Preparing students for their future

While students may wonder if they will use the pythagorean theorem in their adult lives, there’s one teacher at Creston High School that specializes in preparing kids for their future as independent adults.

Martha Boehlke teaches family and consumer science at the high school to students of all ages. Her classes include family development, independent living, housing, textiles and three different food classes.

“I didn’t actually plan on this when I was a kid,” Boehlke said. “I just kind of fell into this, and it’s perfect for me.”

Her independent living course not only tackles tasks like laundry, basic kitchen skills and effective communication, it also includes financial literacy preparation. The students talk about impulse buys, credit scores, identity theft, investment and insurance.

“We talk about appliances and looking at those labels, what’s going to be your best deal?” Boehlke said. “Literally, it’s just being a smart consumer.”

In independent living, she takes the time to teach the kids how to prepare meals from the basic food groups, and at the end of the course, they get to practice something they will come across a lot in their adult lives - leftovers. “That’s what adults do,” she said. “Look at your pantry.”

One of Boehlke’s favorite classes is family development. She loves the awkward moments they have talking about sexually-transmitted diseases and infections. “It’s my favorite because kids cringe at it, but that’s what’s going to make them remember this stuff.”

In family development, they also talk about conflict resolution and healthy relationships. They look at wedding and honeymoon costs and budgeting. The students even have an opportunity to take care of a simulation baby.

“They always think the babies are more difficult than they realize which I love to hear,” Boehlke said. “When I have those realizations with the kids, it’s just so beautiful.”

Recently, Boehlke said she’s noticed some of her classes have become more dominated by boys than girls. “I’m happy to see it’s not just a female dominated curriculum,” she said. “The males have to think about this stuff too.” While family development is still a majority of female students, two of her courses are less than one-third female.

“We get to talk about our own beliefs, and we get to talk about where we see ourselves going and our values and how we see our kids to be raised,” Boehlke said. “Then, them as kids, they get to realize, oh my parents aren’t jerks, they’re just being protective just like I’m going to be protective of my kids.”

Three of her courses cover food topics - foods 1, foods 2 and culinary. With nearly 90 students taking foods 1, it’s one of the most popular courses at the high school.

“I try to get them different recipes, get them to eat different things,” Boehlke said. “So it’s like squash or things like that they wouldn’t typically do. I make them try it. They have to at least try one bite. A majority of the time, they’re like wait this is actually good. Those are the beautiful days.”

While Boehlke originally planned to go into interior design as a career, her love for 4-H combined with her other interests made teaching family and consumer science the perfect fit for her. She’s been teaching at Creston High School since 2016 and was at the Orient-Macksburg school previously.

“I try to get them to come out of their comfort zone,” Boehlke said.