When I was in middle school (early 80's), in 6th grade you took what they called "exploratory". 6 weeks doing different things - home ec, shop, chorus, drama, and I can't remember what else. I cannot remember what we did in home ec, but I remember my two shop projects - we silk screened a mirror and made a frame for it, and we did copper rubbings from drawings we did and then made the wooden plaques to mount them on. I drew Garfield. I wonder if I still have that in the attic!

We did make applesauce in kindergarten. I remember peeling the apples, the teacher cut them up. We added the red hot valentine hearts to them. We had it for afternoon snack that day.

Now that's progressive. I don't think they would have let us near the knives.

I was in high school in the early 70's. We didn't get to explore things all that much. Girls took home ec, boys took shop.

As as result, I am not what one would call handy around the house.

It was all very supervised, of course. We used apple peelers. In small groups. She supervised these groups while the other kids did the "stations" (reading, practicing writing, etc.). Then we switched so everyone got to peel the apples. She brought a hot plate from home, and then she cooked the apples we peeled in the pan on the hotplate while the assistant took us outside for recess.

I was trying to remember my home ec teacher from high school and came up with nothing.

Your school sounds very Montesorri. I love the idea of cooking with kids. What a great way of instilling in them a love of food.

as an elective, because, as you can guess, it was all science and math for me.

We made coffee crumb cake as our first kitchen creation. After that was classic apple pie. Home Ec 1 was all about baking. Then I took Home Ec 2 in 8th grade, which was all about preparing meals and nutrition. I loved both of them!

Side note: the women to men ratio was high in both classes, so as a teenie-bopper, I didn't mind one bit.

Also, I do remember in kindergarten we churned butter, churned ice cream, and even made a yummy salad that had everything in it but dirt. I had a lot of fun in kindergarten, because we got to make our own snacks.

like you did - science and math.

Even now, my husband calls the kitchen my laboratory.

Coffee crumb cake - I'm pretty sure we made that as well.

Our classes were strictly segregated. I wanted to take shop, but was forbidden. I don't think a boy would have dared to request home ec.

I could have done so much if I'd known some carpentry basics. I recently bought myself a dedicated automatic screwdriver. It doesn't double as a drill, which I like a lot because I can never find all the attachments to turn one of those things into a screwdriver.



Above, the handy little tool I bought--20 bucks or so.

With this, I've done all types of basic home repairs. I repaired my raised beds, for example. It took me a long time, but I did it myself instead of hiring someone, which is normally what the RG does when he becomes frustrated with my lengthy repair processes.

My first home ec project was indeed an apron. After that it was an "A-line" skirt. It was made of a turquoise "denim-type" fabric. We had a lot of fun making these items. I still remember my teacher, Mrs. Miner. She was a very precise quilter, and that translated to a teacher with high standards.

To this day, I do alterations. At one time I sewed individual items, like dresses, jackets, capris, and even pajamas, but now I buy them and alter them to suit my taste.

We, too, made applesauce as one of our first cooking projects! As a teacher, I now notice that my students (who have not had home ec) do not even know they can easily make their own applesauce. Sad.

My mother and aunt both took shorthand. They still use it to this day! Whenever I visit, I will find grocery lists or to do lists written with steno characters. If I put my mind to it, I'm pretty sure I could recall it, too.


Cher

I love putting together things from IKEA, but I don't think I could really think through a project on my own.

Learning to sew was a really valuable thing to do. I still love to sew and I realize that I learned the basics very young. I never did learn to do alterations, though. Like the home repair stuff, I can follow instructions really well, but am not at all creative.

My mother also took shorthand and still uses it a lot. I think it's a really valuable tool. I notice that women, but not men, of my generation can touch type. Girls took typing, boys did not. I wonder what they did instead?

Snickerdoodles . I only had Home Ec in Jr. High (7th-9th grades) and remember sewing a dress one year. I used to sew all the time, but haven't made anything in at least 10 years.

Where in the world did you go to school?

