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 ECONOMICS CIRCULAR, No. 4. M| , i{ vjnivufi APRIL, 1918. 
 
 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, 
 
 . iiiMq in : : 
 BUREAU OF EDUCATION. 
 
 NCIPLES AND POLICIES IN HOME ECONOMICS 
 EDUCATION. 1 
 
 I ! ' | J 
 
 By HENBIETTA W. CALVIN, Specialist iri '.Home Economics, Bureau of Education. 
 
 1 
 
 sdopfi. ''in 1 ' 
 
 Home economics education includes instruction in those subjects 
 which relate to home making and its coordinate activity, housekeep- 
 ing. It is prevocational in so far as it acquaints the student with 
 many household employments, especial proficiency in one of which 3 
 may later be developed and become a wage-earning occupation. It 
 
 is vocational to the extent that it actually prepares a student 'for* 
 
 +1 
 
 effective discharge of duties within the home and gives scientific prep- 
 aration for efficient administration of household affairs. Homo' 
 economics contributes in large measure 'to general educatibtt/Qe^mftg 3 
 to accurate perception and intellectual development. : '* O1 " - ?: ' J! 
 
 Modern civilization tends to place upon women th'e' f c^ribhi& ^llft^ 8 
 tions of consumers, and, to a less degree than ii 
 of producers of wealth. The concrete knowledge" 
 materials, estimating cost, and considering 
 direct value in training intelligent 
 The management, of a modern household ftftyotflesSftifefty 1 'operations 
 and demands much power of adjustment. The school must supply 
 both knowledge and skill. '* bun nooimtfu bluorfa vlliuo^qaj 
 
 Home economics, therefore,^ ; fihas Ii itS i ''^S(*fel ( lrf l ^^ < sc]?o^l (: ^u'^i J i<?ftiR" 1 
 because it furnishes vocatioi{ftl't*kteift^ r $sHft4t ^fcci^l^^o^f'in which 
 93 per cent of all American worMtt ) ' ) $ftfriYa l t6ly^ e^fg*ag% $ frecause ! ! it l 
 
 gives prevocational training leading to the industries in which the 
 
 -i -c 11 -AJ33* jAiDs4% V-JT earanoD -io XOVT/TMAU/., .. 
 
 majority of all women wage earners enter; and because it contributes 
 
 to that r*iffljp|UlM 
 
 awa 
 
 . more ffotailpfl n.T.,mit of n }iom4ckot6fe^i<rojHMi ftf a'^Mrtio..! 
 j:17. : N. 4>6>jyf JtlJefUpl^l,.8^a^fi Ppfftaij^pl, H^'(|ltito^, r f' Tliv I'uhiic School 
 System, of an Franclsqq, California.', (Government. Printing Office. Washington, D. C. 
 
 pHt^ 60 rfiit^-' Ji! a "^ ^^ MoijiDfiOo dflJ fljiw v'nr/ nii/oiiri !)-;; anuaoi 
 
 52314- 18 .119 viv \ >I'10V/ 9fb
 
 2 HOME ECONOMICS EDUCATION. 
 
 AIMS OF HOME-ECONOMICS INSTRUCTION. 
 
 The girl completing the eight grades of school should be able to 
 plan, purchase, prepare, and serve a simple meal for a family of 
 average size having a moderate income. She should be able to choose 
 food materials with discrimination, recognizing those which give 
 adequate food value in proportion to the price asked, and deciding 
 intelligently the quantities suitable for the use of the family for 
 which she buys. She should be able to wash dishes neatly, keep a 
 kitchen in order, care for floors and windows, make a bed, and dust 
 a room properly. She should know how to use a commercial pattern 
 in garment making, manipulate a sewing machine effectively, and do 
 hand sewing neatly; this skill with needle, machine, and patterns 
 should amount to an ability to make all of her own plain garments. 
 The girl finishing the academic or business course in a high school 
 should know all that has been listed as a reasonable attainment for 
 an eighth-grade graduate and should not only have increased in 
 skill, but should have grasped the fundamental principles relating to 
 nutrition, personal hygiene, care of the sick, household accounting, 
 purchase and use of textiles, and dressmaking. The student having 
 an opportunity to complete an entire line of home economics in any 
 high school may be required to familiarize herself with the basic 
 scientific principles concerned in administering a household. She 
 should have been given courses in color and design, chemistry, 
 physics, biology, economics, and sociology; and her skill and dexterity 
 should have increased in the use of her needle, the sewing machine, 
 and all household utensils and equipment. 
 
