(My thanks to John Pavlovitz -- I took some liberties with his original Blog Post)
Comic books have lied to all of us. Heroism isn’t capes and costumes. It doesn’t come from radioactive spider bites or metal suits or gamma rays or distant planets. It isn’t found in cavernous caves, palatial compounds, or hi-tech floating cities. It isn’t wielding tricked out all-terrain vehicles, gadget-laden utility belts, hammers from the heavens, or indestructible shields.
The real heroic stuff here on this planet is firmly seated in the chests of the ordinary people who embrace an extraordinary calling; those whose superhuman hearts beat quite differently than the rest of mere mortals.
They rise before the sun does, and in the most counterintuitive fashion, they run directly, passionately, and purposefully into the thick of the flourescent-lit fray (often with arms loaded with full grocery bags and graded papers)—and they simply save students.
They do this not in a grand single bound; not in some last-second, desperate flurry of force (well, at least not always!), not in the bombast and fanfare of spectacle—but through steady, loving attention to a methodical, repetitive, mundane string of a million seemingly insignificant decisions that include grocery lists, lesson and project planning, grading papers, FCCLA activities and fundraising fun, Perkins purchases, lab cleaning, clothes mending, special meal-making and heart-to-heart talks . They do this because they know how important each second is and how precious every student is. They see what we normal citizens don’t see or choose to walk past.
Our students are rubbing shoulders with superhumans -- do-gooders who willingly brave the daily bullets, bruises, sewing needles, burnt fingers and other battles, so that their students can become the glorious adults they were designed to be.
To all you ordinary classroom superheroes on the planet, who may not hear it often enough, loud enough, or perhaps at all: THANK YOU!!!!
Thank you for enduring the countless weird, individual quirks of dozens of kids, for learning how they specifically think and process things, and for seeking to speak their brain’s personal language so that they feel heard and seen and known.
Thank you for the rest that you forfeit, the off-the-clock hours you give up, the money you take from your own pocket, and for the thousands of small sacrifices that no one will ever see from a distance.
Thank you for the part of you that you give away to other people’s children.
Thank you for continually fighting through defiance and shyness, through laziness and silliness, through absentee parents and violent home lives, and getting intimately close to the hearts of your kids.
Thank you for continuing to help tell "our/your story" to administration, parents, counselors, students and the business community about the many opportunities that Family & Consumer Sciences has for ALL students.
Thank you most of all, for the very heroic way that without cape or costume, you fly in and you literally save kids—and in doing so, you save the world.
(Oh -- and this is my quirky great-nephew William, whose mom and grandma are also superheroes -- isn't he grand???!!)
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Members of the State Board of Education adopted new career and technical education (CTE) standards for secondary CTE programs that enroll middle and high school students at their meeting September 12, 2019.
The board adopted statewide standards based on recommendations from Iowa program management teams in five of the six service areas. Work will begin on standards for the sixth service area, applied sciences, technology, engineering and manufacturing, later this year. The CTE standards corresponding to each service area are required for Iowa schools that offer those programs.
CTE standards will join other academic disciplines that already have both voluntary and required standards. Standards are required in science, social studies, English language arts, mathematics and 21st Century skills (employability skills; and civic, financial, health and technology literacy). Voluntary standards include computer science, fine arts and physical education and health.
Find the Human Services/FCS standards in the pdf located on the CTE Standards webpage. All programs must utilize the foundational standards as well as the additional standards that align with the district CIP/Program offered. Questions? Don't hesitate to contact Lisa! We will be rolling out more professional development in the near future on how to best utilize the document.
The Curriculum Center for Family and Consumer Sciences is ready for you!
This is THE resource for YOU if you haven't requested access yet!
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To access the statewide membership for Iowa FCS educators, you will need to log on to the FCS Network that is housed at AEA Online and register for our Family & Consumer Sciences site/course. A reminder, this is only for Iowa Family & Consumer Sciences educators at this time as we have a limited number of subscriptions. All of the courses will be available to you and you can pick and choose from the courses and content that match the standards you are responsible for in your program. More on that later and at summer conference, once we have the standards approved by the state board!
1a. Here is the direct link to use for the FCS Network
This takes you to a log in page. Choose how you want to enter, either by using google or using your AEA Login (same as you use for accessing trainings) and then you will be directed into the community.
1b. If this link doesn't work, do the following:
Go to https://moodlesw.aealearningonline.org/ and log into the system.
If you are already in the community you can click on “my courses" at the top and it will be in the drop down list (or scroll to the bottom of the page and you will see it there).
