Page 2 | Why isn't nutrition/cooking a core subject at school?

BeyondThePage · 04/01/2018 18:10

Learning about nutrition and cooking IS important. We simply do not have to outsource it all to schools or state.

Parents are in charge of educating their children - schools are merely our facilitators for the factual/repetitive bits. Of which actually Nutrition is one - take a look at KS3 Biology - which ALL the kids do at secondary www.bbc.co.uk/education/guides/zyjx6sg/revision

So although it is not a core subject it is learned about in Biology in Years 7 onwards.

WhatALoadOfOldBollocks · 04/01/2018 18:33

Personally I think learning about nutrition and cooking is way more important than English literature for example

That might be the most depressing thing I've read for a while!

Why That1950sMum? Noone's health suffers from not reading Shakespeare or Chaucer but it certainly does from lack of nutrition and food prep knowledge.

JustDanceAddict · 04/01/2018 18:36

I did Home ec at school and it taught me precisely nothing! I learnt how to cook from my mum and from following recipes etc. Kids do have lessons in nutrition at primary school nowadays.

maddiemookins16mum · 04/01/2018 18:43

By 14 I could make a roux (still do), pastry, sponges, etc etc. My O Level cookery practical exam (took at 15 as I was an August baby) consisted of

Homemade bread rolls
Cream of chicken soup

Lamb hot pot

Lemon meringue pie.

Cooking lessons in the 70's/early 80's really did teach a whole generation of my age (53!!) to cook properly.

Now they design a new flavoured coffee.

BeyondThePage · 04/01/2018 18:47

Reading literature encourages the mind to enter new, exciting and improbable, spheres of experience. Some texts inspire us to feel admiration and compassion - empathy - for unlikely heroes or heroines, others confront us with deeply perplexing concepts - making us question our very reasons to be. You get a picture of the world from a million different perspectives, you get to see things from another's point of view.

Our lives would be diminished without it.

corythatwas · 04/01/2018 18:49

Why aren't people arguing for the abolition for PE then, since any parent should be able to run around a bit and teach their offspring to kick a ball around?

ticketytock1 · 04/01/2018 18:49

Most parents will pass this type of skill onto their children, but many won't for various reasons...
I believe nutrition along with financial management / awareness should be a baseline subject with a gsce.
Much more useful than algebra ffs

Pengggwn · 04/01/2018 18:51

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Clandestino · 04/01/2018 18:52

These are skills that should be taught by parents, not school.

Pengggwn · 04/01/2018 18:54

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user1486076969 · 04/01/2018 18:54

I'm old (55) and Domestic Science was a compulsory part of the curriculum for the first 3 years at senior school. I went on to do a B.Sc (Hons) in Home Economics.......please don't laugh. I agree that it should be brought back as a core subject.

corythatwas · 04/01/2018 18:57

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Why isn't nutrition/cooking a core subject at school? (35 Posts)
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estavino Thu 04-Jan-18 14:07:24
Just that really. I see so many kids having regular lunch/dinners that's barely contains any nutrition not out of laziness/budget but due to lack of education.

I can't think where I use any science knowledge gained from school in day to day life yet I had an hour a day once a week for years. Cooking on the other hand I had one term a year for three years. I think we had to make shortbread, a fruit salad and a flapjack. In the second year we had to make a tomato and cheese sauce. In the third I think we had to cook chicken breasts and something to do with beef. Yet I can still label parts of a cell, atoms and know some basics of the periodic table.

We literally use nutrition various times a day- why isn't it compulsory?
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That1950sMum Thu 04-Jan-18 18:00:39
Personally I think learning about nutrition and cooking is way more important than English literature for example.

That might be the most depressing thing I've read for a while!
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BeyondThePage Thu 04-Jan-18 18:10:54
Learning about nutrition and cooking IS important. We simply do not have to outsource it all to schools or state.

Parents are in charge of educating their children - schools are merely our facilitators for the factual/repetitive bits. Of which actually Nutrition is one - take a look at KS3 Biology - which ALL the kids do at secondary www.bbc.co.uk/education/guides/zyjx6sg/revision

So although it is not a core subject it is learned about in Biology in Years 7 onwards.
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WhatALoadOfOldBollocks Thu 04-Jan-18 18:33:00
Personally I think learning about nutrition and cooking is way more important than English literature for example

That might be the most depressing thing I've read for a while!

Why That1950sMum? Noone's health suffers from not reading Shakespeare or Chaucer but it certainly does from lack of nutrition and food prep knowledge.
Add message | Report | Message poster
JustDanceAddict Thu 04-Jan-18 18:36:08
I did Home ec at school and it taught me precisely nothing! I learnt how to cook from my mum and from following recipes etc. Kids do have lessons in nutrition at primary school nowadays.
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maddiemookins16mum Thu 04-Jan-18 18:43:38
By 14 I could make a roux (still do), pastry, sponges, etc etc. My O Level cookery practical exam (took at 15 as I was an August baby) consisted of

Homemade bread rolls
Cream of chicken soup

Lamb hot pot

Lemon meringue pie.

