To tell dd she is not to take Food Tech for GCSE

[Chopstheduck]

dd is quite keen to, options coming up. I don't want her to, because I feel the standard of teaching for it is appalling. The recipes are dire, the methods are terrible.

I can cook, dd can cook very well too, but she is picking up bad habits now from school. I feel she would be better off picking another subject and continuing to cook at home. DD is keen because she enjoys cooking and she is getting top marks in the subject at school. Mainly because we have been adapting the recipes at home.

I know we could continue to adapt, but she doesn't have much control over the method, and it is gutting to have good food wrecked by over or under cooking at school. They cooked burgers last week, and half the children had stomach upsets because they baked them in the oven and not for long enough.

I will be chatting to the teacher before the options evening, at parents evening and will raise my concerns. (tactfully ) but AIBU to have an opinion over what is ultimately my dd's GCSE choices?

My dd is just finishing her GCSE food tech. She is predicted an A which I find shocking as I have never encountered her cooking anything vaguely edible, her hygiene is poor and her effort is minimal. I would say in real terms it's a waste of time, but it's an easy A.

mysteryfairy
"The teacher was appallingly bad and despite putting in more effort for this than any other subject DS got a C in an otherwise straight run of A* /A."

Yup, absolutely nothing to do with your son's attitude, or thinking that it was a soft subject and having to actually work.

"So my view is nobody ibu to avoid any form of tech subject. They are lads of work for dubious benefit."

Its not like technology is used for anything useful

Both my sons did it. They enjoyed the cooking bits but even more they enjoyed devising recipes and things like inventing ready meals. They had to do one practical subject and this helped them become quite accomplished cooks.

I'd pay my DS to not take it as if it is anything like when I was at school they'd learn more from watching cooking programmes on tele.

In fact I think my 4 year old could probably cook better than the teachers I had!

Food tech is a travesty of a school subject.
They should do proper cooking with proper knife skills, high level pastry skills and that sort of thing.

If the teaching is bad, it's down to the teacher, not the subject , in which case you should be talking to the head teacher about it. Otherwise, maybe you are being about snobby about the subject ? I am a graduate and can honestly say my home tech o'level is without doubt the most useful subject I took. Both my DCs independently chose Food Tech, and am sure they will say the same in years to come

If the teaching is bad, it's down to the teacher, not the subject
hmm
I am a graduate and can honestly say my home tech o'level is without doubt the most useful subject I took

which bit of its changed in the last few years
did you not get?

when I did my maths A level there was no mention of computers ... because I'm old and the curriculum has changed

its is one of the GREAT FAILINGS OF MUMSNETTERS that they think that the exams they took are the same as the ones being taken by other people's children today

Which bit of my DCs doing Food Tec did you not get??? DD doing GCSEs this year, but hey, what do I know? Will leave you to it

Oh, and also no computers when I did A level maths...but have spent the last 30 years working in computers... But hey, what do I know

I refused to let my DS1 to a tech in Sports. he didnt know what he wanted to do so wanted to follow his mates.

I refused to let him do it as my DS HATES sports, spent most of the 4 years he was there begging me to write him letters to get out of PE, isnt interested in any sports, doesnt partake in any or watch any (apart from football)

It would have been a waste of everyones time, the teachers and the rest of the class. He wouldnt have been a willing participant and wouldnt have done any of the homework or research. He chose to do something else instead and admitted after a couple of months that he was glad he didnt take sports.

I chose food tech, I think I had to choose a tech and it was that or resistant materials or electronics both of which I hated with a passion. I think it was a waste of time and effort, nothing valuable was learnt and come out of it with a C as to get higher you have to put in stupid amounts of work. Its just a filler as far as I can see, with zero transferable skills, its so far removed from what one would study at catering college.

