What a fantastic idea!
A woman’s education used to be primarily focused on home economics. Young girls learned everything necessary to manage a home on their own throughout the 20th century, including how to do laundry, cook, sew, and take care of the ill.
Young women, who were typically expected to marry, would then be prepared to care for their own families. There wouldn’t be any frantic calls to mom requesting instructions on how to cook a home-cooked meal or what setting to set the washing machine to.
These ideas were obviously critical to daily life.
Boys weren’t required to take these lessons, though.
The notion of both men and women taking care of the home and family is more widely accepted today.
Sadly, fewer schools are giving their students – boys and girls – the chance to learn the fundamentals of adulthood, as home economics classes are disappearing.
Many people want home economics to be brought back into the classroom so that students can continue to learn the things that Math and History just can’t teach them.
This is particularly true in today’s busy world, where many parents work long hours, and many high school students return home from school to an empty house. They are expected to prepare their own meals and perform daily chores like laundry and housekeeping.
But how many of them receive this instruction in school?
The ability of home economics to help children become more independent is undeniable.
According to a recent study, of the 3.1 million high school graduates in the US in 2020, 62.7% were enrolled in college.
Many children who move from their homes to dorm rooms must learn how to manage on their own for the first time.
If they’ve actually been taught how to do them in school, they’re more likely to cook wholesome meals, do the laundry frequently, and keep their living space clean.
Even though home economics was criticized for being sexist back then, that was then.
It is now widely acknowledged that women aren’t destined to spend their lives cooking, cleaning, and raising children – unless they want to. This is because societal norms for women at home and in the workplace have rapidly evolved.
However, there is no reason why home economics cannot be taught to both sexes today.
A good place to start is by learning how to wash your hands, cook, and administer first aid.
Imagine if home economics could instruct us on how to file taxes, change a lightbulb, or change a tire. Even as adults, many of us don’t even know how to do these things, and we might never figure it out.
It makes perfect sense to give kids a special place to learn this, but in most schools, classes that won’t help us much later still get priority.
Children can still learn a lot from their own parents, of course, if all else fails.
Teaching young children the fundamentals of life will make the transition to adulthood easier for them.
How do you feel? Should home economics still be taught in schools, or are kids missing out on a crucial component of their education? Please share your thoughts in the comments.