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It is my belief that a popular misconception ex- ists about the field of Home Economics. A great number of people tend to believe that Home Ec stu- dents,~the great major— ity of whom are women, are spending their time at u- niversity preparing to be successful little homEma- kers. As a Home Ecer, I am continually running into people who say, when they hear that I'm in Home Ec, "Oh, you're learning to cook and sew." I cringe, Count to ten, and let the steam out of my ears be— fore I respond to those sort of remarks. ,

Many of those people are joking, of course. But behind those jokes, I really think there is a be- lief that our field is nothing but a training ground for housewives and the fact that ours is a university course allows us

access to the happiest hus-V

band hunting grounds of them all -— the university campus. Many other stu- dents tend to believe that Home Economics is a com— bination of easy courses in learning skills that re— quire little mental effort. The other day I was talk- ing to a student who Said, "You mean you can actually do graduate work in Home Ec?" —— as.if to imply that the field is so shal— low that therezwould be nothing more to study be— yond the bachelor's level. Sometimes I find the whole issue so discourag- ing that when people ask me what my major is, rather than admit it is Home Ec, I say "nutrition". I suppose that this is not a good i- dea since it is_we Home Ec students who can and must work to Change our image and convince people that ours is a serious discipr, line and that we do more than tell.people over the radio that they should boil their jars before putting the pickles in them. But it is so tire: ing sometimes to try to convince people of these thiflBS. How many students in other fields have to defend their areas of stu— dy? How many people need to be persuaded_that»his- tory, biology, or business are worthWhile academic» Pursuits? " " =' I.think that there are several reaSons for*the" misconceptions concerning Home Economics. The very term "Home Economics? (Which itself is redundant) {leads people to assume

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that our concerns rest wholly with the home and activities pursued therein (cooking and sewing, for example). Secondly, the nature of Home Economics courses in high school, 'which is the level at

which people are first in- ltroduced to the field, con- tribute significantly to its image. In high school Home Economics, which has changed since I was there, (guys can now take it) cooking and sewing were the

eve

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with housekeeping. That is not to say that these pur- suits are not valuable and worthwhile, because they are, but they are not all that is important and they are not the only concerns in the study of Home Ec. The fact that Home Ec— onomics is a relatively new field means that fewer peo— ple ‘ are liable to be aquainted with the field than with areas of study which have existed or developed over centur—

THE HV$TIQUE 0F

* HOME EC .xA'r ‘ U.P.E.'I.

only activities. $0, of /course, people assume that in university we do the same things on a grander and more advanced scale. Thirdly, the image is perpetuated by people in, the field. The fact that. the great majority of Home Economic students are wo- men encourages people to think that the course co- vers those activities which people have for centuries associated with women -— thOSe activities involved

ies.

It is a shame that peo— ple do not realize the many areas encompassed by Home Economics,or the wide

'/ range of possible careers

open to graduates. Nutri—

'tion, either psychological,

laboratory or social, fam- ily life and-living, pu— blic relations, and consu— merism are but’a few of the possibilities.

It is my hope that peo— ple not aquainted with our field will make an effort

The Cadre, Sept. 23, ]975, page 5

and Sewing

to find out what it is all about. We Home Ecers also have a responsibility to you, the public, to inform you of the happenings in , our field. Hopefully, be— tween us, the misunder— standing of Home Ec will

be decreased and we will, as a result, enjoy more recognition of our know- ledge and satisfaction with ourodegrees.

Dalton Hall Dinners

One of the many careers which Home Ec majors enter upon graduation is " diatetics. Nutrition graduates complete a one year internship, usually at a hospital, before becoming registered dieticians re- sposible for administra— tion of food services and planning of diets in the treatment of disease.

One course at UPEI which helps prepare students for work in a field such as dietetics or any one in— volving foods is the Quan- tity Foods course, Home Ec 411. The purpose of this course is to provide students with experience in pricing, purchasing, stor— ing and’preparation of quantities of food. The course involves the plan— ning and preparation of one meal each Tuesday noon in the Dalton Hall dining room. For each meal, each student carries out a dif- ferent task such as manager chef, baker, storekeeper, etc.

The course is unlike ma— ny in that it fosters real— ly strong group feelings. Everyone in the course is working to achieve common goals. The course is therefore valuable in that it allows the opportunity for experience in working with and getting along with other people. Also, be- cause the students have chances to occupy both man- ager and labor positions, it is a chance to develop feelings of empathy, or be— ing able to put oneself in someone else's shoes, which is an important asset to have in the working world.

The Dalton Hall dinners are open to all students, faculty, and staff. The

dinners are not a money-mas king venture so the meals are very-cheap, and hope- , fully very good. The girls in the course welcome your comments and criticisms., So please come and appre— ciate the meal, the mean- ing and purpose behind it, and Home Economics in gen- eral.

JoyCe Burnett