 Extension courses should provide opportunities for the wage-earn- 
 ing girl to complete her preparation for home making, and for the 
 housekeeper to perfect her skill in discharging household duties and 
 her understanding of the reasons for methods used in household 
 tasks. 
 
 Especially should afternoon and evening courses offer instruction 
 relating to the careful purchase and use of household supplies, since 
 the financial safety of the family so largely depends upon the efficient 
 management of the family's income. 
 
 ADAPTATION OF COURSES TO SPECIAL NEEDS. 
 
 No rigid course in home economics can be planned that may be 
 applied to all sections of a large city. All courses in home economics 
 should be adapted to the needs of the communities in which these 
 courses are offered. The end attained should be the same, but the 
 means used should vary with the condition of the neighborhood 
 where the work is given.
 
 HOME ECONOMICS EDUCATION. 3 
 
 From the poorer sections in the cities the children of foreign 
 parentage are often older than the average student in their grades, 
 and since many of them leave school before completing the eighth 
 grade, and since also they are particularly appreciative of the prac- 
 tical phases of education and thereby may be induced to continue in 
 school, it is usually necessary to adjust the home-economics course to 
 meet their conditions and to stress the practical phases of the work. 
 In sections where the children usually continue throughout the ele- 
 mentary grades and enter the high-school courses, a home economics 
 elementary school course somewhat less intensive may be best adapted 
 to their needs. This latter course may logically lead directly to the 
 high-school courses in the same subject and be so arranged that the 
 one becomes the basis of the other. 
 
 Every girl in the city high schools should be required to pursue 
 one year of home economics. This course should be equivalent to a 
 full unit 1 of work and is most effective if it consists of two recita- 
 tion periods and three double periods for laboratory each week. This 
 course meets the needs of the students in the courses leading to uni- 
 versity entrance, and of those who pursue such vocational courses as 
 are offered in the business high school and trade high schools. 
 
 Elective home-economics courses should be in every high school 
 except business and similar vocational schools, while specialized voca- 
 tional home-economics courses should be offered in one or more 
 high schools in a large city. 
 
 Specially adapted courses of home economics designed to meet 
 the natural limitations of the blind, deaf, or mentally subnormal are 
 an essential unit of all large city school systems. Deaf children be- 
 come expert in any or all household activities and through these 
 courses may be led to vocational courses affording agreeable occupa- 
 tions and assuring adequate self-support. 
 
 These variations and adaptations of courses do not indicate that 
 each teacher is to plan her own work or modify the course given; 
 on the contrary, it means definitely and carefully planned courses 
 which are consistent throughout and which lead the student to a 
 predetermined goal in her training by methods adjusted to social and 
 economic needs. ' 
 
 Classes in food preparation should be established for boys of the 
 sixth, seventh, and eighth grades. If time can not be found for these 
 during the usual school hours, they should be offered at hours con- 
 venient for the boys. While these courses are approved for all school 
 systems, they are particularly needed in the cities of the Pacific 
 Coast States, where so many boys go into camps of various kinds 
 during the summer months. 
 
 * Equivalent of a five-hour rourse carried through one entire yi'.-ir.
 
 41 HOMsE ECONOMICS EDUCATION. 
 
 CONTENTS -OF COURSES i IN HOME ECONOMICS, 
 
 ,4, satisfactory .home-economics course .incjud.es lines of work in 
 seeing and garment making, in costume design and dressmaking, in 
 c Jor and design, in house furnishing, in marketing and food prepa- 
 ration, in elementary dietetics and food service, in home sanitation 
 and, the .care of the house, in laundering and housewiiery, in house- 
 hoj,d, accounts and home administration, and in personal hygiene and 
 the home care, of the sick. 
 
