Home Economics?
Back in dinosaur days, we were required to take one semester of cooking and one of sewing in seventh grade. Of course, "we" were girls; I think the boys took wood and metal shop. What goes on now (and for the last 30 years)? Would it be good for everyone to have some exposure, not only to nutrition, but to the elements of cooking?
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13 Comments:
When I was in 7th grade, (17 years ago) at my IN school, EVERYONE had to take a semester of Home Ec, which was very basic cooking/baking, sewing, plant care and home care (taking care of housecleaning and gardening basics). For me it was a bit of a bore, as I had a lot of that already from home, but I can see how it would be good for all.
I am glad there was no divide in boys take shop/girls cook though. We all had the options for the other classes like Industrial Arts, Drafting, Car Repair etc.
I am also glad I moved south and got to be in the agriculture classes and machine repair classes. MUCH more fun and much more useful for me.
Nutrition really should be a part of school, imho, as well as a basic skills class with a shop/home ec/job interview/banking and credit etc. for those schools without dedicated classes for them. I don't know how many kids I went to high school and even college with could not balance a checkbook or understand credit or how to behave when looking for a job!
sadiepix at 8:57PM on 07/28/08
Back in intermediate school, in the early 1980s, we had 4 quarters of classes in this realm in 8th grade. Cooking, sewing, metal, and wood shop. I excelled in metal and wood shop, as well as drafting, but came close to failing cooking and sewing. The only thing that saved me from failing sewing was my mother doing all my home projects. I thoroughly loved drafting and wood shop.
This was in Hawaii, so compared to small city schools on the mainland, our classes seemed so underprivileged, when I hear what my husband's curriculum was like for hands-on type of classes. Then again, I took "boring" classes - 2 years of chemistry, 2 years of physics, and biology; whereas, he took a lot of independent study classes.
I think it's a good idea to introduce as many things to students. I probably wouldn't have taken sewing and cooking if I had a choice back then. I'm not sure my parents would have let me take metal and wood shop, since my father didn't allow me to take auto mech class. I'm really glad that I was able to have experienced those (cooking/sewing/wood/metal) classes.
Cassaendra at 9:00PM on 07/28/08
When I was in high school in the 90's, we were offered a range of home ec classes, and any student could take them. My mom forced me to take a sewing class. I lasted on semester. There were 12 brand new sewing machines. I broke 12 brand new sewing machines. Every one I touched broke. The teacher told me she would give me a B if I promised not to return to her class the following semester. I went to the cooking class the following semester.
beth1 at 9:16PM on 07/28/08
When I was in eighth grade (1998-99), EVERYONE took one semester of Home Ec. and one semester of shop. Home ec. was a little mix of sewing/mending and cooking. I think it was really good to expose everyone to all of it, but the cooking units were so lacking that it probably did more harm than good. All I can remember is boiling hot dogs and making mac 'n chees from a box. The sewing/mending was taught to a useful extent, and we took a short healt/nutrition class (1/2 a semester?).
Either way, I never felt like I learned much about that from school. I learned basic cooking stuff from my mom. I feel that learning how to cook basic things, basic kitchen skills (knife skills, cleaning, etc), nutrition, and how to put those things together would have been much more beneficial.
I mean really, we all have to fend for ourselves in the kitchen at at least some point in our lives, foodie or not, and why not teach basic living skills in school? I also wish they taught us a little later in the system (closer to when we would have to go fend for ourselves, hopefully!). Especially with the obesity rates what they are, you'd think making nutrition a bigger part of the general curriculum would be a no-brainer ... how's that go ... every child left behind? :P
joyyy at 10:24PM on 07/28/08
When I was in high school (also in the 90s), there was one home ec course that covered the basics of household management, from cooking to sewing to balancing a checkbook (though not cleaning, oddly). There was also a wood shop and automotive repair course for the guys. All three were electives, although any one could take them. My understanding was that they were bird courses, in that as long as you showed up, you got an A.
Since I was a complete nerd, I took anatomy instead. In retrospect, knowing how to sew and balance a checkbook (two things I'm still confused about) would have been more useful.
jenilowrance at 10:34PM on 07/28/08
Way back in the dark ages I took 3 years of home ec and really appreciate all I learned but wish I could have taken shop also. By the time my kids were in high school, my eldest daughter took shop and my son took basic home ec - altho they called it something else - along with every shop class they offered. He got extra kitchen time when he was a senior. The principal didn't like ISS and if a kid got in trouble, she gave them kitchen duty - washing dishes, helping the cooks, cleaning the lunchroom. He had very clean hands that year! A few years later my younger daughter took food science classes offered by the vo-ag teacher. They did some cooking, but learned where food comes from and even built a green house, planted seeds and sold the plants to the community. She is much more adventuresome when it comes to cooking and involved in sustainable agriculture. I do think basic skills should be taught - how to cook eggs, sew on a button, balance a checkbook. And my youngest really needs to work on that last one. She is always overdrawn!!!
dutchgal at 10:37PM on 07/28/08
At my junior high home ec., otherwise known as "the cooking class" was an elective class. Elective classes were classes you could choose, but only if you were doing well in your other classes and you could afford to have a fun class during the semester instead of catching up in a class you failed or did poorly in previously. I always wanted to take home ec., as a matter of fact, EVERYONE always wanted into home ec- boys and girls- which is why I never got in. It was way too popular and had some kind of waiting list that I never had the patience to stay on.
