full interview is here, with excerpts below:
I asked Mrs. Matthias about the curriculum:
At each grade level, we have different standards that I teach. In sixth grade, we focus on food safety, kitchen safety, recipe reading, the basic terms and tools, and such for the kitchens. In seventh grade, we focus on child development. We focus on families and parenting and we still are focusing on the cooking aspect. They still get to cook just like they do in sixth grade, but the units are different. In eighth grade, we have a financial literacy unit and we also have a unit where we talk about food trucks and entrepreneurship, and they have a little food truck they make and some other teachers come in and they judge the cookies that they make, they have their food truck as a cookie truck. And also if we get to it, we do little hand-sewing projects. We also have a design unit if we get to it, sometimes it depends on the way the quarter is set up…so sometimes we don't get to every single thing every quarter, but we still have our cooking unit...so in eighth grade as well, they get to cook four times in each class.
What do you think is the most important thing the kids learn?
They love the cooking…I think it is good for them to learn to work together, to listen to one another, have to listen to each other's ideas…just kind of learning those skills of listening and thinking about other people's ideas. I think that's really important. I think the financial literacy is really important.
Is there anything that parents should do to incorporate what you're teaching here into home life? Any suggestions for them?
I think it would be great if kids and their parents were spending more time in the kitchens. Maybe cooking meals together. I know that these kids, that's their favorite part of the class. You know, we only cook four times in the quarter and that's their favorite thing they do in here and I think if their parents spent some time with them cooking an entire meal, maybe not just cookies…or taking them grocery shopping, maybe teaching them about budgeting…anything that they can do to spend time with their child…is very beneficial.
Can you share one moment that was really meaningful to you in the classroom? Where you knew you made a difference in kid’s lives?
I love when they come in and they tell me that they've made something at home. That‘s when I know that they're excited—they come in and oh, Mrs. Matthias, I made this over the weekend…I made grilled cheese for my family last night, or I'm going to make french toast for my family this weekend or I did this or that, any kind of cooking that they made or they're making something different where they're following another recipe that they didn't even make in class. That makes me feel so good to know that they're taking those skills and using them outside the classroom.
Above are some images from the lab/classroom.
I heard some singing coming from the Middle School Gym and went in to find out what was happening. Mrs. Angela Nelson, Student Services Coordinator, told me that a group from out-of-state—Youth Frontiers—was invited to meet with the students in the 9th, 7th, and 5th grades for retreats. The program for 5th graders focused on kindness, the 7th graders on courage, and the 9th graders on respect. A total of 22 Seniors and Juniors assisted with the program. Mrs. Nelson tells me that as part of the process, the older students became mentors and learned to be leaders. Here is our full interview:
And here is an important point Mrs. Nelson wanted to make:
I’m so grateful to be able to work in a district that cares not only about what our kids are getting academically, but we're really thinking about the social and emotional well-being of our children as well, and so I get to be a part of that every day, but when we are able to bring in organizations like Youth Frontiers, it's just so impactful and it makes it worth it when I get to see all these kids interacting and gaining skills from one another.
These rainbows on the stairs at the middle school when the sun hits the west window perfectly are so beautiful I couldn’t resist photographing them.
These young ladies stopped to speak with me on the playground at West. Turns out they were choreographing a dance and composing a song to go with it! Below is our brief interview where they tell me what they like best about going to school at West:
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