Book smarts are important as one assesses their level of education. However, there is another way that students at Travis are proving their educational merit, cooking.

As seventh and eighth grade students choose their electives each year, one option is to be in the Food and Nutritions class, also known as Home Economics. (Home Ec.) In this class, students learn how to cook and bake. Cooking and baking recipes are provided and instructions are given to ensure the students are making the dish correctly. Learning how to make these dishes give students the opportunity to learn and make new recipes. This helps students prepare for their future and have an advantage in cooking when they eventually move out of the house and have to prepare their own meals without parental help. Students get to keep their handmade cookbooks as a reference in the future. The cookbook contains recipes taught to the class and shared by peers. Every student in Home Ec. extremely enjoys having the class as one of their electives.

“Food is essential to life; make it good. I love teaching Home Ec. because it is a life skill.”

                                                                                                                                                    – Ms. Rho

Each student is able to participate in all of the activities. One of the reasons why students love the elective is because they get to stay hands on during the whole class as they cook and bake. Students also learn how to use cooking and baking tools and how to use the stove and oven correctly. A variety of recipes are made in the oven and on the stove to ensure each student knows how to use each appliance efficiently and correctly. The teacher of the class, Mrs. Rho, states “Food is essential to life; make it good. I love teaching Home Ec. because it is a life skill.” Mrs. Rho loves to bake and works at a catering company. The company caters to weddings and birthday parties. Also, Mrs. Rho has previously worked at two bakeries known as Sprinkles Cupcakes and 85 Bakery. Mrs. Rho’s previous and present work experience makes her exceedingly qualified to be a Home Ec. teacher. Students have mentioned that she keeps the class fun but also stays on task and teaches them new recipes and concepts. “I love Home Ec. so much and it is really fun but sometimes you have to take it seriously.” -Lexi Gomez (6th grade)