 The foundation for the .home-economics, instruction is laid in the 
 prjLmary schools duping the .first four r ears when the child has been 
 tinned in the manipulation of materials through woik in paper, 
 cardboard, textiles, basketry, weaving, and drawing. It is sup- 
 plemented in the, elemen^ry. schools by the training in art and , by 
 the, coordinated work in language, geography, arithmetic, elemen- 
 
 ^ a -^:^ clence ; e ^ c - 
 
 In^hig.h schools the science .courses in chemistry r physics, botany, 
 ba.cjt$r\9logy, and zoology, and the ; art courses in color and design 
 sl^oui^U^ftCm the basis of the courses given in the home-economics 
 department 
 
 t S.ev.eral types of home-economics continuation courses are needed 
 in,,all school systems. Of primary importance are courses designed 
 for ijprejgn^motjiers who need instruction that will enable them to 
 adjust their mode of life to their ahrnged environment. These 
 courses must .emphasize, lipme sanitation, the intelligent purchasing 
 of textiles, ^nd clothing, ( and especially should these courses assist in 
 familiarizing the mothers, r w,ith American schools and ci eating among 
 them sympathetic interest in, school activities. 
 
 Almost all home makers desire to extend their knowledge in the 
 arts and sciences related to hqni^ administration. For all desiring 
 
 find school courses open to 
 her during liei Jeisure hours, ^herein, she could prepare herself for 
 eficjen^^aini^ation qfj^er l^ur^jj^Qflip and also enable her to 
 improve her present iiving ,co,n4\tin^ n tlmt she may be more ade- 
 quately nourished, more satisfactorily clothed, and mort capable of 
 
 .The needs of the girl ^vho^s drop^^pu^jp^jSchpol and remains 
 at ? home should not be overlooked. 
 
 COURSES OF STUDY. 
 
 
 A. Time. Elementary-school .hoi^e,-eeQnomics instruction should 
 
 begin in the fifth grade. Through this grade and the sixth grade 
 the oubject should be given four 45-minute-periods of student time 
 per week ;' : through the soverith : and eighth grades.' from'' seven to
 
 HOME ECONOMICS EDUCATION. .'5 
 
 nine j^minute- periods per. week should be = the minimum for home- 
 econo.mies? instruction. . The dS^aninute periods should be grouped eo 
 .that the- actual work -shall be $Q minutes twice each week ;for fifth 
 and sixth -grade children. It is possible, 'with the .usual arrangement 
 .^jfi school schedules :to aruanger two classes of this type before the 
 noon recess' and two classes in. the aftecnoon. :<; . 
 
 The seventh and eighth grade students should report to-'honve- 
 eeonomics wojk in half-day periods twice oar three ;times per. woek. 
 
 Two of the eight periods in the- ninth-grade work; should be giiven 
 t# recitations^ and.; laboratory -.^classes' should<;be arranged/ for lithree 
 double periods each; week Selected; groups of i children in the fifth, 
 sixth, seventlVJind eighth. grades cans i with advantage spend: -from 
 one4hird to one-half ofctheiar- erctirev school: homrgsitt these? 
 
 High 7 achooL^irds shouldrbe able to elect/ courses in home 'economies 
 and; eclated 'Seienees:Utp to one-half of thir entire ;soh*ool timei.'Mnmr: 
 
 B. Details of home-economics efiirses>i*fi)the elementary grades;:-,' 
 
 Fifth grader^- Hougewilery'-once* eah week throughout the ;year. 
 Sewing twice a week for one sterm. i Coofeiwg; twice ' ft week the.'secoiwi 
 term^ < The .housewifery will,- include bed making, sweeping, .-dusting, 
 table setting, care of -silver, dish washings, and;care of) table-linen, 
 window ..draperies, etc. ^ ,::{ :u injniiijir aiJTtu ;-;>nmin jff>!>' ''. 
 
 The, sowing should inchide-iboth- hand-sewing smdithsevuse'oiithe 
 email conutnereiai ipattern.: :,The articlessmade must berof actual<usfe, 
 but should be small enough to be finished before the child becomes 
 Weary of, ^themsfajj ;K: i- jiturv .MJ-J " : i I.HHJ MI"' \ \ kti 
 
 The cooking, (*?ilL;be,of the. .seaqjl individual recipe^ sipce at 'this 
 time tiie child's^ands do,rw>t..pendt <rf thftiusetof larger iutensils-or 
 greater quantities- of materials. -n -;\>,iu i -M. itwiiwti 
 
 /Sixth grade. One-half year in sewing. and )one-half ,yeaiT in cook- 
 ing. Tlje sewing, should ; consist o*f three lessons per week of about 
 one hour each; the cooking of ( t\jKO lessons each week^f ftboutjiWBVe 
 and one-half hours. . -un 
 
