This is a role I didn’t ever imagine filling…a Home Economics (Career and Technology Studies) teacher for Junior High School. Awesome! I took Marilyn’s classes for four days, an opportunity that saw me teaching Health, Sewing Room Safety, Textile Arts, Sewing Buttons and Junior High Drama! WHOOT!
I shared with the classes in Home Economics the fact that this was my single opportunity to inspire them and so, of course, spoke to them for fifteen minutes about my mother and her abilities in the kitchen as well as in every possible act of needle work. At the end of the classes, I showed them some images of Mom’s masterpieces. The students were all so receptive and appreciative.
Sewing Room Safety was great fun and here, as well, some personal narratives helped to illustrate the importance of preventing unnecessary accidents.
For sewing two types of buttons, I sought our a few Youtube videos. (there are A LOT of really bad Youtube videos) My favourite video was from the Art of Manliness, demonstrating the sewing of the sew-through style of button. I liked that it included the spacer and while it didn’t show the back stitch tack onto the front of the garment, that was easy to demonstrate after the fact.
I liked this one because it demonstrates how a tight button looks, given that the woman did not use a spacer. Dolphin down and dolphin up actually became a bit of a fun bit of terminology once we got sewing. (Initially, this was annoying.)
The first REAL challenge was threading a needle!
Back tacking on the front of the garment.
Placement of a spacer…
Great effort and willingness from the students!
Knotted on the back, instead of the front back stitch.
In textile arts, in preparation for Valentine’s Day…the students created three stuffed hearts, edging with blanket stitch. So fun!
Drama is something that’s really in my comfort zone, so I did a lot of skill development with both classes on Focus, Self Control and Posture, both from the stand point of being an audience member and a performer. The grade eights and nines will be auditioning for parts in the up and coming spring performance, so as well as reviewing their audition selections, I showed them 5 Minute Acting Classes: How Not to Audition.
What awesome students! And, Marilyn, excellent planning and organization! I don’t know that I could teach them how to make an omelette. This was an opportunity to do something really different and I dedicated it all to my mentor in most creative endeavors, my mother. I love you, Mom. Thanks to my neighbour, Todd, in the shop, for his support throughout my four-day visit!
Post Script: Did I mention that I got to supervise a school dance? Blast from the past!