Nov. 16, 2023
A Crash Course In Vining: Home Economics Environment Work
Selena - RCP Newspaper
How Ms. Vining cultivates a certain atmosphere in class
Full of passion and understanding, Ms. Vining is a Home Economics teacher at R.C. Palmer. In an interview, she was asked about how she incorporates creativity into her curricula. She explains how creativity and design are what Home Economics is centred around, which is why she loves it so much. She describes how she tries to encourage and explore students' individual talents, passions, and ideas by structuring her assignments to be open-ended. This allows them to experiment with the choice, freedom, and variety to expand on their creativity. On the opposite side of this spectrum, Ms. Vining also says that there is value in putting certain limitations on her students as well. The restrictions and moderate pressure can cause the students to discover their creativity to take new shapes, finding ways to work with the resources available and have their imaginations find new outlets.
Creativity and design is a fundamental process in a course like Home Economics as it is almost entirely focused on those two aspects, even in places where it might not seem so. Ms. Vining shares that she finds letting her students experiment rather than just listening to her talk helps them take in the information, and she tries to find a happy medium between offering information and letting them discover the way they express themselves through the materials given.
Finally, it's important to know that while Home Economics might not be as easy as it may seem, having a supportive teacher like Ms. Vining that encourages you to celebrate and utilise your creativity and passions is incredibly helpful in pursuing a career in either Foods or Textiles. Her structure and techniques in teaching are engaging and encourages the expressive parts of yourself you could've never known about prior!