Home Economics

[memoman]

Re: Home Economics

Well it does sound a bit sexist, memoman, Though admitedly, that's speaking more from today's point of view. There were certainly more women fulfilling the traditional role back in the 70s than these days, I would imagine.

Never-the-less, I'm really glad I learned sewing and cooking. As a single man, being able to sew on a button and cook an omlette has been quite usefull

I don't reconise sexism.i treat everyone the same.Sewing cooking and religious education should be optional lessons and NOT compulsary! I do know from experience that controy to what you maybe thinking not all women expect their husbands to cook and sew,However their is nothing wrong with sharing the tasks if for example their are young children to look after,Both partners work,Or they just like to share these tasks.If you disagree with my opinion well they are my opinions and i have the right to my opinions if reasonably put.

[Marine Boy]

Re: Home Economics

I don't reconise sexism.i treat everyone the same.Sewing cooking and religious education should be optional lessons and NOT compulsary! I do know from experience that controy to what you maybe thinking not all women expect their husbands to cook and sew,However their is nothing wrong with sharing the tasks if for example their are young children to look after,Both partners work,Or they just like to share these tasks.If you disagree with my opinion well they are my opinions and i have the right to my opinions if reasonably put.

Good lord, of course you have a right to your opinions. I don't think I suggested anything else. I do think your opinions are reasonably put and agree with a lot of what you say.

One of the reasons I like contributing to this forum is that everyone seems very respectful and we just have fun with our reminiscences, not getting into anything too thorny - except maybe in the Member's Lounge.

[Marine Boy]

Re: Home Economics

I've just recalled something else from those far-away days of Home Ec. One day, our teacher, Mrs Holmes, (good name for a teacher of this subject!) asked all the class to bring in a crochet hook. When I told Mum, she said I should take a message to my teacher that I would be given a crochet hook when I had learned to spell! Lol. Not a reference to the word "crochet", (which I think I spelled right. ??) but to the fact that at school, my spelling was generally awful. I think my Mum probably had a point when it came to priorities.

[memoman]

Re: Home Economics

We never touched that in sewing class ,luckily!I suppose i can understand young boys being taught the basics.Handy if you live alone i imagine, not that it's exactly rocket science.Cooking maybe,But not so much the needlework!

[shilton dipper]

Re: Home Economics

i hated home economics........i had no wish to cook and so put up with having to make shepherds pie and apple crumble and then on to mushroom soup and some kind of lemon dessert..........at home now it has been said of my cooking.......' if it's brown it's cooked if it's black it's buggered '

[Trickyvee]

Re: Home Economics

Oh god Home Economics, I couldn't wait to give it up after the compulsory three years. I remember the first thing we ever made was beans on toast and the girl I was partnered with wouldn't eat them because she said the beans weren't cooked lol.

All the savory things seemed to involve some mince, an onion and an oxo cube. My overriding memories are of the frustration of having to share everything. There was never enough ingredients or equipment for the whole class and that spoilt it for me. You'd always be against the clock fighting over the last carrot or waiting for an oven to be free, then having ti go back after school to re-scrub the pans you 'hadn't washed properly' in the dying seconds of the lesson.

Sewing was even worse. All I ever made was a fabric hamburger and some boxer shorts that I managed to sew inside out then threw down the back of the cupboards. I wouldn't be surprised if they are still there.

I still don't enjoy cooking or sewing. The other half loves cooking thanks to male celebrity chefs who have made it cool to be in the kitchen. I for one ain't complaining!

[80sChav]

Re: Home Economics

Yeah I loved Home Economics, we could poick from this or CDT. A lot of the other guy's (lads) in my Year thought I was crazy for picking this as a subject instead of CDT!! Loads had a real sexist attitude in those day's on these subjects - like Cookeery was a girl's subject and Craft etc was for Boy's where as I have always hoped and tried to believe both can do both well, amazing tough one "so called" mate's old brother who I can not use approrpriate words on here to describe him in a a polite way, he became a Chief year's later - say's a lot what they were likI say!! To be honest though, I had 2 really quite good H.E Teachers at both School's I was and they helped make it one of my mst enjoyable and favourite subjects in School - with some good memory's too!!

[vanhelsing]

Re: Home Economics

My home ec teacher was a right old bag.

[darren]

Re: Home Economics

Yeah I loved Home Economics, we could poick from this or CDT. A lot of the other guy's (lads) in my Year thought I was crazy for picking this as a subject instead of CDT!! Loads had a real sexist attitude in those day's on these subjects - like Cookeery was a girl's subject and Craft etc was for Boy's where as I have always hoped and tried to believe both can do both well, amazing tough one "so called" mate's old brother who I can not use approrpriate words on here to describe him in a a polite way, he became a Chief year's later - say's a lot what they were likI say!! To be honest though, I had 2 really quite good H.E Teachers at both School's I was and they helped make it one of my mst enjoyable and favourite subjects in School - with some good memory's too!!

yes i enjoyed home economics as well.
it not only learned hopw co cook buyt by learning to cook it helped u for later life knowing how to make things.

we apple tarts,rhubarb tarts,chocolate cakes etc.
thing was i had ate what i made by the time i got home only had a 3 mile dander.

but the teacher was real helpful and a nice girl.

