Monday, March 8, 2010
Changing my approach
As I've discussed from one end of the internet to the other, I am a craft apologist. I think crafting has a plethora of benefits and is good for everyone, even those who don't feel naturally inclined. Even so, I can recognize that what we end up making when we have 90 minutes and no budget really doesn't have much value to anyone. Do I believe there is value in crafting? Heck yeah! Do I think there is value in painting a piece of wood and applying vinyl letters....well....um....no.
Right now most YW's programs have a broad approach to acquiring knowledge - a little bit from a whole lot of topics, with a unique activity each week. But if I want to impart actual skills to the girls, I need more time than 90 minutes. So that requires a deep approach.
One thing I remember from my college years and the course I took on teaching was the concept of units - concentrated time on one subject, or element, or whatever. This is pretty much how jr. high and high school operate. Their teachers get 40 minutes a day or what have you, so they can't cover one topic of anything in that much time. Instead they dedicate a month, or a semester, to really delving in to the topic and giving it the time it deserves.
I decided to co-opt that concept and bring it over to our activities. I asked the Laurels what skill they wanted to master - not just try out, but really master - and they universally said cooking. I happened to have spent last year going to cooking school, so I was thrilled. We're going to devote every class activity this year to intense cooking classes, and then next year we'll tackle sewing.
And when I say intense cooking classes, I mean we'll be doing more than sharing a few recipes - that's the best you can do in 90 minutes - but when you've got the time you need you can teach concepts. Poaching, roasting, sauteing, knife skills. The actual fundamentals most people don't have anymore.
The same goes for sewing - if you had one class a month you could teach every girl to make a dress. One night for going over the pattern and cutting pieces, then working on sleeves, putting in a zipper, dealing with facings, how to make a hem. Suddenly instead of another trinket to put on a shelf somewhere, these girls have skills.
I'll be sure and share our curriculum for these cooking classes, and report on how this goes. The girls and I are really excited. They have a sincere desire to really learn this stuff, and I think when all we can give them is the briefest of introductions to it, they're left disappointed. Hopefully this way will satisfy their interests, and give them a skill they're guaranteed to need wherever their future takes them.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Amen and amen! This idea also seems to mirror the new (old? a few years ago when it was still called enrichment) RS small group approach. If you can get together a small group of people on one subject over a long period of time, they get so much more out of it.
ReplyDeleteQuestion: what would you do if the girls can't agree on one skill to learn? Wouldn't it be lame if one girl really didn't want to learn cooking and had to put up with a whole year of it?
Good question Liz! I'm sure it would be a little different for every group, I've certainly met my share of girls who wouldn't be happy with any skill we picked, but I think the majority of groups could agree on something.
ReplyDeleteParticularly cooking or sewing because those are life skills that everyone would use. Maybe a really outdoorsy group would rather sub in classes on camping or something. But I think girls on the cusp of independence are really thirsty for those skills they'll need when that day comes.
Plus, there's three other weeks every month for a really sour pickle in the bunch.
I *LOVE* this concept. Piecemeal approach, you are so right, just produces trinkets yet isn't inexpensive either. I'm so glad the girls went along with it, this is fantastic.
ReplyDeleteI love that! I'm trying to come up with an activity tomorrow and they are lame, lame, because I know I will have 45 minutes. And I can't really go anywhere because I have two with sisters in the Mia Maid/Laurel classes. We'll play games and it will be OK, but it could be so much more.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree- that is what has happened to your YW- they wanted to make vests (they say that it is 'hip' again) and so we did...but they didn't realize how long it would take (since they got a complicated pattern and since they have never sewed anything in their lives). They have had to undo and redo things and a 2-3 night project has turned into a 10+ night project. It is wonderful to see them REALLY learning and thankfully, they are being great troopers about it!
