For years, students have debated whether or not their schools, or school in general, should provide a home economics class. Home economics classes, sometimes referred to as Family and Consumer Sciences, are courses on valuable life skills related to home management, including cooking, budgeting, sewing, and childcare. While the classes available now can increase skills for some things like mathematics, scientific context, and language skills, a class specifically designed to teach us real world skills would prove useful in the long run.
Many students express a lack of preparation when it comes to adult responsibilities. After high school, they often find themselves in college or the workforce without the tools to manage basic tasks like grocery shopping on a budget or filing taxes. La Jolla High School sophomore Adelyn LaFever reflects on how a home economics class might affect her. “I don’t really know how finances work and I’ve never been taught how to do them,” she says. “So yeah, it would be useful and probably help improve my future.”
There are a number of reasons that a home economic course would be useful. Students could learn how to manage their money, prepare meals, maintain a household, and care for family, all which would benefit them well beyond graduation. Of course, it could be argued that adding home economics could strain already tight school budgets. There are also concerns about fitting these courses into schedules already packed with standardized test preparation. Some schools might struggle with funding, space, or finding qualified teachers. Despite some of these challenges, the benefits for the course outweigh the cons.
La Jolla High School senior Caitlin Gray added, “I think they need to bring back some parts of it, but not all parts. I don’t think a child rearing class needs to be brought back. I mean changing oil is probably a good life skill, like changing tires and financing, for sure. I don’t really know if I need to know how to bake a cake, and I don’t think I should be graded for that.” All in all, teaching students how to live independently and responsibly shouldn’t just be a luxury, it should be a necessity and a home economics class would help do so.