[Powdered toast man]

Re: Home Economics

We did HE at school and one time, we had to make Apple Pie. I bought the ingredients and a nice pie-dish from home. By the time I'd made the pastry and the filling, there wasn't much time left to bake it in the oven, so being the 14 year old dufus that I was back then, decided to put the pie(in the dish) in the microwave to finish it off. 3 minutes later, smoke started to pour out of the back of the microwave, along with a spectacular display of sparks and flames from the inside of the oven. the teacher started screaming and panicking and the whole class burst out laughing. Yep, my pie dish had real gold-leaf painted around it's rim and the microwave energy......you can guess the rest.

[80sChav]

Re: Home Economics

I loved Home Economics - it was great at both my Schools - just like a "Fantasy Subject" in a way like Art, Drama and Music.

There is no disputing I hated School with a deep love after Year 8/9 - but before all friends from Primary School went their own way's and found new friends in Year 8 it was an awesome subject ... food fights, acting the idiot ... making buns and cakes and generally causing a mass brawl with no malice it was amazing. The time me and my then best mate tried to write the reciepe the week before the practical with a pair of sewing needles we found in some drawers that the knitting/sewing class had used was beyond a laugh indeed - then our pens ran out and we had to use Red Biros which annoyed the Teacher(who was as kind as any Teacher ever) to go crazy and tell us using a Red pen was equal to writing in Blood/or/and a Poison Pen Letter! She was so so kind though and would help you with anything - we just knew a detention (or thought so) that it was invitable or her reporting us to Form teacher/Head of Year ... but thankfully she never did!! Halycon days indeed without doubt!!

80schav

[darren]

Re: Home Economics

I must say i quite liked it too.

Making apple tarts and apple crumble.

[Big Tim]

Re: Home Economics

In my first three years at secondary school Home Economics was compulsory. This was from 1991 - 1994, and if I remember rightly, during that time our school renamed it as "Design And Technology: Food And Textiles" or something to that effect. At the same time, "C.D.T." was also a compulsory part of the curriculum for all pupils, and they saw fit to rename that too, but cannot recall to what.

In the last two years, i.e. for GCSE's (in my case, 1995/96), all pupils - at least in my school - had to take "Design & Technology: Core", which I seem to recall was the traditional elements of C.D.T. On top of this, you had to take a further "extension" element, which was either Graphic Design, Textiles or Food. I chose the latter, as the lesser of three evils!

I quite enjoyed the cookery element of the subject, except in later years when things became more advanced, simply because it became a headache taking in stacks of ingredients, and similarly getting them home, especially on a bus or on a moped. This was particularly so, when we were expected for our final practical assessment, to create a full three course meal in a single two hour slot! I also recall classes in the summer becoming farcical on occasions, when pupils had been lugging fresh ingredients around the school all day, only to prepare for the last lesson of the day to find their butter had melted, or milk had soured!

[darren]

Re: Home Economics

Interesting you say home economics was compulsory while you where at secondary school.

You say your first 3 yrs at secondary school i thought pupils where only at secondary school for 3 yrs.


I finished school in 1991 and i cant recall home economics being compulsory but i do think its a great idea.

I do think c d t and home economics both sound better than what they got changed too.

Home economics was just that pure cooking when i did it at school.

in my first three years at secondary school home economics was compulsory. This was from 1991 - 1994, and if i remember rightly, during that time our school renamed it as "design and technology: Food and textiles" or something to that effect. At the same time, "c.d.t." was also a compulsory part of the curriculum for all pupils, and they saw fit to rename that too, but cannot recall to what.

In the last two years, i.e. For gcse's (in my case, 1995/96), all pupils - at least in my school - had to take "design & technology: Core", which i seem to recall was the traditional elements of c.d.t. On top of this, you had to take a further "extension" element, which was either graphic design, textiles or food. I chose the latter, as the lesser of three evils!

I quite enjoyed the cookery element of the subject, except in later years when things became more advanced, simply because it became a headache taking in stacks of ingredients, and similarly getting them home, especially on a bus or on a moped. This was particularly so, when we were expected for our final practical assessment, to create a full three course meal in a single two hour slot! I also recall classes in the summer becoming farcical on occasions, when pupils had been lugging fresh ingredients around the school all day, only to prepare for the last lesson of the day to find their butter had melted, or milk had soured!

[Big Tim]

Re: Home Economics

Secondary school, at least when I started in 1991 was five compulsory years, from age 11 to 16. The first three years (I think it's Years 7 to 9 now), was based on subjects all pupils had to do. Years 10 and 11 were GCSE years (age 14 to 16), when you had to do a core of certain subjects, then picked "options" for the rest. Technology subjects based two of our GCSE's at my school - you had to do the "Core" element, which was the C.D.T. part, the food was the second "Extension" subject (you could have done Graphic Design or Textiles instead - in fact some pupils did three technology subjects, but they must have dropped something else, such as music or P.E. - I know you had to have certain things, such as maths etc).

I think other parts of the UK may have varied the options depending on the exam boards/syllabus they followed though. My example was in York/North Yorkshire, which mainly followed the N.E.A.B. syllabus.