Actually, I just looked up Eggs a la Goldenrod and found out that it was a very common dish in home economics classes in the late 60's and 70's. I have never even heard of it.

I bought a sewing machine about 2 years ago. I made a few things, but they were hideous. As I recall, most of what I made years ago was hideous as well.

Oh, well. I can always use it for curtains and other simple things, lol.

The time frame fits - this was 1964-1967 . You brought back some good memories with this thread. Cooking and then eating our Home Ec. creations was fun .

Our experiences varied a great deal, though. One person's experience was in making pudding from a box, lol.

and should still be taught, INCLUDING 'shop,' non-gender related enrollment, of course.

Typing served me very well, as first job after college, major in poli sci/history/english, was as 'legal secretary' in SMALL legal aid service at Cook County Jail, launching me on my career as an attorney. Figured, after ? years working for those great guys, that if THEY could do it, so could I! (I got the secretary job partly because I was willing to carry my typewriter to and fro every day! Thanks to my folks for that high school graduation gift!)

made a little noise about wanting to take shop. As I recall there was some explanation that included the dangerousness of power tools, lol.

You worked in Cook Country Jail? When was that? YOu might have run into my parents, lol.

I did not know you were an attorney. I also made my way into my professional career by being a secretary and reached the same conclusion as you - if those guys could do it, I could do it, too.

but not 'FOR' the jail, for an independent legal service program sponsored by U of Chicago Law School. Was in mid/late '60s, so was able to 'return' there for mayor daley's '68 Dem convention debacle. Were your folks there then???

As the warden knew and liked me, he allowed me to go back 'in' and help with the crowd rounded up from Grant Park, identifying them for their families, getting them subscription meds etc.

At the very least, I bet you knew some of the same people. He was very active in the Convention protests and both he and my mother were arrested. In addition, lots of political meetings were held at the church (do you remember the Blue Gargoyle coffee house?) and my parents were very involved in helping people get out of jail, etc. My mother blocked Lake Shore Drive with our station wagon as an anti-war statement.

That is so cool that you were involved in the grant park detainees. I was still pretty young, but did sneak out to a few protests and to a memorable Jefferson Airplane concert in Grant Park.

What a small world.

I wasn't AT any protests, I commend your folks, but my great 'boss' took me with him to another legal aid service office downtown when the one at the jail ended its tenure. So I was working on Michigan Ave, my boss went down 'with the Constitution under my arm,' and I stayed in the office! He made it out fine, fortunately, and went on to do fine things.

I would really enjoy meeting you someday, elleng. I think we would have a delightful time together.

yes, it was a wonderful experience! Imagine my attorney Dad's reaction when I told him 'we' (my boss) had sought review of a matter in the Supreme Court! and we went on to WIN! Here's the decision, a significant one.

http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=8107436400939860073&hl=en&as_sdt=6&as_vis=1&oi=scholarr

And Parliamo! (I 'speak' french, but LOVE to hear Italian!

You should be very proud of the work you did in this case.

I "speak" some spanish after living in Mexico for 6 months and I am getting quite good at understanding Italian, but I do not speak it. I find the Italians very, very accommodating, even though few speak english around these parts.

And, like you, I love to hear italian. My husband is fluent and I know it is one of the reasons I fell head over heels for him.

MAY have typed a memo of some sort. Notice who argued the case, my great boss, and the hot shots 'on the brief,' those guys were with the NAACP Inc Fund at the time (I think.) Google Jack Greenberg for an example of a real hero.

My daughter studied Italian in college, and spent 6 months in Rome via her university. She has an ear for romance languages, so we have fun with them. I had hoped to study Italian, but haven't done so. And I've also said, 'Sing to me in Italian, and I'm yours forever!' How lucky that your husband is fluent!

It was not pretty, not pretty at all.

Went there with my parents to recover from the wedding. I knew people who were arrested, including some I worked with at Chicago Today, if you remember that, who were covering the protests.

