Over the past few weeks we have seen a resurgence of family studies education in the media. There was an article in MetroNews titled, "Ontario urged to bring back home economics in high schools". There were several inaccuracies in this article which OFSHEEA wanted to address. The OFSHEEA board drafted a letter that was sent to Premier Wynne explaining that home economics (now called family studies), is alive and well in our Ontario schools. Much of what we do as educators is what Mark Wales, president of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, says is lacking in our schools. The Board wanted to stress the importance of teaching family studies and encourage the premier to consider making at least one family studies course mandatory at the secondary level. The Ontario Home Economics Association (OHEA) has sent similar letters in response to this Metro article and they have also stressed the importance of mandatory family studies. I urge you to consider writing your own letter to Premier Wynne. We have included a SAMPLE LETTER TO PREMIER that you can download and personalize.
Thank you,
Jennifer Hill, OCT, P.H.Ec.
Regional Directors' Representative, OFSHEEA
