Domestic Science Curriculum, 1920
Rules relating to Domestic Science Centres
1. Where Domestic Science Centres are established, attendance is compulsory and must be continuous throughout the school-year. The hours of instruction in Domestic Science shall be as defined in Article 1 of the Rules and Regulations for the Government of Public Schools. Girls from distant schools in attendance at the morning session may be dismissed at 11.45 a.m.
2. A three-years' course of Domestic Science should be taken in the Public Schools.
3. All pupils in the Entrance class and in the two classes below Entrance class shall take Domestic Science. Classes doing parallel work in other subject shall do parallel work in Domestic Science.
4. When the forenoon and afternoon periods vary in length, the senior classes must take the longer period.
5. Attendance registers, records of lessons, an inventory of equipment, and a visitors' book must be kept open for inspection at all times.
6. Expense sheets for food and other materials, exclusive of heating, lighting, and permanent equipment, should be sent to the Secretary of the Board at the end of each month, also an attendance sheet.
7. Only one course of work will be recognized for all the schools in any one city.
8. Domestic Science Instructors shall be subject to the same general regulations as Public School Teachers.
9. The Principal of the Public School at which the Domestic Science Centre is situated shall have supervision over the general discipline of all classes in attendance at that centre.
10. Plans for domestic Science buildings must be submitted to the Department of Education for approval.
11. All courses of work in Domestic Science must be submitted to the Education Department for approval. Needlework to Intermediate Grade and Senior Grade pupils must be included in the course.
The following is a suggested outline of work:
First-year Course for Public Schools.
Needlework.
If previous sewing lessons have not been taken, see Needlework Course.
If the pupils have been taking needlework in the previous grades as suggested in the Needlework Course, see that the cap, apron, sleeves, towel, and pot-holder are completed, then follow on with :Household sewing: Pillow-slips, towels, etc. Making and repairing kitchen linen. Hemstitching, button-holes, patching, darning, knitting. Free cutting continued form previous grades.
Preparatory Lessons in Home Management and Personal Hygiene.
Washing dishes and saucepans. Care of white wool. Care and cleaning of metals in daily use. Care, cleaning, and disinfecting of sink. Waste and its removal. Construction, management, and cleaning of kitchen range, with simple study of combustion and use of wood and coal respectively. Sweeping and cleaning. Laying the table. Personal cleanliness, care of teeth, nails, hair.
Practical Cookery.
Definitions, tables, and rules of cookery to be taught by simple lessons selected from the following methods: Boiling, steaming, baking, roasting, shallow frying, sautéing, stewing, etc.
Theoretical Cookery.
As "practical application is the only mordant which will set things in the memory," principles should be taught in conjunction with the practice of cookery. Reasons for cooking food; effect of applying heat to food. Food principles; use of food to the body. Fuel foods and tissue-building foods. Carbohydrates, proteids [sic], fats, mineral matter.
Reviews to take the forms of simple meals; for example, breakfasts for a tray. Develop quick, free, independent action in all lessons. Cooking must be active work, giving the child an ability to do. Explanations should articulate the lessons as closely as possible to those done in other departments of the school. All written lessons should be short, carefully executed, and mistakes corrected by the teacher.
Second-year Course for Public Schools.
Needlework.
Draughting: i.e., free cutting and making undergarments. Repairing, patching, darning flannels, prints, and coloured goods, knitting.
House Management.
Household brooms and brushes; choice, cost, and care. Cleaning, painted, varnished, and polished wood. Various cleansing agents; use, economy, cost. Ventilation; value of fresh air, chimneys, doors, windows. Choice, cost, and care of linoleum and oilcloth. Water; source of supply, pipes, cisterns, storage, etc. Drainage; where pipes go, simple tests for faulty drains. Table setting and service.
Practical Cookery.