It was a crazy time, but I am glad that I was able to experience it.

Really fun job. Not everyone remembers it.

We made pudding. From a box. In high school.

The teacher made sure we knew to put a cover on the cups so it wouldn't form a skin on top. I was sad; I like the skin.

You are the only person I know who likes the skin on pudding, lol.

he's an Old English Sheepdog, trimmed.

Those two breeds couldn't be much different.

WTF, I was 15 and that was where all the girls were. Some how I can't remember any of the projects.

but when I was growing up, I don't think a boy would have ever asked for it.

Even if it meant being the only boy, lol.

I had to take two semesters of shop -- first wood shop, then metal shop. I will say that learning how to use hand tools was useful, but I wish I could have taken home ec, as the girls did. (I could have easily done without the choral singing class I had to take as well -- I am a lousy singer, and we sang the same four songs all bloody semester.)

Our moms and dads were more likely to teach us the "sex appropriate" things at home. The schools should have been supplying the opposite.

But then it was all about girls being good little susie homemakers, as I recall.

The choir I loved and I will always be grateful for learning to read choral music.

And my parents did teach me how to cook. I remember my father saying "Some times, you will find yourself with raw meat and raw vegetables, and you had better know what to do with them if you want to eat."

My real objection to the choral singing class was that we sang the same four songs, "It's a Long Way to Tipperary", "You'll Never Walk Alone", "Stout-Hearted Men" and some other WWI song that escapes me. Just four songs over and over and over and over and over ..." I'm also a very bad singer -- my wife, in a line she blatantly stole from Leo Kottke, says that my singing is "like goose farts on a muggy day."

I am really inept unless I am assembling something with very clear directions (like IKEA).

I taught my sons to cook, and I think they are both grateful for that. They both to eat and to prepare food for others.

No wonder you hated chorus. Those are some really bad songs! I was fortunate to have good choral instructors both at school and in my church. They even convinced me that I was a decent singer, but I think they were just being kind.

Goose farts on a muggy day?!?! That sounds very southern, lol.

this was back in the early 90s. the only thing i remember cooking was a pizza.

My kids had neither shop nor home ec, which I think is a real shame. They were things worth learning.

And making a good pizza is critical, imo.

i really should remedy that.

In the US, I was using Boboli precooked doughs. They are super simple and have a long shelf life.

But here there is an amazing selection of pre-made doughs that are far superior to what I could make.

You can make something extremely simple, like just cheese, or very complex. By favorite is to make one with 4 different sections.

I think the key is to pre-bake the crust, then put it back in the oven only for a short time after you put the toppings on. Lots of people cook on the grill, but it has been a disaster every time I try this.

Give it a try! What's the worst that could happen?

Even 30 year ago, I was learning a bit about baking and sewing, and there were also girls in with us when we were working on wood projects. I made a bright green windbreaker for myself as well as an ugly wooden lamp, don't really recall what I cooked.

that these classes seem to have disappeared completely.

Great that you sewed a windbreaker - a very useful item, even if constructed poorly.

It was my woodworking project that was ugly and poorly constructed

have been.

Now the lamp really has to have some aesthetic value, lol.

It was barely offered at my high school, one class with maybe 15 girls in it out of 1,000 in the school. No question of boys since it was an all-girls' school.

IIRC, it was required of all girls.

Odd that some schools didn't offer it at all.

I think it was partly a sexist thing. I wouldn't have minded shop of some sort since I've always been completely clumsy at that kind of thing. In fairness, my father wasn't good at that kind of thing, either, so I came by it naturally.

that was the very first thing. I remember my rolling skills were awful and my pie looked like an alien! LOL!

I still can't roll out a pie dough.

Remember what Julia Child said - "never apologize!".

That was first. We also cooked a meal - baked chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans. We had to plan the meal, figure out what to buy and how much to feed the entire class, go shopping, and do all the prep work. This was at the end of the six weeks of meal planning and cooking.