Cooking lessons in the 70's/early 80's really did teach a whole generation of my age (53!!) to cook properly.

Now they design a new flavoured coffee.
Add message | Report | Message poster
BeyondThePage Thu 04-Jan-18 18:47:31
Reading literature encourages the mind to enter new, exciting and improbable, spheres of experience. Some texts inspire us to feel admiration and compassion - empathy - for unlikely heroes or heroines, others confront us with deeply perplexing concepts - making us question our very reasons to be. You get a picture of the world from a million different perspectives, you get to see things from another's point of view.

Our lives would be diminished without it.
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corythatwas Thu 04-Jan-18 18:49:01
Why aren't people arguing for the abolition for PE then, since any parent should be able to run around a bit and teach their offspring to kick a ball around?
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ticketytock1 Thu 04-Jan-18 18:49:46
Most parents will pass this type of skill onto their children, but many won't for various reasons...
I believe nutrition along with financial management / awareness should be a baseline subject with a gsce.
Much more useful than algebra ffs
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Pengggwn Thu 04-Jan-18 18:51:36
This is one of the first things you will be asked as a trainee teacher: what is education for?

Is it to teach basic life skills, or is it about growing young minds that are nimble, imaginative, adaptive, critical, structured, logical?"

So why PE and not home economics?

Who says you can't develop imagination and adaptivity through creating something with your hands?

I am very glad I grew up in a system that didn't pit a good roux and a MFL against each other as somehow mutually exclusive.

WhatALoadOfOldBollocks · 04/01/2018 18:57

Reading literature encourages the mind to enter new, exciting and improbable, spheres of experience...

I'm not saying reading literature isn't a good thing (I'm a keen reader of novels and have been since a child), just that it's not as important as something that has such a profound effect on our health all through our lives. So if it's a choice between teaching kids about literature or nutrition, I'd rather they learned nutrition. They can read and develop their imaginations in their own time, and can learn to be critical and logical from sciences.

corythatwas · 04/01/2018 18:59

seems there were some practical skills I didn't learn enough of

corythatwas · 04/01/2018 19:02

The way it worked in my day was not that you spent equal amounts of time learning English and Home Economics: that would arguably have been a waste of time. Instead we had one semester of child development and 3 or 4 semesters of Home Economics. Enough to learn all basic techniques and get a good idea of budgeting and nutrition. So yes, it would be difficult to structure around GCSE system. But not impossible.

Pengggwn · 04/01/2018 19:02

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WhatALoadOfOldBollocks · 04/01/2018 19:02

These are skills that should be taught by parents, not school
Sure, but that's assuming the parents have the skills and the desire to teach their children.

Pengggwn · 04/01/2018 19:03

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Titsywoo · 04/01/2018 19:05

DD doesn't get any cooking lessons until year 9! I'm teaching DS to cook at home as he is interested but DD isn't really although I'll force it on her soon as she is 13 and currently can only cook pasta! DS and I cook fairly simple meals for learning - tonight we made carbonara and tomorrow it will be shepherds pie. It's a shame they don't do it much at school but I understand why they don't and am happy to teach it at home. I'm not even a good cook but I have a good simple recipe book that we follow.

corythatwas · 04/01/2018 19:06

A lot of economic cooking requires actual skills though. Which cannot so easily be taught through Google.

Anyway, what is the difference between Home Economics and PE? Why should parents take responsibility for the former and not for the latter?

gluteustothemaximus · 04/01/2018 19:06

Here’s my fantasy core subjects for schools:

Maths
English
Science
First Aid
Health & Nutrition
Sex & Relationships (including red flag behaviour)
DIY
Art
Drama
Cooking
Money management & budgeting
Politics & voting
History & geography
Regular exercise
How not to be a dick, and how to call someone out on being a dick

Yes, parents can do these things, but many don’t. We have an incredible platform to ‘preach’ and teach children.

The world would be a better place if school was less academic, and more rounded, more common sense, more practical skills. Those who are academic can still be so, and those that aren’t, won’t feel shit for not being so.

‘Tis my fantasy that we all have a sense of worth, and we’re all good at something. And when you’re parents can’t equip you for the world, maybe school can/could.

CrumpettyTree · 04/01/2018 19:09

Dd learned about the food groups in year 7 when she learned about digestion in Biology. PSHE might cover it too and food tech. I guess it's up to them whether they put what they've learned into practise though

Pengggwn · 04/01/2018 19:11

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Pengggwn · 04/01/2018 19:12

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Trashboat · 04/01/2018 19:17

I really believe that there should be budgeting.

Theoretically categorising 'wages' x for rent, x for bills etc.,

How to plan for the future, working with smaller amounts etc.

So much more important than y = x/z squared to the power of 2.

Unless you want to go into science/maths field, then there should be an option to do that as I am sure it would be a small section.

Although I will teach my dd not to accept sexist crap and her body is a temple (what my mum used to tell us), it would be good to reinforce this in front of kids in schools