Why It’s Time to Revive Traditional Home Economics (for public and homeschooled students)
Kody Hanner
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Why It's Time to Revive Traditional Home Economics (for public and homeschooled students)
Home economics was a standard class (mostly for girls) until the 70s and 80s. Personally, I took cooking in middle school (by the same home ec teacher my mom had 30 years earlier) in the late 90s and true home ec was still taught at my high school well into the 2000s at minimum. I don’t live locally anymore. So, I am not sure.
Home economics includes learning the basics of cooking, preserving, nutrition, money management, hygiene, and child development. But between the changing of the women’s role in the workforce and schools focusing more on academics than life skills, home ec became less popular and even considered sexist to some. In the 90s, schools began to rebrand the class as Family and Consumer Science. But that too has declined heavily in popularity.
Sadly, regardless of whose role it is to run the home, what adult is not required to execute the topics covered in a home ec class and so much more every…single…day? With that, there is probably even an assumption that life skills will be taught at home so that academics are taught in school. But talk to any public school student about how much free time they have after long bus rides, homework, sports, part-time jobs, and chores. Then ask them how much of that free time they want to use learning how to cook or balance a checkbook. Probably none.
That is then compounded by the fact that the last two generations or more have also not been taught home economics and many other life skills at school, and we an entire society can barely care for ourselves. A society that relies on every system to sustain itself while simultaneously not understanding how credit works, how to buy a house, or maintain that home. Check out memes on Facebook one day and you’ll see tons of people complaining about not learning how to file for taxes even though they have the Pythagorean theorem memorized.
What we can do to fix this
I would love to see home economics (or consumer science) not just available again but required! And at the advanced high school level. These skills should be taught to some extent at every age, but a 16-18 year old will gain the most benefit from it. They should also hone in on why these stills are so important and offer second-year advanced classes for those who truly resonate with them.
Even with new administrative changes and a nationwide push for nutrition (especially at our children’s level), re-implementing courses like home economics and vocational agriculture (I will be discussing these courses later this week) will be a large shift. We will need to start these changes at local, county, and state levels. However, in the meantime, teach this at home. And homeschoolers, don’t think you are off the hook. My kids learn a ton about our home and homestead, but just the other day, we were doing a budgeting project, and I saw how much I take for granted that they just inherently know.
At home classes (or skill list)
Get your kids in the kitchen! Boys, girls, toddlers, and teenagers should all be comfortable in the kitchen. They should be able to plan, budget, shop for, cook, and preserve meals by the time they leave the house. And if you don’t know how to do that yourself, then why not learn together? There are classes, books, YouTubes, and no much more available to learn anything. In fact, my Homestead Science Courses and my upcoming cookbook provide a lot of what is needed for cooking and a ton more.
Discuss Nutrition
Nutrition goes far beyond the USDA food pyramid (which is crumbling rapidly) or whatever diet is trending at the moment. True nutrient-dense foods are more than your weight or even bulking up for wrestling season. The type of foods we are feeding our bodies directly affects our health at a cellular level, either positively or negatively. Processed foods that are chemically preserved have been found to cause inflammatory diseases, autoimmune diseases, and cancers. And… this is just the tip of the iceberg. We need to be eating foods that our bodies were designed to digest, as in whole foods that are fed whole foods or natural fertilizers. Kids want to eat what their friends eat, tastes good and is convenient. They may not make changes right away, but they are hearing you.
Practice Budgets
Have your kids work on their personal budgets, your family’s budget, mock business budgets, or anything that can help them feel comfortable with adult finances. There are homeschool curriculums that teach this (and you don’t have to be a homeschooler to take advantage of these resources). If you don’t want to get a curriculum or your kids wouldn’t be open to workbook learning, try putting them into hands-on situations. Give them your grocery list and a budget, and have them do to the store’s website (or even better, the store) and determine if you can afford everything. Have them see where they can cut costs, use coupons, or make other changes.
Take hygiene to another level
When most people hear hygiene, they think of brushing their teeth and wearing deodorant. And well, that is super important. If you have ever been around a teenage boy, you know that this is something that regularly eludes them. But the control of body odor is just one piece! Hygiene also includes laundry, dishes, household cleaning, sanitation, and first aid. And… how to work those into everyday life to that they are part of your routine. These classes were put by the wayside because women joined the workforce, that sounds like more of a reason to teach these classes because you don’t have time to figure it out while working a 60-hour week.
Make child-rearing great again! (Like what I did there?)
Having, loving, and raising your kids is something that has been turned into a joke. That you shouldn’t want to be around your kids or that they are a burden. And if you go really crazy and decide to be traditional and raise a family, you have no clue how to do it other than “What to expect when you’re expecting book.” Trust me, that book does not fully prepare you for what parenting really can be. This class should be less about sending kids home with the fake screaming baby for a week that is supposed to be some form of birth control. It should be more about teaching and appreciating parenthood and healthy partner relationships. This way, whether they are teen parents or wait until they are 35, they have a solid foundation for raising kids in healthy, stable environments. Check out my book Raising Self-Sufficient Kids to learn more about providing healthy, stable environments for your family today.
Make changes in your community
If your local schools aren’t able to begin classes like this again, consider hosting them at a local church or extension office. Extension offices often already teach them and were designed to provide these services to the community. However, many do not realize they exist or what they are for. Some communities also have kitchens (once paid for by the federal government) where families can bring their produce in and can it with all the equipment and education provided. These can be something for our future, too!
Until the government catches on, The Homestead Education’s courses will give you and your kids a solid base for growing and preserving your own food.