I loved this post! I grew up in Northern CA in the 70's and 80's, and at my jr high school the home ec class got rebranded as cooking. We didn't have a ton of electives, so there were more boys in the class than one might have expected for that era. Anyway, it was mostly baking and they did cover the chemistry aspect. I loved it and ended up doing lots of hobby baking as a teen and really liked the process of making stuff using chemistry. I majored in chemistry and got a PhD in it. Whenever I do STEM outreach to kids I tell them that cooking class was why I decided to be a chemist.
Also, big props to my PhD alma mater MIT and Ellen Swallow Richards. The chemistry department in the late 80's/early 90's was much more welcoming towards women than many other schools at the time, which was one of the reasons I decided to go there. In contrast, Caltech only started admitting female graduate students in the early 70's, and still had a lot fewer women 20 years later.
This article was so interesting. I’m raising 3 boys and I explain it like this, if your alive, eating, wearing clothes, showering, you know just living your life you need to be able to take care of all these human necessities. All chores are done by everyone in our home. I’d love some back up from the school side plus I see too many kids doing absolutely nothing to contribute to the functioning of their homes. I’m also thinking there is an environmental component to all this, being a responsible consumer, recycling etc. Thank you for such a great article. 👏👏
I feel like some form of home economics should be mandated, just as health is mandated, for all students. Even if you know how to cook, you could learn some nutritional science. People could learn how to mend clothes and about the damage that fast fashion is doing to the environment. People could learn how to repair machinery and electronics and learn about the right to repair. People could learn how to budget, shop for groceries, and learn about food systems. And if this led to more men knowing their way around a mop and a pile of laundry, then that could actually lead to . . . a more acceptable dating pool of men for cisgendered straight women.
Right! Like, these are necessary life skills! More necessary (I'd argue), than, like, Algebra II or whatever lol (I say this as someone who stopped math classes as soon as they weren't required!!!!!)
I loved this post! I grew up in Northern CA in the 70's and 80's, and at my jr high school the home ec class got rebranded as cooking. We didn't have a ton of electives, so there were more boys in the class than one might have expected for that era. Anyway, it was mostly baking and they did cover the chemistry aspect. I loved it and ended up doing lots of hobby baking as a teen and really liked the process of making stuff using chemistry. I majored in chemistry and got a PhD in it. Whenever I do STEM outreach to kids I tell them that cooking class was why I decided to be a chemist.
Also, big props to my PhD alma mater MIT and Ellen Swallow Richards. The chemistry department in the late 80's/early 90's was much more welcoming towards women than many other schools at the time, which was one of the reasons I decided to go there. In contrast, Caltech only started admitting female graduate students in the early 70's, and still had a lot fewer women 20 years later.
yesssss - this is such interesting context!!
This article was so interesting. I’m raising 3 boys and I explain it like this, if your alive, eating, wearing clothes, showering, you know just living your life you need to be able to take care of all these human necessities. All chores are done by everyone in our home. I’d love some back up from the school side plus I see too many kids doing absolutely nothing to contribute to the functioning of their homes. I’m also thinking there is an environmental component to all this, being a responsible consumer, recycling etc. Thank you for such a great article. 👏👏
I feel like some form of home economics should be mandated, just as health is mandated, for all students. Even if you know how to cook, you could learn some nutritional science. People could learn how to mend clothes and about the damage that fast fashion is doing to the environment. People could learn how to repair machinery and electronics and learn about the right to repair. People could learn how to budget, shop for groceries, and learn about food systems. And if this led to more men knowing their way around a mop and a pile of laundry, then that could actually lead to . . . a more acceptable dating pool of men for cisgendered straight women.
Right! Like, these are necessary life skills! More necessary (I'd argue), than, like, Algebra II or whatever lol (I say this as someone who stopped math classes as soon as they weren't required!!!!!)
I wish we were also taught how to color | do professional blow drys etc for our hair- This may sound minor but it is a practical skill and empowering.