AAFCS turns the spotlight on individuals, their experiences, and how they have benefited from AAFCS membership. It offers an opportunity for you to share your story with your colleagues and the greater FCS community.
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Becca Ross
Snohomish, Washington
Pacific Northwesterner Becca Ross joined AAFCS in late 2009, and we’re pleased to be able to spotlight her this month. A kindergarten teacher by day, Becca is a busy wife, mom and now, an active blogger! Read on to learn more about what AAFCS means to Becca!
Why did you join AAFCS?
I’m a kindergarten teacher, wife and mother who loves nothing more than home and family life. I’ve recently been introduced to the blogging world. I have found a community of women who are dedicated to home and family, above all else. They want to share their ideas about decorating, family life, consumer issues, and food. Some of these women are family and consumer science professionals, who want to sell their design service. Other women are stay at home moms, who just want to make connections with like-minded moms. Whether they are FCS professionals or stay at home moms, the issues these women are sharing are all about family and consumer science. After reading these blogs for about a year, I decided I wanted to be part of a bigger community. I joined AAFCS to make connections with other FCS professionals. I decided to start my own blog so I could connect with the women I have found in the blogging world. It is a joy to have an avenue to share my thoughts on home and family, from the perspective of a teacher, wife, and mother.
My blog is:
http://becca-homeiswheremystorybegins.blogspot.com/
How has membership in AAFCS been of value to you and your practice?
I’m a new member, so I don’t have much experience with AAFCS membership to draw from. So far, I really look forward to the emailed newsletters and receiving the Journal of Family and Consumer Sciences. They both push my thinking a little and remind me that there is more happening in the world than I see in my kindergarten classroom and my home life.
Please complete the following sentence: "AAFCS is …"
. . . dedicated to helping people enhance their quality of life.
Please explain your answer.
The headline in my blog is, “Home is where my story begins. At the end of the day, it’s all about home and family.” To me, there is nothing more important than the quality of life we have. I try to help my students, and my own family, have the happiest experiences they can. AAFCS is a forum to encourage family and consumer science professionals to push their thinking and support others in the journey to a better quality of life.
Why did you choose the field of family and consumer sciences?
I remember reading the description of the family and consumer science major at Seattle Pacific University. It seemed like it was made just for me. It was a perfect way to tie elementary education with home and family life education. From the SPU website: “The mission of Family and Consumer Sciences is to prepare students to engage the culture and offer solutions to problems faced by individuals, families and communities that involve food, clothing, shelter, and family relationships;” I love the idea of being more that just a teacher of five year olds. For me, it’s about quality of life, for my own family as well as the families of students I teach. I regularly talk to families about problems ranging from sleep habits to family dynamics. My background in FCS has made me more than a teacher. I am also a trusted advisor to families when they are faced with problems. I don’t always have the answers they need, but my background has prepared me to be a good listener and help families find the solutions they are looking for.
Please share a few of your most recent accomplishments.
I earned a Masters in Reading and Literacy from Leslie University. I have been a Literacy Representative for Edmonds School District for the past five years. I receive regular training in best practices in literacy and provide demonstration lessons for other teachers in our district. I’m a new blogger, trying to find my writing voice, while focusing on my favorite issues: home and family.
Follow Becca's blog, "Home is Where My Story Begins," here!
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