A classroom filled with only girls wearing aprons making cakes, caring for an egg or a fake baby, or sewing themselves a skirt. That is the visual a twenty first century person imagines when they think of “home economics.” Domestic work has evolved from a traditional mother to daughter teaching occasion before the mid 1800s, to Beecher’s idea of a separate professional sphere, to an association established in the early 1900s.
Before the mid-1800s, girls learned skills like cooking, cleaning, childcare, and other domestic subjects from their mothers, aunts, and grandmothers. Society valued experience over analysis and expertise (Elias). While the American Dream allowed families to move anywhere they wished, it separated daughters from their …show more content…
In her publications, 1841 “Treatise on Domestic Economy for the Use of Young Ladies at Home” and 1869 “The American Woman’s Home”, Beecher provided women with “a whole new philosophy on home management” (Elias). Although she opposed women's suffrage, she believed that women could become professionals, but within their own sphere, separate from the men’s public sphere. She acknowledged that domestic science was just as important as other popular sciences. She also expressed that knowledge of proper house work would provide better health and wellbeing for women. She argued that many teachers and parents don't realize the importance of housework, and that it has a vital role in keeping society running. Not all girls had a traditional female role model to provide them the trading for domestic work, because they were either orphans or the women around them were just not qualified to pass on information on these skills.
In 1899, Ellen Richards, Melvil Dewey, and other activists gathered annually at what would become known as the Lake Placid Conferences. They were a group of educators who pushed to implement domestic courses in secondary schools and universities. They agreed on the term ”home economics” to encompass all of the concerns. In 1908, the American Home Economics Association was formed. They “lobbied federal and state governments to provide funding for home economics research and teaching” (heggestad). The organization has since evolved to become the American Association of Family and Consumer
Before the mid-1800s, girls learned skills like cooking, cleaning, childcare, and other domestic subjects from their mothers, aunts, and grandmothers. Society valued experience over analysis and expertise (Elias). While the American Dream allowed families to move anywhere they wished, it separated daughters from their …show more content…
In her publications, 1841 “Treatise on Domestic Economy for the Use of Young Ladies at Home” and 1869 “The American Woman’s Home”, Beecher provided women with “a whole new philosophy on home management” (Elias). Although she opposed women's suffrage, she believed that women could become professionals, but within their own sphere, separate from the men’s public sphere. She acknowledged that domestic science was just as important as other popular sciences. She also expressed that knowledge of proper house work would provide better health and wellbeing for women. She argued that many teachers and parents don't realize the importance of housework, and that it has a vital role in keeping society running. Not all girls had a traditional female role model to provide them the trading for domestic work, because they were either orphans or the women around them were just not qualified to pass on information on these skills.
In 1899, Ellen Richards, Melvil Dewey, and other activists gathered annually at what would become known as the Lake Placid Conferences. They were a group of educators who pushed to implement domestic courses in secondary schools and universities. They agreed on the term ”home economics” to encompass all of the concerns. In 1908, the American Home Economics Association was formed. They “lobbied federal and state governments to provide funding for home economics research and teaching” (heggestad). The organization has since evolved to become the American Association of Family and Consumer