Recapitulation of the methods taught during the first year, with additions. Boiling, steaming, simmering, roasting, baking, broiling, stewing, sautéing, deep and shallow frying, braising, pot-roasting. Reviews to take the form of simple meals.
Theoretical Cookery.
More theory than in the first year. Foods and their use to the body. The perfect food. Proteids [sic], carbohydrates, fats, mineral matter. Importance of mixed diets, well balanced and varied. Need for forethought in planning meals. Planning, purchasing, cooking, and serving a luncheon for a family of four. Economy of the larder. Care of the meat-safe, cost, fixture, inexpensive substitutes.
Laundry-work.
Arrangement of household washing; washing, boiling, and plain ironing of household linens and underwear. Removal of stains and bleaching. Consideration of water, soap, soap powders, soda, borax, starch, and laundry blue.
Third-year Course for Public Schools.
Needlework.
Draughting: i.e., free cutting and making undergarments, or preparing High School outfit. Repairing table linen, mending and darning of outer garments, gloves, etc.
House Management.
Practical revision of two former years.
Practical Cookery.
Recapitulation of methods taught in the second year, with the addition of the following: Preservation of food. Reasons. Different Methods. Dried foods and their value. Pickling, canning, preserving. Salads with simple dressing. Fruit salads. Marmalade. Poultry; choice, trussing, cooking. Beef cuts. Bread-making. Table service and table setting. Reviews to take the form of meals; for example, dinners.
Theoretical Cookery.
Emphasis to be placed on food values and the necessity for a well-balanced and varied diet. Digestion? its meaning, foods easy and difficult to digest. Digestion in the mouth, hard and soft foods, condition of teeth. Digestion from the alimentary canal to intestines. Suitable food for child from birth to dentition. Good and bad types of feeding-bottles. Cleansing of bottle. Sterilizing and pasteurizing milk, whey. The child under two years. Vegetarian diet, advantages and disadvantages.
Laundry-work.
Washing and finishing flannels, coloured garments, wool cotton, linen, muslin, silk, and lace. The management of a small family wash. Soap-making from kitchen grease, soaps, acids, alkalies. Simple methods of softening water. Making and use of starch.
Diplomas for Domestic Science.
1. Diplomas will be awarded by the Department of Education to pupils who complete the Course prescribed for Domestic Science.
2. Female candidates for High School Entrance Examinations from schools in which instruction has been given in Domestic Science must hold Domestic Science Diplomas or fulfill departmental requirements as attendance and work.
Text-books and Books of Reference for Teachers.
Elements of Cookery. Williams and Fisher (The Macmillan Co., New York).
Dietetics. Alex. Bryce, M.D. (T.C. & T. E. Jack, London).
The Chemistry of Cookery. W. Mathieu Williams (Chatto & Windus, London).
Food and Dietetics. Hutchison (Wm. Wood & Co., London).
Ontario Sewing Manual. Department of Education, Toronto.
Bulletin No.23, Clothing for the Family. Federal Board of Vocational Education, Washington, D.C.
Hints and Helps on Home Nursing. Cosgrave.First-year Course for High Schools.
Dietetics, Cookery, and Table Service (Practical and Theoretical).
The science of nutrition, physical and chemical changes in matter. Chemical formulae and equations. Air and combustion. Heat and cooking. Discussion of gas, coal, electricity. Paper-bag and fireless cookery. Classification of foods? carbohydrates, fats, protein. Inorganic food? water, mineral matter. Food preservation. Bread-baking. Invalid cookery. Home nursing and hygiene. Table service.
Work to be correlated to general science. Air and ventilation. Barometer, thermometer, graphic readings, expansion of gases, etc.
Physiology.
The systems of the body and their functions. First aid to the injured.
Needlework.
Draughting and making underclothing. Estimating costs. Textiles relating to underclothing. History of their manufacture and development.
Second-year Course for High Schools.
Dietetics and Cookery (Practical and Theoretical).
