THE SCIENCE AND ART OF HOME MAKING BY CARRIE ALBERTA LYFORD, B.S., Specialist in Home Economics, United States Bureau of Education, At no time in the history of the home economics movement have developments been more interesting than at the present. Theory has given place to practice; prophecy has seen accomplishment; progress has become assured. The value of established courses is being measured up in terms of home life, and in just so far as women have become more efficient homemakers, in just so far can past work be said to have been successful. Measurement of results is peculiarly difficult. A new stage in the development of civilization has brought new problems for the housekeeper, and old standards of efficiency will not suffice. The housekeeper of today must recognize the truths that science has revealed and be prepared to meet present social situations. THE SCHOOL IN THE STUDY OF HOME Making Because the problems of the home have become more complicated and its points of contact with the outside world have been multiplied, the service of the school has been sought to further the study of home making. In the beginning the schools taught sewing and cooking, isolated factors in the profession of housekeeping. Gradually the number of single activities studied has increased until today earnest attempts are being made to include the whole round of the housekeeper's duties and all closely related subjects in the home economics curriculum. How comprehensive such a course must be even a partial list of the housekeeper's duties will indicate. Outlined in formal fashion the housekeeper's responsibilities may be summed up under the following heads: I. A knowledge of the house-its sanitary condition and care; its arrangement for convenience, comfort and aesthetic pleasure. II. A knowledge of food-the source of its supply, its selection, chemical composition, nutritive value, cost, preparation and service. III. A knowledge of textiles and clothing-the sources and process of manufacture of textiles, the condition of textile industries, selection, cost, care and repair of clothing. IV. A knowledge of the family-the physical, economic, intellectual and moral development of its members. V. A knowledge of the relationship of the home to the community, the state, and the national government. In addition to these interests the rural housekeeper may be engaged in some such activity as gardening, dairying, poultry raising, canning and preserving, always closely associated with housekeeping on the farm. For the most part the problem has been attacked by the selection for study of those special subjects which seemed most vital or which the school was best prepared to teach. As much as possible other duties of the home have been made to center about the chosen topic but they have naturally been subordinated to it. Cooking has made possible many lessons in sanitation and laundry work; the division of the income, art in the home, personal hygiene, and the ethics of buying have been taught in connection with the lessons in sewing. Housewifery has been less emphasized but has been made the subject of profitable and interesting courses. While this has not proved an ideal method of procedure and courses have failed to cover the entire problem, much has been accomplished. Pupils have been awakened to the many sided interests of the housekeeper and have been imbued with an eager desire to perform intelligently all tasks connected with the home. THE HOME COTTAGE OR APARTMENT AS LABORATORY The development of courses in home management has been singularly slow. One of the most interesting and significant movements in home economics at the present time is the use of the home cottage or practice house for this purpose. Private schools, public schools, normal schools and teachers' colleges are alike recognizing its value. The public schools of Providence, R. I., New York City, Washington, D. C., Los Angeles, Cal. and Portland, Ore., have strengthened their homemaking lessons by use of a cottage or apartment. Teachers College, Columbia University, New York City, did some valuable work at Speyer School in developing a course of study for such a practice house. City conditions necessitated the use of an apartment rather than the separate house, but the work was developed along the same lines that it must be developed in any community. The course for the two grades was based on the question, "What must a Speyer School girl know about the art of homemaking?" In the seventh grade, the main problem was, "What must a girl of my age know of food, clothing, and cleanliness in order to help my family to keep well, and strong, and happy?" and the work of the seventh grade was devoted to a study of practical questions relating to food and clothing as affected by health, economics, and art. In the eighth grade the problem was still more concrete. A family consisting of father, mother, grandfather and three children, aged respectively, 14, 8, and 2 years, must live on $1,200 a year. The question for the class to decide was "What are the main problems which confront the family who find they must live in this neighborhood in New York City?" The division of the income, the responsibility of the housekeeper, question of clothes, food, housefurnishings, health, recreation, etc., were considered in the eighth grade course. For two years the William Penn High School of Philadelphia has carried on lessons in an apartment. The income of an imaginary family has been placed at twelve hundred dollars a year. A budget is decided upon and carried out in detail as to actual facts