In high school home ec. turned into "nutrition," which I also wanted to take, but many of us wussed out after finding out that along with making cupcakes and frosting cakes, there was also a child development section of the class that required that for one week, you carry around one of those realistic toy babies that cry and fuss and all of that. I loved cupcakes, but not enough to have sat through honors English with a crying baby in my lap.
PumpkinBear at 12:51AM on 07/29/08
In my secondary school (20 years ago, London, England), we had cookery lessons (as far as I remember, they were compulsory), and I remember enjoying them a lot. I think we had them twice a week, one hour to learn about the skills, and then, on a different day, two hours to cook something. Among other things, we were taught about hygiene and safety, food prep and clean up. Even though I have learnt quite a lot from my Mum and my Gran by then (at 11-12, I could cook a meal and bake a cake), I still learnt some invaluable skills, acquired knowledge about nutrition and - it was always fun.
Then, I think some time in 1991 or 1992, cookery lessons were taken off the national curriculum and "food" was lumped in with design and technology - as far as I understand, it involved design of a ready-made meal and some kind of a marketing plan, but no actual cooking. I thought it was really sad.
Interestingly, back when we had cookery classes, obesity (especially, child obesity) was not an issue. I am not claiming that there is any direct correlation, but it seems that the decline of home cooking has contributed to the obesity crisis we're now facing. When cooking is compulsory, children at least have a chance to learn the basics of food prep and cooking rather then being dependent on processed food and ready-made meals. Of course, I'm not saying that it's just the school's responsibility - parents should educate their children how to cook and take responsibility for what and how they eat. Still, I'd think that compulsory cookery lessons would not hurt anyone, to say the least.
brooke29 at 1:20AM on 07/29/08
I had 'health' class--we learned about the 'four food groups' and the 'food pyramid' and in 6th grade, I distinctly remember having had to track my intake and the calories I consumed for a week. But we learned about food in theory, not actually how to sully our hands and prepare the stuff.
I remember cooking a Thanksgiving meal, sans turkey in 3rd grade and LOVING it--churning my own butter, making pumpkin pudding, corn bread, it was great, just like the pilgrims. There was also a cookie making contest in that same class, and my dear, beloved, late, but dieting mother insisted I make a horrid cookie, with half the recipe's specified sugar. A woman ahead of her time :p
But seriously, I think cooking lessons are great--it doesn't even have to be home economics, it could easily be integrated into history, science, and literature classes, or part of the school celebrations. Or even fundraisers like cooking contests.
HeartofGlass at 5:10AM on 07/29/08
When I was in school (back in the 1990's again) we had to take some home ec and industrial tech courses in middle school, where wel earned everything from how to lose a finger in a circular saw to properly setting a table for an elegant dinner. Actually, though, my favorite coffee cake recipe is the one that I made first in that initial sixth grade home ec course and I make it to this day. Everyone loves it.
Then in high school, we didn't have to take anything, but I took a couple of home ec courses, although they only taught how to cook and nothing really about nutrition. Looking at the recipes that we made, the focus was clearly on just getting us to use an oven, not eat well (pizza, fortune cookies, fried rice, sopapillas...).
I really think that there should be a course like they have tried to develop in the UK, where the students *and* teachers *and* parents all get to learn about cooking, health (like washing hands) and nutrition. Apparently, it's worked rather well so far, so why not here? I guess that they have a travelling truck (like a kitted-out RV for cooking) that goes from school to school for a few one-off courses, and then the students go back and take a longer course in the classroom. If only schools had the money for that sort of thing, though. :(
Traveller at 11:26AM on 07/29/08
Hee, I like it when I suddenly feel young! I graduated high school in '01 and anyone could take Ag (agriculture - two varieties exist the "shop" type and the raise a pig for show and slaughter type) or Home Ec (or the PC term it was given "Life and Food Sciences"). There was always a mix of guys and girls in my classes of home-ec, which was split into one semester sewing and one semester cooking. The other things like budgeting and floorplanning were thrown inbetween.
feriorrenna at 9:47PM on 07/29/08
My option was take chorus or take home ec... I never understood why they had to be held at the same time! (I chose chorus =D)
pbisNOTmyname at 10:07PM on 07/29/08
In my middle school, Home Ec/Tech Ed/Music/Art were called "Special Area." As in, "hey, what class do you have next?" "Special Area." It sounds really strange now.
Students would switch every quarter, so everyone took all the classes.
I think it would be really cool if Home Ec. curriculums included a section on how to read and pay bills, and how to write a check and balance a checkbook. Maybe they do teach that now.
Kerosena at 3:51PM on 07/30/08