Ten Home Economics teachers from five secondary schools as well as the Samuel Jackman Prescod Polytechnic and the Barbados Community College recently attended the Caribbean Association of Home Economists (CAHE) Inc. 21st Biennial Conference in Georgetown, Guyana from March 28 to April 1.
The theme of the conference was Community Partnerships for Economic and Social Empowerment of Families through Home Economics.
Also in attendance were retired Education Officer for Home Economics, Veda Gill, and Education Officer in the Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, Hedda Phillips-Boyce.
Noting that the Conference was of great benefit to teachers and schools, Mrs Phillips-Boyce stated that ???The conference was significant to the 21st century classroom and the needs of the society. It supplied teachers with knowledge and skills needed to impact classrooms and influence communities.
The teachers have returned to Barbados to accept the challenge of sensitising policy makers, the public and the students about the value of teaching Home Economics.???
???In the community, the task will be to deal with families and students at risk by sharing skills that were taught at the workshops. The skills learnt can also be taught to CXC- CSEC and CAPE students so that they can add more variety to dishes prepared for School Based Assessments practicals and other practicals.
Such skills can also help students become more adept at modifying dishes,??? said Mrs. Phillips-Boyce. She noted that the most impactful topics for teachers were Professionalism and Home Economics and Rebranding Home Economics. Topics relevant to the family were The Merging of the Public and Private Spheres to Empower Families and Family Cohesion.
The teachers were also able to acquire and hone skills in several areas. These included: engaging students through technology, adaptation of recipes for a healthy lifestyles, roti making, jewellery making, using indigenous materials, food art, making samosas, preservation of fruits, making cassava bread, using local plants to make products for skin and hair care, Guyana straw craft and fashionable ways to tie head wraps, scarves and sarongs.
joy-ann.gill@barbados.gov.bb