If you are accessing the AEA Online courses for the first time, type 8vtcjy into the course key box. You will be automatically enrolled into the community and it will take you straight into the landing page for the community.
2. Once you are on the community page, you will need to ENROLL in the course. Following your enrollment, you should go to the blue tab for the Curriculum Center. That is where you will find the CCFCS registration link. Click on that, complete the form, and submit.
3. Please give CCFCS a couple of days to get you enrolled. You will receive an email that will give you instructions on how to log on. We will have the link posted on the FCS Network page that you can use once you get a password!
Once you get on to the site, you will see that the course outlines and instructional strategies are clearly marked with their tie to national standards. This will help you as you choose activities to meet your program and course objectives. We don't expect that you will adopt an entire course from the list, but rather pick and choose from what is available that will best meet your own course set up and program. We will soon be presenting our version of state standards that come directly from the national standards at a State Board meeting this fall.
As always, if you have any questions, don't hesitate to send me an email or give me a call! OR CHECK OUT THE FIRST OF OUR MONTHLY WEBINAR SERIES FOR A RUNDOWN OF CCFCS RESOURCES and the FCS NETWORK!
Dear FCS Teachers,
In order to encourage more to “Say YES to FCS!” Iowa State is hosting an FCEDS visit day on October 4th. Please share the attached flyer with students in your classroom. What we know from our current students is that primary force in getting them to consider a career in FCS was their own FCS teacher. So your influence is crucial! Please specifically identify and speak to some of your active and involved students about the opportunities in FCS. The link for students to register is on the flyer; it will be a fun day of activities, touring the beautiful ISU campus, meeting current FCEDS students and faculty, awesome give-aways and more!
In addition to FCS, our Financial Counseling and Planning major will also be hosting events on that day, if you have any students interested in a potential career as a financial counselor. And if a student is interested and cannot attend on October 4th, we can set them up with their own personal day to tour Iowa State and meet with people from FCEDS, just let me know!
Please share out and promote this event! Feel free to contact me with any questions.
Learn more and register HERE!
Laura VanWaardhuizen
Family & Consumer Sciences Education Studies Program Coordinator & Lecturer she/her/hers
Department of Human Development & Family Studies
College of Human Sciences
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The Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition is hosting a Career visits for prospective students and their families. Check this link for the event, schedule, and online registration!Click to edit this placeholder text. |
MONTHLY WEBINARS!!! Our Human Services/Program Management Committee has suggested other ways to reach out and provide professional development on a variety of topics for you. Our first monthly webinar will be Tuesday, September 24th from 8 - 9 PM! We will be reviewing the NEW FCS Framework and how the new state standards fit, the CCFCS national resource and other curriculum resources that are available to you via the FCS Network (many you may not know about!). We will record the session and post it for those of you who may not be able to meet at that time. Here are the topics scheduled in the coming months -- other dates and times will be communicated soon!
Here is the info to log in to: Join Zoom Meeting https://IDOE.zoom.us/j/8829669365 or Mobile +16465588656,,8829669365#
September 24, 8 - 9 PM-- FCS National Framework, the CCFCS resources, FCS Network & other resources, Lorie Burton & Lisa Stange
October -- World Food Prize, Healthy or Wealthy Curriculum, Katie Brouwer, Roland-Story
November -- Partnering Culinary Arts & Local Food in the Classroom & Beyond, Jane Hoegh, Hampton-Dumont
December -- TBD
January -- MBA Research Resources and Activities, Tammy Cyrus, MBA Research
February -- Child Development Associate, Marianne Rodriguez, Iowa AEYC CDA Coordinator
Have a topic you are interested in learning more about or would like to share? Contact Lisa to get on the schedule!
March, April, May -- TBD
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EVERFI empowers educators to bring real-world learning into the classroom, and equips students with the skills they need for success, now and in the future. Thanks to our sponsors, EVERFI’s online resources are available to schools in Iowa at no cost.
EVERFI’s programs are aligned to the Iowa Core and 21st century skills and feature self-graded pre- and post-assessments. Resources are available for elementary, middle, and high school in critical topics such as financial education, health and wellness, STEM, and career & college readiness.
Sign up at this link to request further information and gain access.
Featured Courses:
EVERFI Financial Literacy - Aligned to state financial literacy requirements for grades 9-12
FutureSmart - Financial literacy and career readiness for grades 6-8
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I hope you have all had a SUPER start to your year!
Here's to a POWerful fall!
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