Hello, and welcome to Connect FCS Ed, I am your host Barbara Scully. Today I just want to go through the importance of Family and Consumer Science Education with you. I know for many of you, you are educators, but if you are a community member, thank you so much for tuning in, exciting stuff. But most important, I feel that we need to pay homage to is those educators who went ahead of us and have paved the way for what Family and Consumer Science Education is. Today, I am inspired to become the best educator that I can because of those who have put in so much time and effort in creating such valuable content and subject areas. I now have the privilege of teaching because of so many influential people, who have changed family and consumer science for the better.

Hello and welcome back. I am your host, Barbara Scully with Connect FCS Ed. Today, I have an amazing colleague, Andrew Chamberlin is with me, and he is here to share his story.

Andrew started his career at Roosevelt High School in the Seattle Public Schools district. There he worked for 4 years teaching a variety of Family and Consumer Science courses. During that time, he also pursued his Masters in Curriculum and Instruction. Pursuing this degree allowed him to learn more about the process of designing curriculum, further strengthen his pedagogy, and promote problem-solving with real-world lessons. After his time at Roosevelt, Andrew moved on to securing a job teaching Family and Consumer Science classes at his alma mater, Bothell High School in the Northshore School District. This is where he currently is working teaching students the basic skills and confidence in working in a home-style kitchen with his Food & Nutrition course. Andrew also teaches a course called Independent Living, which allows students to learn personal finance, money management, employability skills, and the steps to living on their own. Both courses also emphasize leadership and how to best build these skills towards each student's abilities and interests. Andrew teaches classes that are essential life skills for everyone.

Hello and welcome back to Connect FCS Ed.

I was so grateful that you could join me in today’s conversation. Today, I just want to reflect on this COVID-19 year, past three months, and reflect on everything that I’ve learned during this process.

But first, before I dive into what I have to say, I want to tell you, you guys, you in the face of adversity, you persevered, we have had to do things that nobody else has ever had to do in education before.

In a moment’s notice, you had to drop everything that you were doing and shift to online learning, you made magic, and it just proves to the world that we don’t need standardized tests because you are the architects for your classroom and for your students.

So I say bravo, and I give you a standing ovation, because you guys are amazing. I love all of the grids that you shared on Facebook or through hyper-docs, Pinterest, everything that’s all over social media. You guys put things together and you helped me become a better teacher, but I know you also supported so many more… So with that, thank you for all of your hard work, your time and dedication to your craft. I just want to go into the meandering of what I have learned over the past three months, and with that, I’ve learned there is no manual to what makes a great teacher, no amount of schooling will ever determine what kind of educational leader you will become. Having a degree from a big college name can influence a hiring committee, but it doesn’t determine how you will reach and teach your students.

Great work in words of John Spencer, he’s an educational consultant for instructional coaches that I like to follow.

He writes, “Educational system throws words around best practices, but there is no guide book, instruction manual or how to videos on how to become a great teacher, because ultimately teaching is a craft.”

Welcome back to Connect FCS Ed...Oh my gosh, I have such an amazing story to share with you today.

My day-to-day was filled with nothing but laughter, smiles, giggles, happiness and joy. Something that I haven't experienced in three months since school has gotten out. Today I was able to participate in, it's called SeniorFEST 2020. Senior FEST is where graduating seniors drove through our campus, our school campus, in a parade style with their families and their support system. It was such an honor to participate in something so monumental and unprecedented at the same time.

Just to give you an overall visual image of what today I was. There were students riding around in the back of their pickup trucks, and their trucks are all decked out with their families. And in the trucks they videoed, as all staff and community partners were lined up throughout the outside part of the building along the driveway. It was beautiful. And Pampas, the students were waving and cheering. And I'm amazed that I even still have a voice because I was screaming all the time, and let alone clapping. Oh, my hands, they actually do hurt.

But it was a joy to be there and to see...to see the kids, to see the students, to see the joy and the excitement of the next chapter in their lives.

It may not be a graduation that we have all have known, but this year is something completely different. So we had to really think outside the box. And when I say we, I was not at all a part of the planning process, but my colleagues and the senior class leadership team, they came up with this idea, and it was an amazing feat.

Hello and welcome to today's episode of Connect FCS ED and I am your host, Barbara Scully. Today, I am super excited to share with you our guest host. She is a teacher, speaker, a Tech Integration Specialist for her own district, as well as a podcast host. She has inspired my own digital learning as well as gamification as a teacher.

She makes learning magical. Please give a warm welcome to our guest, Tisha Richmond.

Hello and welcome back to Connect FCS Ed, I am your host Barbara Scully. Thank you so much for joining me today!

On today's episode, I am thrilled to share with you my interview with Susie Olson from Nasco Education. Nasco education has supplies and resources that are specially curated for the family and consumer sciences educator, being such a diverse subject matter area, they carry a lot of the little things that you would probably have to go out to numerous stores, or numerous websites to find or curate for yourself.

Susie is a family and consumer sciences educator, with a passion for the subject. She was hired to curate this collection of products for you, and what you find in there is basically a complete curriculum, electronic and digital resources that you can access for free solutions for entire school districts, as well as solutions for your family and consumer sciences classroom.

Hello and welcome back to Connect FCS Ed, I am your host Barbara Scully. Thank you so much for joining me today!

On today's episode, I am thrilled to share with you my interview with Elissa Widomski. Elissa also teaches Family Consumer Sciences in Central New York.

Elissa has a masters in Information Design and Technology and has been in her district for 11 years. Having taught some high school electives, she is currently teaching grades 7 and 8 as an intro to FCS and I also teaches a special in elementary schools focused on career exploration.

Hello and welcome back to Connect FCS Ed, I am your host Barbara Scully. Thank you so much for joining me today!

On today's episode, I just want to go into this weird place that we're all in right now, trying to find this new normal inside of chaos.

These are just the musings and ramblings going on inside of my head right now. The last few days I've been writing, I have been journaling, I've been trying to sift and sort through what is happening. But today, like yesterday, and what will happen probably tomorrow, is just another day, it's a blur.

I'm not sure what month or day it is.

I know we're somewhere in this March, April-May-ish area.

The only thing that kind of keeps me straight is the calendar date in clock on the bottom of my laptop, but this is a weird space we're in.

I don't have my agenda posted on my projector board at school, informing my students what the date is, what our objective is. My daily posted discussion question that kind of gets everybody thinking.

I don't have that routine anymore. But I have been pretty focused this past month with creating a new normal, much like you. But last night I had, not a moment like a breaking point, but I almost kind of unraveled. Because I have been putting on such a brave face for my own kids, my four incredible and resilient kids, that it made me think about my students, which then spun me down to my colleagues, because I've been putting on such a brave face, I have almost convinced myself, that we're all doing okay.

But then I realize as an educator, I didn't sign up for all of this weight, that all of a sudden I feel like I am carrying on my shoulders and on my back.

Hello and welcome to Connect FCS Ed, I am so excited that you are listening and you're here no matter what you're doing.

It is Teacher Appreciation Week, and there's a lot to be said about being appreciated during this this time period that we're in.

If you have animals, I think your animals appreciate the fact that you're home, because I can tell you that mine do.

I think once we go back to school and we're back in a routine our animals are going to be completely lost. Not knowing, where did my people go? Because right now, I am at home sitting in front of my computer, I'm at my dinner table, my trusty boxer Manny is laying next to me on the floor, and who knew my daughter who's 16, is directly across from me at the table, doing her remote learning with her bird.