My children are not old enough for me to have made this type of decision yet, but I can tell you is this: I absolutely curse the day when my own mother let me run my own life! I made all of my own decisions as far as school/options/college etc. and had no idea what I was doing! I did all sorts of things, for all sorts of reasons, mostly the word 'easier' came into it. I chose things with the least coursework, more time to go out with friends etc. etc. I think if you feel that it isn't the right path to take for her future then you, as the experienced adult, need to step in. Maybe not in a harsh way, but of course you can explain your reasons. I can understand that she's actually being quite smart in that she wants to guarantee herself good marks. But only us wise old adults know that it's good for you to push yourself and take the chance to thrive under pressure. Does seem silly to 'learn' something she can already do. That said, I'm sure she's lovely and will find her way, whatever options she goes for :-)

I did it and found it an easy GCSE compared to the science subjects (only got B's in them) but we didn't do any cooking. I got an A (didn't have A star back in my day). In fact my coursework was sent to other schools to show the standard that could be achieved. I remember doing other subjects homework in my Home Economics lessons as I had finished all my coursework on time. I wished we had done some cooking but remember really enjoying the subject.

Given that DDs schools food tech department have absolutely no idea about hygiene and food storage and the ingredients lists are always as long as your arm and flipping extortionate, I told her that there was no way on God's sweet Earth that she was doing food tech during normal lessons, let alone as an option!
YANBU.

I can empathise if schools are teaching it badly (especially if there's poor food hygiene practices), but there's no reason why Food Tech/Science shouldn't be a good solid GCSE subject. As PP have said, food technology is a really good (and well-paid and interesting) field to work in, and we all use things food technologists have worked on. Food Tech wasn't taught particularly well at my school and I wouldn't have chosen to do it at GCSE anyway, but that's no reason to dismiss the subject.

And as the daughter of an engineer, I am that only the S and M of STEM are taken seriously here. Technology and engineering are important and rigorous subjects that we should be encouraging pupils to do, especially girls.

30 years ago, (OUCH), I did home economics:food & nutrition o level instead of physics o level. Guess which has been more useful!
Seriously though, I'd ask if your dc can do their catering hygiene certificate with it, then they will get something else out of the curriculum too.

Waves
I'm a GCSE Food teacher. We made the change to Home Economics a few years ago. I'm saddened to hear you have such awful stories about what essentially people see as my subject. Please be gentle, it's my first post - I felt compelled to write it after reading some of the dubious replies you have had so far. This is how I do things:

My students cook every week. They don't get told what they're making - they choose. As a lot of it is about feeding the family I encourage students to pick dishes the family will enjoy/afford and use the skills and recipes they get shown at home but also to experiment with new things, choosing recipes they haven't made before but that fit in with our theory lessons (such as protein, carbs, suitable for a specific dietary group, low risk/high risk in terms of food poisoning etc). We also do a half term of basic skills such as bread, pastry (fill it how you like), sauces, sponges (include your own flavourings), vegetable prep. I totally encourage independent learning in our practical lessons as this leads to confidence. The difference in some students by the end of the course is amazing. We never make students draw their food or design their own packaging (waste of bloody time) and they never ever cook 47 versions of the same cake (this is why I hate old skool food tech).

My subject isn't easy - some students say it's the hardest subject they do. I get good results but it's not looked on favourably by SLT as it costs money as a subject. Students do pick it thinking it's going to be easy. I'm appalled it is seen as a soft subject by parents, fellow teachers and kids - there's a fair amount of coursework involved (2 projects, 6 and 16 pages, plus practicals that are assessed for hygiene, organisation, skills and presentation) and a lot of theory to know, usually having to be learnt for a single exam. I have quite a few on track for A* this year, but it's not a walk in the park. We get kids "dumped" in our subject a lot by pastoral teams who start off unmotivated and want to hang themselves by the end of it.

If your child is inherently lazy please do them and their teacher a favour and not let them take it. It's too much of a struggle for everyone involved and makes everyone's lives a misery. If your child enjoys cooking and is talented then they should flourish but I see from earlier posts that this can't be guaranteed. You need to speak with your child's teacher and maybe the head of department - they will know whether or not the course is suitable.

If I can offer any help or advice please let me know.

My year 9 son made paella in food tech. I was quite impressed until he told me that some of the ingredients had been pre-prepared (by teacher/supermarket) and he just had to throw them in a pan....