Heat measurements. Heat and work. The calorimeter. Daily requirements as regards muscle-building. Energy-furnishing and body-regulator materials.
Balancing, occupation, climate, sex, age, etc., considered. Children's diets and special normal diets considered. Meals planned and worked out to meet requirements in food values, at varying costs.
Serving meals as worked out in dietary study. Work to be correlated to High School General Science (Chemistry and Physics).Physiology.
Home nursing and home hygiene. Recapitulation of first aid to the injured.
Needlework.
Cotton skirts. Middles. Smocks and outergarments. Household linen and furnishing. Estimated costs. Textiles relating thereto.
Third-year Course for High Schools.
Dietetics and cookery (Practical and Theoretical).
Revise work of the second year.
Food and its functions. Digestion of foods, foods of vegetable origin and animal origin. Meals planned and worked out to meet requirements in food values at varying cost.
All work to be correlated to High School General Science (Chemistry and Physics).Household Chemistry.
Organic radicles [sic], hydrocarbons, and alcohol; esters and fats, hydrolysis of esters; saponification; soaps? commercial soaps, foreign ingredients in commercial soaps, special soaps, and scouring powers. Solution and emulsification of fats. The cleaning of fabrics, chemistry of textiles, bleaching, bluing and dyeing.
Household Physics.
Heat capacity, specific heat, latent heat; application of latent heat; refrigeration; freezing mixtures; artificial-ice machine; steam heating; steam cookers, distillation; evaporation; dew-point; boiling-point; why clothes dry; causes of cloud, rain, snow, and dew; changes in boiling-point.
Electricity in the home; household electrical appliances; electric bulbs; magnetism and electromagnet; the electric motor in the home; electric heating; cooking and lighting appliances; electric iron, coffee percolator, oven, etc.; the incandescent lamp. Electrical terms and measures; the ampere, ohm, volt, watt.
Light in the home; arrangement of lighting fixtures in the home; intensity of illumination; nature of light.
Reflection and refraction of light; laws of reflection; laws of refraction; lenses and optical instruments.
Colour: Composite nature of white light; the rainbow; theory of colour vision; pigments.
Sound: How sound is produced; nature of sound-waves; noises and musical sounds; pitch, music, and musical instruments.Physiology.
Recapitulation of previous year's work in home nursing, home hygiene, and first aid to the injured.
Needlework.
Draughting, cutting, and making up dresses, etc. Millinery.- Estimating costs. Textiles relating to personal wear. The personal budget. History of costume.
Text-books and Books of Reference
A Text-book of Domestic Science for High Schools. Matilda G. Campbell (The Macmillan Co.).
The Boston Cooking School Cook Book. F. M. Farmer (Little, Brown & Co., Boston).
The Chemistry of Cooking. W. Matthieu Williams (Chatto & Windus).
Food and Dietetics. Hutchison (Wm. Wood & Co.).
Food and Feeding. Sir Henry Thompson (F. Warne & Co.).
The Laws of Life and Health. Alex. Bryce, M.D. (Melrose, London).
Food and its Functions. Knight (Blackie & Sons, London).
Diet in Relation to Age and Activity. Sir Henry Thompson (F. Warne & Co.).
Common Sense Cookery. Col. Kenny-Herbert (Arnold).
Fifty Breakfasts, Fifty Luncheons, Fifty Dinners. Col. Kenny-Herbert (Arnold).
Essentials of Health. Stowell.
Hints and Helps on Home Nursing. Cosgrave.
First Aid to the Injured.
Practical Domestic Hygiene. J. Lane Notter, M.A., M.D.
Physics of the Household. Lynde (The Macmillan Co.).
A Laboratory Course in Physics of the Household. Lynde (The Macmillan Co.).
Source:
Courses of Study for Public, High, and Normal Schools of British Columbia, 1920, pp. 31-35.
Transcribed by Lesley Lacaille, History 349, Malaspina University-College, March 2001.
