• Flying Squid@lemmy.worldOPM
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    11
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    7 months ago

    My daughter had whatever they call home ec now (consumer science?) last year when she was in sixth grade. They baked cookies.

    And that was about all I did in home ec back in the late 80s too. That and sew a stuffed animal dog.

    So I don’t know that home ec is actually all that worth it. Not the way it’s been done for decades, anyway.

    Industrial arts was the same way. He had us make wooden tulips after telling a bunch of horror stories about how the power tools would maim you, so I refused to use them. And had I used them, I know now as someone who has used them since that cutting tulip pieces out of a piece of wood with a jigsaw is not much of a learning experience.

    • garbagebagel@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      7
      ·
      7 months ago

      Yeah I definitely didn’t learn to cook at all from home ec. I remember sowing more though and I did learn the basics at least there but it was reinforced in my house, whereas cooking was not as much, so I can’t really tell if it stuck because it was a home thing too.

      I think things like, what we called tech Ed that sounds like your industrial arts, was really more about introducing kids to the concepts and they could find out if it was something they were into. Most people would never attempt or maybe even know how to attempt woodworking if not introduced in school.

      • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldOPM
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        3
        ·
        7 months ago

        Wouldn’t they have to have the tools at home to continue woodworking? That’s pretty expensive. Isn’t that just telling kids ‘here’s something you might learn how to do someday if you aren’t poor?’

        • garbagebagel@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          2
          ·
          7 months ago

          I guess you got a point there hobbywise but I was thinking more like if they’re thinking about college and whatnot, if those activities are something they enjoyed in high school they might consider going into internship or trades for that kind of thing.