Episode 169: Nancy Bock and John Flanagan
Jul 02, 2021
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Executive Director of the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences (AAFCS), Nancy Bock, and President of Goodheart-Willcox Publishing, John Flanagan aim to work in tandem to recruit, prepare, and support FCS educators into the future by providing the most up to date and accurate research and curriculum.
Family and consumer sciences covers a broad range of subjects as it’s evolved throughout the years and many organizations are working together to support the industry along with bringing in more FCS educators. The American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences is one of these and, thanks to a recent USDA grant, are spearheading the cause. The moment the AAFCS was aware of this grant they jumped in head first to support the effort by attending conferences, contributing staff time, and participating in collaborative efforts.
AAFCS Executive Director Nancy Bock aims to use this opportunity to take advantage of these student’s passions and help place them further into a field that will allow them to use these skills. With a drastic shortage in FCS educators, this support system with other FCS organizations will provide resources in bringing in new educators that may not have been aware of the opportunities FCS can provide.
The “norm” of FCS requirements has certainly changed over the years, as the AAFCS was formerly known as the American Home Economics Association. With a name change brought a new perspective on FCS as the AAFCS became a professional network not only for educators but for government, business, and non-profit organizations.
Joining FCS in 1977, publishers Goodheart-Willcox has also had to adapt to changes in the FCS field from cooking and home economics to how society’s needs evolve. They continue this by providing resources from experienced educators themselves.
But President of Goodheart-Willcox, John Flanagan, doesn’t stop there when it comes to supporting FCS education. The publisher makes sure to attend conferences, build partnerships with educators and organizations and even provides sponsorships for awards in student-run organizations like the FCCLA.
“We’re passionate about supplying the curriculum resources that help solve today’s problems so that tomorrow’s future looks brighter.” – John Flanagan (8:46 – 8:57)
With the pandemic hitting all educators hard, both the AAFCS and Goodheart-Willcox had to adapt. The AAFCS took their research journal online, and Goodheart-Willcox was able to provide 90-day free access to online courses to FCS teachers so their students could then have easy access.
The FCS field is a much more hands-on environment than other fields and materials that Goodheart-Willcox provide are not only textbooks but lab activities, exercises, performance reviews and observations. These resources can then be used by educators to train their students for the real world.
“We have to take action to ensure that family and consumer sciences is required in every secondary school in the United States.” – Nancy Bock (32:24 – 32:34)
While the USDA grant provides necessary support, there’s certainly more work to do and it starts with recruitment. Various FCS organizations collaborate regularly and with content provided by publishers like Goodheart-Willcox, the hope is that the number of educators will grow and students will not only see the opportunities FCS can provide but will feel supported by these organizations.
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