 Doth the cooking, ,a,nd the sewing should be a logical continuation 
 of the instruction given in the preceding grade,. .awM^ bo-tlji g^r^ss 
 may be. placed upon the purchase and ecpnornjqal upe of materials 
 and upon the. comparative value pf^jffersnt t^pes -AV^bl^MiM'p 
 opportunity .-liould b overlooked tor instructing m habits of (i per- 
 sonal neatness and quiet orderliness., The use .of tl^e ; sewing. machine 
 will be introduced in this grade. .. )} , ; ,?i i\ .-/.u MI;. ;i ^ 
 
 Seventh and eightfi gra.dc.fi. Qf i; the,,time, spent jn- hom ecoBomics 
 by the seventh, and,, eightlvS ra ^ gJF^ at least onenfifAh should ibe 
 devoted to rftC^a^n, periods, -in- which the subjects of , food produc- 
 tion. J'ood ('C(jjjoiuics. home sanitaMoJftj m^ r keying, home managomenib, 
 house furnishing, choice of textiles, etc., are arranged in progressive
 
 6 HOME ECONOMICS EDUCATION. 
 
 order. All cooking done in the food-preparation classes should be 
 with family-sized quantities. Meal service should be emphasized 
 daily and use made of the food cooked by service to teachers as a 
 noon lunch, by supply of penny lunches, by use in the school lunch 
 room, by special meals for the anemic and tubercular children, and 
 occasionally by sale of products to the children or to friends of the 
 school. 
 
 The instruction in housekeeping and home sanitation must be ap- 
 plied directly to the care of a practice house. 
 
 The sewing must lead not only to garments made by the girls, but 
 to lessons in the selection of materials, with attention directed to 
 suitability, durability, economy, and real beauty. To attain this in 
 garment making, dressmaking, and elementary millinery, the closest 
 of cooperation must exist between the department of art and the 
 department of home economics. No course in home economics is 
 complete without arrangements for visits to stores, markets, manu- 
 factories, and to houses under construction. 
 
 The principles and processes learned during the previous year in 
 housewifery should be applied in the food -preparation classes. 
 
 There must be a logical sequence of work and a certain amount of 
 previous study required as preparation for each class session. 
 
 Fifteen minutes at the beginning of each lesson used in group in- 
 struction will make the work much more effective than it is when stu- 
 dents are allowed to begin work immediately upon entering the 
 rooms. 
 
 Ninth grade. The ninth grade, which is the upper grade of the 
 junior high school, or the first grade of the present type of high 
 school, may well complete the home-economics course for the girl 
 preparing for a business career and for the girl reasonably sure of 
 entering a college or university. 
 
 Not less than eight hours per week should be given to home eco- 
 nomics throughout this year. Theory should be stressed while the 
 increase of technical skill is not neglected. 
 
 The food preparation taught in high schools should emphasize 
 speed and efficiency and business management applied to the house- 
 hold. No high school can install a satisfactory course in home eco- 
 nomics that does not offer opportunity for the student to care for 
 rooms in a housekeeping apartment, care for household linen and 
 supplies, cook and serve real meals at moderate cost, and assume 
 responsibility in the use of money. 
 
 In all high schools, excepting only the ones devoted to a commer- 
 cial course or other really vocational course, elective courses in ad- 
 vanced dressmaking, advanced food preparation, human nutrition, 
 elementary dietetics, care of the sick, care of children, and house-
 
 HOME ECONOMICS EDUCATION. 7 
 
 hold furnishing and home administration should be offered. In all 
 these the theory underlying the practice should be stressed. 
 
 Continuation courses. The short-unit course of 10 or 12 lessons is 
 especially to be recommended for all continuation courses for house- 
 keepers and mothers. It is often inconvenient for a mother to enroll 
 in and attend a course of one-half year's duration, while it is entirely 
 possible for her to take a course of five weeks with lessons twice 
 each week, upon some phase of home economics work which is of 
 especial interest to her. 
 
 These short-unit courses should be arranged in logical sequence, 
 and this same consistent development should extend into a second or 
 even third year course of study, and may well result in the earning 
 of a certificate at its close. 
 
 Continuation courses in home economics which are intended for 
 employed young women should be of one-half year length and may 
 with advantage receive high-school credit for work of high-school 
 grade. 
 
 Correct classification of continuation students in these afternoon 
 and evening classes is necessary. Not always the instruction that 
 the student wants, but that of which she is prepared best to make 
 use, should be assigned her. 
 