ReplyDeleteI think once a month on a specific topic is a nice balance and cooking certainly is a life skill, but I think sewing is not. Perhaps an interest, and I am really glad if each and every one of your girls shares that interest, but it really isn't a life skill. Sewing can be much more expensive than buying in many circumstances, and how many of these girls are going to have access to a sewing machine over the next 5-10 years while they are students? Few is my guess. I am not saying it is not worth some girls' while, just not essential.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I just wanted to suggest that there are lots of non-crafty skills that could also fit into your unit idea. Girls in my ward did an extended unit on family history, for example, using internet research, on-site research, library work with primary sources, writing personal histories, etc. Not a life skill, I realize, but fulfilling for those involved. And they all took family names to the Temple for Baptisms, etc. afterwards. I think financial skills (budgeting, balancing, investing, learning about student loans, etc) could also be very valuable. Or, a unit on job skills, resumes, networking, cleaning up social networking sites, interviewing, etc. A music unit that included learning to read music, lead music, and some real singing techniques, even basic piano skills could be useful; although it would require significant differentiation based on the girls' background knowledge, I think having a recital or event at the end of the year to demonstrate acquired knowledge could be really fun and quite bonding.
Anyway--just wanted to throw that out there. I could use a unit on cooking, myself.
Well, obviously I disagree eso, but like I said, I'm a craft apologist. While I certainly wouldn't argue that sewing is the most vital life skill to have, I do think it's important. It relates to self-care - knowing how to sew on buttons or fix a hem absolutely will come in handy. Being able to add sleeves or alter necklines enable them to dress modestly without sacrificing the styles they like. Having basic sewing skills come in handy for everything from Halloween costumes to simple home decor. It's a creative outlet that still results in something practical and useful.
ReplyDeleteSo sure, it's easier and cheaper to shop at Target than to sew your own clothes. But having those skills at your disposal is valuable even if you never become a fashion designer.
I agree about sewing being a life skill. I never plan to sew my own clothing or my children's clothing. However, you'd be surprised how many times I cursed myself over the last year for not owning a sewing machine. Making curtains with a simple hem, helping with a ward quilting service project, and sewing the back on a knitted blanket--all occasions when I wished for my own. So much that I got one for Christmas. Even though I don't use it weekly or even monthly, I'll never regret owning it!
ReplyDeleteI can understand the reasoning behind sewing being a lifeskill for many. I cannot, however, find the time/desire/use for it in my own life. If we had done it as YW, I probably would have revolted. In fact, when we do it now in RS, I completely avoid. However, that doesn't mean that it wouldn't be perfect for many YW out there, just not all. That is another illustration of how important it is that we each know the girls we teach and ask the Lord for guidance in what we should be teaching them. It might be sewing, it might be cooking, or could be something we wouldn't dream up on our own.
ReplyDeleteI just think your whole idea of a year-long focus on a major skill is terrific. As someone who cooks probably 90% of her meals from scratch, and as someone who wears temple garments made from fabric that is notorious for splitting, I'm grateful for both cooking and sewing life skills. Just learning that domestic tasks have numerous facets and require more than 90 minutes to learn is also a valuable life skill.
ReplyDeleteIf you ever think it would be fun to contrast how you're teaching your girls a particular skill with how the girls in MIA learned that same skill a hundred years ago, give me a couple weeks notice and I'll probably be able to find an antique lesson for you.
I am curious if you are getting your girls involved in planning and carrying out activities. I feel that the Young Women's program should be teaching girls how to lead. By the time girls are Laurels they should be doing the work, with the leaders as advisers. Too often I see the leaders doing it all. The girls are being entertained. (I have close up experience, I have had two daughters go through the YW's program and another two in it right now.)
ReplyDeleteI've really been emphasizing that with the younger classes, and we're seeing really great results. And I still ask the Laurels to do it when they're in charge of a combined activity.
ReplyDeleteBut my particular group of Laurels is so ridiculously overscheduled, between drama and band and sports and jobs, we're lucky if they can fit in an activity at all. So I handle the class activities, although I do hand out detailed assignments.
It just varies by group, and I'm one of those people who think that an activity isn't the highest priority when they've got jobs and college they're working on. I'd plan differently if I had a different group.
Ardis - consider yourself on notice. I'd LOVE to see how things were taught in the day. Even your mention that storytelling was part of opening exercises left my mouth watering for more.
ReplyDelete