"So, what are you majoring in?"

The most frequently asked question of getting to know a graduating senior or college student. The beginning of all small talk and hidden judgment behind this one seemingly simple, yet loaded, question.

So I answer, "Family and Consumer Science Education". A moment of silence. Not for grieving, but for the polite smile and nod in an attempt to mask the confusion until I point out "I want to be a home-ec teacher." Then comes an "Ooooh okay!" followed by a comment about those being the fun classes in school and a trip down memory lane.

But the conversation never goes deeper than the "fun" I could be having in my future profession. So here is what I want you to know about being a family and consumer science major.

The options of colleges and universities were limited when I did my college search. Most students have their choice from hundreds of universities, but FACS education majors? Under one hundred colleges or universities offer this major.

The demand for teachers in all subject areas is high, but the demand for FACS teachers is so desperate that my professor explained the job search as being able to pick any school in the nation and receiving the job with the strong possibility of making negotiations. The reason being that the older generations are preparing for retirement and there are not enough family and consumer science teachers to replace them. I choose this major because I am needed.

I may laugh when you make a comment about my profession being like "a glorified housewife" but on the inside, I am fighting the urge to yell. Someday I could be educating your child and I hope for your sake that they do not bring that attitude into my classroom.

Family and consumer science classes may be optional after a certain grade, but that does not mean my field is less important than the "core" subjects. FACS is about more than homemaking. In my classroom, I will encourage students to express their creativity, as well as teach life skills. If you really think about it, how many students have parents that are sitting them down to teach them the basics of sewing, cooking, or childcare? The reality is that most often adults are busy running around and doing a million different things, that they just don't have the time to sit down and teach their children how to repair a hole in clothing or how to julienne carrots. In addition, there are many students who will never learn how to care for an infant or live on a budget from their parents.

FACS classes teach more than just how to be a housewife. The classes prepare both female and male students for careers in fashion or culinary arts, how to parent, and how to manage basic finances. Students are offered a chance to explore professions and passions that are not commonly thought of. The FACS classroom fosters creativity and ensures students basic life skills and a place to demonstrate comprehension in more than just math or science skills.

I chose my major because I will get to have fun, but I will put in the same amount of work as other teachers. It would be great if I just got to sew things and cook whatever I was craving, but the reality is that I will have to write lesson plans just like other teachers. I will still have to create presentations and to test my students. I will then spend my weekends grading those tests, and papers, and I will face the struggle of students who do not excel in my classes. Being a family and consumer science teacher does not mean that I get to just hang out all day. My fun will be interacting with my students and finally seeing them succeed in areas they once struggled.

I did not pick this path because it is "easy". A hard truth is that I will probably have to spend more of my own money on resources than the core subjects. Most often I will work with a smaller budget and the same salary as any other entry-level educator, but my budget will not cover the students who cannot afford to bring their own fabric. It will not cover replacement needles for machines or broken dishes, or for the five yards of fabric wasted because yet another student sewed their garment the wrong way and taking each stitch out would just take too long. It will cover replacement markers and minor tools, but I watched my middle school FACS teacher bring in supplies weekly that she bought with a portion of her personal paycheck that she deemed her classroom budget. I will also have to spend a large amount of my free time trying out new projects and ensuring they can be completed in reasonable amounts of time.

Finally, I want you to know that I already love my profession. I cannot wait for my future classroom full of students. Full of possibilities. Family and consumer science education is a real major, with a real need for more people, and a real goal of preparing students with basic life skills that can be used whether they drop out or graduate from a doctoral program.

My major is valid, and it is fun, and it is necessary.