 Unit courses for continuation classes are suggested as follows : In 
 foods vegetable cookery, meat cookery, bread making, inexpensive 
 desserts, marketing, etc. In clothing children's undergarments; 
 children's outergarments ; dyeing, cleaning, and making over gar- 
 ments for children; making wash dresses; handwork; household 
 supplies, etc. Similar unit courses should be arranged in the care 
 of the sick, sanitation of the household, household accounting, house 
 furnishing, etc. 
 
 The longer courses for employed young women should follow 
 closely the regular courses of the schools. Since one out of every 
 three young women is a wage earner between her fifteenth and twen- 
 ty-fourth years, and since a majority of these are employed in pur- 
 suits evolved from employment formerly carried on within the 
 home, it is desirable that the prevocational function of home-eco- 
 nomics courses should not be at any time overlooked. 
 
 Supervision and instruction in home economics. To administer 
 properly the various courses in home economics, there must be one 
 director. To her must be given authority to organize and direct all 
 phases of this subject in the entire school system. Only by thus 
 centralizing authority and responsibility can a consistent and pro- 
 gressive program for home-economics instruction be maintained. In 
 all large cities the director of home economics will need assistants, 
 and she should be given as many as are needed to administer the work
 
 "8 HOME ECONOMICS EDUCATION. 
 
 satisfactorily. To the .assista-nt director, or supervisors, responsi- 
 bility should be given for certain- phases, of the instruction. 
 
 To the. director should 'be delegated the authority .to nominate her 
 assistants and the teachers, on the- .home-economics staff. Upon , the 
 director : will .natu-rally fall the authority to organise the courses jn 
 .home economics- in elementary schools, in high .schools, in night 
 schools, :and in any special schools. that n>ay jbp- established. She will 
 detail the teachers to work in the parts of the city where their sefv- 
 ioes will be most adapted to the needs of the -locality. She will ,hold 
 councils to which will come ; all teacheps of home economics from all 
 i types- of schools under city control, and she will help in all com- 
 munity .-matters in which women's, organizations are -interested. 
 
 If she be worthy of the position as a guide to the development of 
 
 v the children she will certainly be , worthy of trust in the material 
 
 t growth of .the department in her .care ;. hence, she will, be recognized 
 
 . by the school architect as one to, be consulted before the. completion 
 
 of the final plans for buildings, and considered by the committQ& of 
 
 the school board as one to be intrusted with the selection and pur- 
 
 ; chase of school equipment and supplies. The assistants will be 
 
 women in sympathy with their superior officer, and especially adapted 
 
 to their work. One of the most important . of the^e .assistants .will 
 
 be the one in charge. of afternoon and evening. classes. 
 
 The director -of home economics should be a .woman of broad cul- 
 ture, with thorough training in home economics. That she have 
 executive ability, business sense, tact, physical strength, and an agree- 
 able personality is absolutely essential, since she must administer her 
 office, delegate duties to assistants and teachers, establish cooperation 
 with various social and philanthropic organizations in her city, main- 
 tain cooperative relations with the various school principals, secure 
 the support and sympathetic advice of intelligent home makers, 
 mothers, club women, business women, teachers, and. social workers, 
 and transact efficiently the .business affairs of her department. It is 
 also desirable that' she be able to speak agreeably before clubs and 
 various educational and business associations. She must have had 
 teaching experience before assuming the more difficult position of 
 director, and if added to these qualifications she has had experience 
 in the conduct of a home, her value to the community will make her 
 .M worthy of an adequate salary and such clerical help as will relieve 
 her of routine office work and leave her free to advise with her 
 assistants and teaching force and cooperate with the other socializing 
 factors of the community. 
 
 The assistant should have most of the qualifications expected of 
 , the director. If one is to have supervision of extension courses, it 
 rwill.be well if she be a woman with especial experience in the; actual
 
 HOME ECONOMICS EDUCATION. 9 
 
 administration of a home, and if to .this; she has added trade experi- : 
 ence, her- value to the schools will be greatly increased. High-school 
 teachers of home economics should be required to be graduates of 
 four-year home-economics courses in standard colleges or universi- 
 ties. Elementary school teachers of home economics should have had 
 at least the equivalent of a two years*' normal school course in home 
 economics based upon completion of a four-year high-school course 
 of established standards. Night school and other continuation course . 
 teachers should be chosen with extreme care. Trade experience,:: 
 home experience, teaching experience, and special preparation for 
 teaching home economics are all desirable qualifications, and none of 
 these- should be overlook"d. It is not sufficient that these teachers 
 know their .subject both theoretically and practically; they must also 
 have received pedagogical training which enables them to impart 
 information and understand the psychology of the mature student 
 and the temperamental condition of the employed girl. 
 
