Jennifer Taylor
Family and Consumer Science Teacher
Polk County Schools
Mill Spring, NC USA
Milestones
My road in life took a while to figure out.
Started working at 14 in restaurants.
Went to a community college for 2 years to decide what my major should be.
Started a major in Foods and Nutrition and soon learned it was not for me.
Went back to my first love—Home Economics Education.
Taught for 13 years and then had the chance to work directly with students in internships and careers.
Teaching in the classroom again with middle grades and hope to create a school wide program that will incorporate career education.
Education
High School
Polk County High School
Polk County High School
Career
Family and Consumer Science Teacher
I teach students about basic life skills—cooking skills, apparel and design, interior design, and financial eduction.
Career Roadmap
My work combines:
My work combines:
Education
Food
Helping People
Day to Day
I work from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. five days a week. I get the great opportunity of teaching students to cook, sew, and learn more about financial matters. My typical day, I will have what I call "Food Labs" with students, which involves guiding them to cook in my classroom. My program is project-based, so the students are often working on projects with an end product that they will present to the class.
Recommended Education
My career is related to what I studied. I'd recommend the path I took:
Hurdles
The Noise I Shed
From Teachers:
"There will be no jobs or careers available in Family and Consumer Science. It's a dying program within the school system. You will not be able to find a job."
Challenges I Overcame
First-Generation College Student
