Looking back on what we had in education was far different from what kids are offered today. Then, we had Wood Crafting classes, Bible classes, Metal Shop, Home Economics & Family Living, Typing Classes, Book Keeping Classes, and many more skills to help prepare for adult life, outside of high school and family home.
In 7th grade, I took a Metal Shop Class, and remember being so intimidated by being one of two girls in the class and having so much large machinery surrounding our desk. By the time the semester was over and I made several items such as a dust pan, I was quite confident in my ability to use large machinery and being the only girl of the two girls in a boys class.
As I became older, I took many other classes, and the one I found very useful for daily life was Home Economics and Family Living. Which, this is what I would like to see coming back into the classroom (along-side other classes) and being taught to the young people. The class teaches young girls and boys some of the basics of running and taking care of a home. Something that is lacking in today’s society. I took this class all through part of Jr. High and High School and learned so much as well as being grounded in what I had already learned in previous years.
Home Economics and Family Living taught students how to cook, how to do laundry, the proper way to make a bed, how to sew a variety of items, how to raise a family, budget a check book, how to run a home. It was fun a very creative in different ways. When we had a child by using an egg for a week, we had to be careful as the egg was very fragile, and it was a good part of our grade. We also learned the importance of communicating in different types of relationships. We shared a lot of laughter, a lot of eating from what we baked and cooked, and a lot of sewing and sewing projects. It was a good way to prepare for real life with the help of a good foundation of home life.
Today, a lot of budgets and funding have been cut, which has caused a lot of these classes to be removed from the extra curriculum. It has become harder to become a teacher, even though steps are being made to make it easier to get certified. Technology has taken over the importance of how to run a home and take care of a family. Cell phones have become a clear distraction on the job and in the home.
Many young people have a different mind-set in what they want out of life if it can be achieved.
Many young people don’t know how to cook a meal from scratch. Life has been made simple by buying prepared meals as the isles of the grocery stores are full of prepared meals and meals that just have to be warmed up in a microwave, or simply just stop at a fast-food restaurant to grab a meal. Not that this bad, but there is no balance in many households, today. There is nothing like smelling fresh bread baking in the oven as it fills the rooms of the home, or helping to roll out noodles for soup on a cold day. Home Economics and Family Living would be great for those schools that don’t have the classes anymore, if they ever did. It offers a good healthy balance to life with a little spice in it.