concerning food, shelter, clothing, etc. A minimum household equipment for the home is determined upon with the aid of the art teacher. The girls visit a store with their teacher and buy the house furnishings on a contract account. Dietetics problems are related to the necessary living conditions of the family. The girls plan the menus, make out the orders, and, under the supervision of the teacher, buy the food at a regular market. Finally the three meals that have been planned for a day are all prepared in one lesson, the girls working in groups, and all criticizing the results as to quantity, quality and balance. This work is continued until the meals for an entire week have been prepared; then estimates are worked out for the year and the budget is corrected to meet this standard. This is indicative of the best type of work that is offered in our schools. TRAINING SCHOOLS FOR TEACHERS OF HOME MAKING Training schools are engaged in the preparation of teachers to carry on such courses. The State Normal School at Stevens Point, Wisconsin, has two well-equipped cottages, accommodating eight students and a teacher for each, where every girl in the home economics department lives for four weeks, assuming in turn the position of housekeeper, cook, dining-room maid and chamber-maid, thus coming in contact with the duties of modern housekeeping. The problem of furnishing has been worked out by the classes. Guests are made welcome and home conditions are simulated as much as possible. Similar work is being done in several other places where teacher training is given. Pratt Institute of Brooklyn has had such a cottage for several years. Southern schools have been quick to feel the value of this practical experience. At Dorland Institute, Hot Springs, North Carolina, a practice cottage was put into use more than five years ago. A cottage for this purpose was built at the Mississippi Institute and College in Columbus, Mississippi, in 1913. In the university the use of the cottage makes possible the working out of many dietary problems and efficiency tests that are of vital importance in home management, so that the cottage seems to have a place in every grade of school and to lend itself to the working out of well-rounded courses. Difficulties involved in teaching household management in the cottage include the expense to the school and the adjustment of programs of recitation. These are not insuperable and in the hands. of an able teacher may find a ready solution, for home economics workers have found practical ways of meeting expenses all along the line and school schedules have grown more flexible as new types of work have been introduced. POINTS OF EMPHASIS IN THE CURRICULUM Realizing that in many homes even the girl in the grades has to help care for the younger members of the family, instruction in the care of babies is today being included in some public school courses. A trained nurse is often employed to impart this instruction, which is given in the most simple, practical way. The large doll and the nursery furnishings are coming to be part of the home economics equipment. Lessons on the care of the baby appear in some school texts. Courses in sewing include garments for the baby. In some high school classes a complete layette is made. Infant diet is studied in elementary and secondary schools and in extension and continuation courses, From the first there has been a conscientious attempt to teach foods and cookery from the standpoint of food values and digestibility. The part that the school can play in this phase of the work has never been disputed, but better methods of teaching are developing, recipes of family size are being more generally used, more lessons center about the preparation of meals, and economy is receiving stronger emphasis. The elementary courses are leading to the formation of habits of industry, neatness and honest work that are strengthened by the more scientific courses of the high school. Through the lessons in sanitation, biology, chemistry, physics, physiology, bacteriology and social sciences, high school teachers are handling subjects that contribute appreciably toward better living. Clothing has developed from the early lessons on formal samplers to useful garment making of all sorts, and is closely interwoven with textile study in its scientific, economic and social aspects. Hand sewing is adapted to the physical development of the child. Machine sewing is more generally taught and is introduced in earlier grades. Art and hygiene are both considered in the discussions on dress and house furnishings. Courses in sewing cannot be adequately handled by the woman who is merely the expert seamstress or the experienced dressmaker, for a background of science, art and industrial knowledge is essential. The coming together of young people from homes in various localities and of different standards to study the problems of home making gives excellent opportunity for the presentation of community problems that are rightly regarded as the concern of the housekeeper. Therefore state laws relating to pure food, just weights and measures, public health, etc.; the work of the national government in the Department of Agriculture and elsewhere; and the activities of those private agencies whose work has bearing on the home should be made familiar to the home economics student. THE DEVELOPMENT OF A UNIFIED CURRICULUM The establishment of standard courses for certain types of schools has been gradually taking place. Practice has brought about one type of course for the grades, another for the high school, |