Here's what young women were told they would learn in home economics In
high school and college.
From http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkuAI1A6F4k
In 1907 at Stout the Training School for the Preparation of Young Women for Home Life was opened. It was not created to prepare women for a career outside of her home, but to teach them how to run their homes and families as if the family was a business organization. I read a pamphlet in the Archives explaining the program which stated, ""Home is the sacred refuge of our life," and explained how it was up to the mother of the house to make it that way. It went on about how the home is the "abiding place of the affections, where children are reared, and where one determines their usefulness as members of society and citizens of the state." The pamphlet stated that women's role in the family is as administrative officer and her duty is to disburse the funds which the man provides. The pamphlet recognized that women needed training just like men, but not yet for careers they could support themselves alone with. If you watch the youtube clip above you'll notice that the teacher hints that it is an inevitable fact that the girl is going to get married, but the timing is just up in the air. Back then it was believed that every women wanted marriage and children, and if you didn't want these things then there must have been something wrong with you. Once you did get married you were suppose to devote the rest of your life being a homemaker, so this was popular program among female students at Stout. It was a 3-year program they could actually use in their lives, which was unlike many other courses, and it the program told women that it would train them for the success and happiness in their lives and the lives of their families. The pamphlet said women did not get to learn much from their mother's instruction alone, so training school would teach them how to enjoy their lives in the real world and make life better for the rest of her family members. She would know how to do her job to perfection, otherwise her responsibilities will not excite her, but disgust her.
Here is a link to some old Stout Institute Bulletins, which started being issued after Harvey became President of the Institute. They contain the school's course listings and allowed the school leaders to express their views on the goals of manual training in general and at Stout in particular. It also helped educators across the country to keep up with the latest trends in the field.
This is a 1960s Suzy Homemaker Toy Commercial. It's really funny to see how they glamorize homemaking, and say that the toys allows young girls become the "queen of their home". I love how it goes through everything a women is suppose to handle and have fun doing like vacuuming, ironing, dishwashing, entertaining, doing the laundry, and cooking. Not only that, but she is also suppose to always want to look good while doing these chores.
Subjects
(All pictures are from Stout Stories)
Clothing and Household Fabrics
- Clothing- Learn the wearing qualities, real and apparent values, care, and suitability of the combination and color and qualities of materials. Also learn how to make common household articles and clothing of the family.
- Fabrics Used for Decorations and Furnishings-Learn how to use knowledge and design of color to create decorations for articles of furnishing and fitting. Also learn the fundamental principles of sewing, mending, and repairing, embroideries, and fancy needlework, and the creating of any kind of clothing, hats, and linens.
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| Clothing Construction, 1939. from http://www.uwstout.edu/about/history/stories.cfm |
- House Sanitation- Learn an understanding of the sciences of chemistry, physics, and bacteriology and use them in subjects such as the heating, lighting, ventilation, and plumbing of the house. This section also has to deal with obtaining pure water and cleanliness of surroundings in the house.
- Home Decoration and Furnishing- Learn how to use design, color, house planning, decorating, and furnishing, and the opportunity provided for practical application in all line of art which relates directly to home-making (women got practice by decorating the lodge by stenciling the walls).
- House Management-Learn how to correctly organize the varied duties of each member of the home
- Business Management in the Home-Learn how to estimate spending values, how to properly disperse the income among expenditures, keep household accounts, select materials for the home, and organize and divide labor.
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| Science classes gained more importance for women. from http://www.uwstout.edu/about/history/stories.cfm |
- Dietetics-Learn food requirements of the body based on health, disease, age, climate, and occupation.
- Selection of Food Materials-Learn how to spend, how food is manufactured, value of foods, study food markets, and buy less expensive food with the same value.
- Care of Food Materials and Food- Learn correct care of food before and after preparation, how to save the foods value, use scientific principles to preserve food, and have an understanding of yeast, molds, ferments, and other forms of bacteria.
- Preparation of Food-Learn how to get attractive foods from less expensive materials.
- Serving- Learn how to serve simple meal, at luncheons, dinners, and at meals of ceremony and entertainment. Also learn how to decorate the the table, duties of a host, hostess, and waiter, and how to entertain guests.
- Check out this 1925 Stout Institute Bulletin: Recipes for Food Classes link.
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| Domestic science students in the bacteriology laboratory, 1910. from http://www.uwstout.edu/about/history/stories.cfm |
Care of Children
"If a child does not receive good care during formative period of life he is seriously handicapped physically as well as mentally and morally in after years."
"His competition with others of his kind is keen, and if he is not equipped for it, he must suffer as surely as though some fault of his own."
Description-Study child nutrition, hygiene, bathing, care of clothing, amount of sleep, exercise, value of pure air, regularity of habit, absolute cleanliness of the individual and the environment; infant diseases and emergencies; study of child psychology (stages of mental development of the child, value of the creation of correct ideas), teach them will power, correct mental and moral habits, and understand their physical necessities.
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| Freshmen Foods Class, 1939. from http://www.uwstout.edu/about/history/stories.cfm |
Description- Learn knowledge of simple maladies that can be treated at home and the use of household remedies; how to care for the sick room, the bed, the patient, give baths, use antiseptics, disinfectants, and deodorants.
Social, Industrial, and Ethical Relation of Women in the Home
Quote: "The women sustains ethical, social, and industrial relations with the other members of the family and with the members of society outside her home."
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| Domestic arts students in the sewing room, 1910. from http://www.uwstout.edu/about/history/stories.cfm |
Click on this link to learn more about Women's Education at Stout
Click on this link if you want to learn about the History of Women's Sports at Stout
Pictures from http://www.uwstout.edu/about/history/stories.cfm sorry if the pictures are not showing up, but you find them with the link.
Pictures from http://www.uwstout.edu/about/history/stories.cfm sorry if the pictures are not showing up, but you find them with the link.
Source: Stout Training School for Homemakers. (1907).The stout training school for the preparation of young women for home life. [Pamphlet]. Menomonie, WI: UW-Stout Domestic Science and Art Training School.
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