 Since the corps of home economics teachers changes 'frequently in: 
 all schools, much instruction of teachers and careful supervision is 
 neessary if a high quality Of teaching is to be maintained. 
 
 Where it becomes necessary to require room teachers to teach i 
 home-economics subjects these teachers should be prepared for this 
 added burden, and such time as is necessary for them to be prepared 
 should be grunted to them and compensation for this extra prepara- 
 tion should be provided. Grade teachers giving home-economics 
 instruction should become a portion of the home-economics staff in 
 so far as necessary supervision extends. 
 
 There is no question that better work can be done in home eco- 
 nomics when special teachers are employed for all instruction of this 
 type, but if the financial condition of the city will not permit of; 
 adequate school support^ then some of the sewing can be taught by 
 grade teachers. The average grade teacher is herself too often 
 unskilled in the use of the needle and must be carefully taught before 
 she can teach ; moreover, she is often not interested in industrial edu- 
 cation of any type and considers the added burden of equipping her- 
 self for teaching sewing an imposition. Therefore it is advisable for 
 many reasons to provide, whenever possible, special teachers in home-' 
 economics for all 'classes. 
 
 The successful teacher of home economics must not only know her 
 subject and be familiar< with the better methods of giving instruc- 
 tion, but she must also know the local conditions existing in the 
 neighborhood wherein she teaches. There is no quick process by 
 which she can familiarize herself with the status of the homes from 
 which the children come, nor can she suddenly induce the mothers of; 
 the community to cooperate witii her in developing a spirit 'of home
 
 10 HOME ECONOMICS EDUCATION. 
 
 making hi the girls of her classes. Long terms of service are there- 
 fore desirable, and every encouragement possible should be given 
 the teachers in their efforts to grasp their opportunities to improve 
 the living conditions of those among whom they teach. In the 
 foreign sections of the city, and in the less prosperous localities, no 
 more profitable use of one afternoon each week of the time of the 
 home-economics teacher could be made than in visiting the homes of 
 the girls in her class or in meeting the mothers of these girls at the 
 school or in the settlement house. 
 
 School authorities should not fail to encourage by all available 
 means further study by their teachers, and they should make possible 
 pursuance of graduate courses and attendance at summer schools. 
 
 LIMITATION OF NUMBERS IN HOME-ECONOMICS CLASSES. 
 
 No teacher in the elementary or high schools should be permitted 
 to enroll more than 20 students in a laboratory class in either food 
 preparation or garment making. Extension class teachers can not 
 properly instruct more than 15 pupils in any one class. If a strong 
 teacher is given an inexperienced assistant, the two together can in- 
 struct 25 students in extension classes. 
 
 Extension-class students are less used to receiving class instruc- 
 tion and enduring necessary class restraint and are more unevenly 
 graded than are regular school pupils. They are often weary from 
 the work of the day and consequently require more individual atten- 
 tion from the teacher in charge. For these reasons all classes for 
 adult students should be kept down to the number above given. 
 
 Lecture and recitation classes may, if necessary, be extended to 
 include 30 students, but all in excess of 20 will tend to weaken the 
 discipline of the class and decrease the efficiency of the instruction 
 given. Classes arranged for the unusual student, students of over 
 age, of special economic need, of subnormal girls, of mutes, or of 
 those not thoroughly familiar with the English language should be 
 limited to 12 pupils, and, under certain conditions, reduced to 8. 
 
 This limitation of home-economics classes can be conveniently ar- 
 ranged in the elementary schools if the teacher of the room from 
 which the girls come be made an assistant to the regularly employed 
 home-economics teacher for the period in which her students are in 
 the laboratory ; and it also is easy of accomplishment if large classes 
 can be divided between the teachers of food preparation and the 
 teachers of garment making. 
 
 Further discussion of details of departmental administration is 
 unnecessary, since a capable supervisor receiving the cooperation 
 and assistance of school principals and room teachers will find the 
 solution for overcrowding that is best adapted under her local con- 
 ditions.
 
 UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 
 
 HOME ECONOMICS EDUCA 
 
 A 001 139 353 5 
 BUSINESS ADMINISTRATE 
 
 The business transactions necessitated by the maintenance of a 
 department of home economics are somewhat complicated and 
 laborious. 
 
 Staple supplies for food lessons may be bought in quantity, but 
 the perishable food materials should be purchased as needed and by 
 the local teacher. This gives opportunity for the teacher to acquaint 
 herself with local market conditions and also makes it possible to 
 instruct the children in marketing. 
 
 Equipment should be selected by the director after conference with 
 the teachers. 
 
 The sale of products increases responsibility and bookkeeping, but 
 the benefit derived by the students in handling larger quantities and 
 assisting in business affairs more than justifies methods making this 
 necessary. 
 
 LABORATORIES AND EQUIPMENT. 
 
 Rooms in which food-preparation lessons are taught should be 
 sanitary in every respect well warmed, well ventilated, well 
 screened, well supplied with hot and cold water, furnished with 
 properly laid and finished floors, and well provided with good cook- 
 ing tables, sinks, ranges, and cooking utensils. A kitchen of this 
 type should have light and attractive wall finishes, ample black- 
 board space, good cupboards, and cool storage closets. The seats for 
 the. children should be comfortable. Exhibit material should be 
 abundant. Since some valuable exhibit material is expensive, it 
 should be arranged so as to be conveyed from school to school. 
 
 The large laboratory in which cooking instruction is given becomes 
 a place where much is taught with little, but food-preparation train- 
 ing should never end in that type of room ; it may begin there. Home 
 economics to be at its best must be given within a home. This " prac- 
 tice " home should be similar to the best type of home possible for 
 the families from which the school children of that neighborhood 
 eome. It may be a little frame house of but three rooms and a bath ; 
 it may be in all respects like a city apartment; or it may be a house 
 with cellar, yard, garden, and chicken pens. Of its kind it must be 
 good, sanitary, economical, and in good taste. If it meets all these 
 requirements, it becomes a bond between the home of the child and 
 that child's school life. 
 
 School practice houses are in actual use in many cities. Sometimes 
 houses have been built, sometimes cottages have been rented, and 
 sometimes attics or basements have been modified which would have 
 otherwise been waste room. The " practice " house supplies the 
 kitchen of family size, where two or four girls can work with ease
 
 12 HOME ECONOMICS EDUCATION. 
 
 and effectiveness, where labor-saving devices may be used and labor- 
 saving methods practiced. It affords a dining room in which meal 
 service can bo taught under normal living conditions and where 
 standards of simple good taste and cleanliness can be established; 
 it makes practical housekeeping instruction possible, and it makes 
 the teaching of home nursing practicable. 
 
 Too much of the sewing taught in schools appeals only to the 
 girl's love of personal adornment. The " practice " house makes the 
 sewing upon house linens, draperies, and bedding possible, and offers 
 an opportunity for utilizing the products of classes in rug weaving 
 and other handicrafts. 
 
 Laundries. Since much home laundering must be done in all 
 neighborhoods, there should, where practicable, be laundry equip- 
 ment in the school. 
 
 Where it is possible to secure teachers who have sufficient tact and 
 ability to establish cooperative relationships with the homes of 
 children, it may be possible to grant credits for work done in the 
 home under the supervision of such a teacher, but full teaching serv- 
 ice within the school can not be expected from a teacher so occupied, 
 and under no circumstance is it recommended that credit be given 
 for unobserved home work. Home practice of school exercises 
 should be required and acquired proficiency should be recognized, 
 but definite credit for unobserved home work is not conducive to 
 either high-grade work or honest reports. 
 
 SUMMARY. 
 
 Adequate provision for training young girls and women necessi- 
 tates : 
 
 (1) Strong courses in home economics well organized and adapted 
 to the varying needs of the students for whom these courses are de- 
 signed. 
 
 (2) An effective organization of an adequate, well-prepared, lib- 
 erally paid, and not overworked instructional corps. 
 
 (3) Kindly cooperation maintained between principals of schools', 
 teachers of academic subjects, local organizations of citizens, busi- 
 ness men, and the teaching force interested in home-economics in- 
 struction. 
 
 (4) Suitable, satisfactory, and sanitary rooms, modern and adequate 
 equipment, correct adjustment of the business affairs of the depart- 
 ment of home economics, and the correlation of the department of 
 home economics with the activities of the child in her home. 
 
 WASHINGTON : GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1918