We dont have to send ingredients in. We pay £2.50 every week.

Needless to say, he wont be choosing this as an option (and I am fuming that he cant take both geography AND history as options as he loves both subjects)

Does it really matter what GCSE she takes? It won't determine the rest of her life and one GCSE out of 12 or so, is utterly trivial.

I bet most people on this thread, can't remember what GCSEs they took.

= In fact for job applications it seems a waste of time listing them. Who will care that I got a GCSE in Drama in 1996? (Unless I was applying to RADA.

I just write '8 GCSEs at grades A*-C, including English, Maths & Science.

My DS is currently choosing his options. He has to take a DT subject.

OP I think there's some confusion because DT covers all the design and technology subjects, resistant materials, electronics, textiles, graphic design, food tech etc. Which one will your DD do if not food tech?

My DS has chosen Catering GCSE. Mainly because it's less design based and more skills based and he gets to wear chefs' whites. He has SN so I think it'll be a good life skill for him. His SN mean that it's hard for me to get him to try cooking at home. It's not part of his routine. He's better off learning it at school where he might actually listen to some advice.

Oven baked burgers sound grim. {confused]

I think it would be a good idea to make food tech essential for all students, even if they don't take GCSE in it - like PE.

my mum made me take a language instead of art because she said it would be a shame to not do French. I hated it, I was crap at it, I got an 'F' grade GCSE which is no use to anyone. I needed one extra 'C' grade to make my options better for further education and I feel I could of done that with art. I've never used French since I left school and that was over 20 years ago!!

I understand your concerns, but I really hope that when my dd reaches options I will support her decisions, especially if she as full understanding of what she is choosing, and the implications. I really hope she chooses subjects she really enjoys and will be motivated to work hard in. Who knows, maybe your dd will end up bring a food tech teacher, and will need this gcse?

I say let her do it, wish I had done gcse art...

LittleChubbster, you sound like an excellent teacher. If dd's teacher thought along those lines I would be far happier. I had hoped maybe it would be a different teacher for GCSE, but apparently the current teacher is HOD, so it is unlikely.

FWIW, I don't see it as an easy option - though dd does, and I will be explaining some of what I have learned on this thread with her. I'm not being snobby. DD isn't brilliantly academically minded in any case, and she does have to take a tech so my reservations are not at all about a preference for academic subjects.

She has no desire to work in food at all (which is a pity I think, but her choice!). She has said she simply would like a qualification that would recognise her cooking skills!

She has a choice between DT or Food. DT seems to be a design and technology GCSE. I guess it is like the Design and Communication GCSE of the 90s. Technical drawing, creating models, etc. Graphic design I guess would be the closest? Clearly most schools have a slightly different system nowadays, so I can see the confusion.

Catering sounds really good, shame that isn't an option! good luck to your ds EllenJanesthickerknickers!

Food hygiene is very hit and miss. A lesson was cancelled, they left ingredients in the freezer for next week. Problem was, meat had already been frozen once, so had to be binned. She made a curry and the teacher insisted the chicken reached 70c before anything else was added to the pan, so that was safe, but by the time the spices, etc were added and cooked, it was like shoe leather. The burgers didn't cook, but the teacher told them that oven baking is the 'normal' way to cook burgers.

It really is chronic. They couldn't make bread dough so when they were looking at different ways of shaping bread they asked for flour and marg to send in three weeks running. Might as well have used play dough.

I wanted to do Art. My parents didn't want me to do a non academic subject though. I don't regret it though.

I really appreciated all the comments though, and I am takign them on board and will be having a long chat with the teacher. I think I shall ask about some of the skills on this thread being taught :)

Dd is taking food tech and they get to choose what recipes to cook. I ask her to batch up some food like lasagne etc as it makes for quick and easy one person meals if required. She took it to include one creative subject. She spends most lessons developing foods ie she made a pizza using almond flour, a lasagne using leeks instead of pasta and a cheesecake using a nut base. I do expect her to cook something that will be eaten by someone, if no-one will eat the recipe I expect her to 'develop' it! The teacher commented very positively on her choices.