Another segment was sewing, which I already knew how to do. We had to select the pattern, fabric and notions, and sew a dress "appropriate to wear to school." Part of teh evaluation was if the style and cut were flattering to your figure.

We had sections on architecture, home decoration, landscaping and gardening, and laundry.

Back then only girls took Home Ec and only boys took Shop. Because there had been controversy about that (girls were REQUIRED to take Home Ec even the college track girls, and boys were not required to take Shop, so college track boys automatically got one credit more for their college transcripts than the girls did) so our Home Ec and the Shop teachers got together and switched classes for one week.

Boys learned to iron shirts and sew buttons on, how to bake a cake from a mix, and how to wash clothes. Girls learned how to hammer a nail, cut a piece of wood with a hand saw (no power tools for girls!), re-wire a lamp socket, and replace the heating element in a toaster.

I was ticked - I knew how to hammer and saw. I wanted to learn how to use power tools. It wasn't until years later when I bought my first Skilsaw I taught myself how to use it. I built a deck onto my house trailer by myself. It wasn't the best construction in the world but it lasted the two years I lived in that house.

Every kid could benefit from that. I see a whole generation that never uses their kitchen at all. The amount they spend on eating out is amazing.

What a great program you were in. Interesting history on who was required to do what. I think it was felt that if you, as a girl, were on a college track, you were still probably going to be a housewife and would need these skills.

Kudos for you for building a deck! It's never too late to learn, that's my motto.

And she made a class that I didn't want or really need to take interesting. Mom had taught all four of her daughters to sew, cook, clean, and to be self reliant on anything we wanted or needed to take on. So that class just refined things I already knew.

Mrs. Girtman taught Home Ec in that little town for her entire career - probably over twenty years. She put much more into it than the class called for. For instance, architectural styles - not something most Home Ec classes had, but she took us around town and showed us houses of various styles and periods. She took us to her home and the homes of some of the other teachers to show us interior design. For some of the girls, that was probably the first exposure they had to anything like that.

Mom was furious about the Home Ec requirement. She and Dad planned for us all to go to college and she hated that we'd be less competitive than the boys for college admission. Since we all tested extremely high in all the placement tests, it really wasn't a problem, but Mom wanted us to be equal to the men we'd have to go against.

Since that deck, I've built a lot of stuff - shelves, desks, barns, etc. The computer desk I'm sitting at is one I designed and built. My husband and I even put in wood floors in the old house - not this engineered junk, but really tongue and groove yellow pine wood. I designed built built new kitchen cabinets for the old house from the left over flooring. Once I got hold of power tools, there was no stopping me! Just think of what I could have done if they'd let me take Shop and Drafting (another class girls were not allowed to take) in high school.

She sounds like such a treasure. I wonder if schools even have the opportunity to employ someone like here anymore.

I am ambivalent about the home ec requirement. It should never have been a hindrance in terms of higher education, but wouldn't it be great if both boys and girls were taught to do the basic things one needs to do to keep a home.

I'm a big IKEA fan, but that is as far as I have gotten in terms of furniture building. Maybe someday, I will have a shop and teach myself some of these things.

I recently saw a documentary on tiny houses which really sparked my interest in building something. Even without the early education, you have done a remarkable job.

That is pretty much what Mrs. Girtman taught us. I forgot - she also taught us basic bugeting - though it was geared towards household budgeting, it was still helpful when I moved out on my own.

Maybe decrease the emphasis on sewing since few have the time to sew and it really doesn't save much money - other than getting better quality clothes. But all the rest would be useful to anyone who is ever going to live without paying other people to do all those things for them. Planning meals seems to be a lost talent. Simple home decorating may seem frivolous but it can make a home more comfortable and enjoyable.

Hey, I've also built a LOT of IKEA furniture! All the cabinets in our new house are IKEA. I just didn't have the time to build them from scratch and I had just had knee surgery when we started the house. I checked prices and IKEA had the best quality for the best price plus they were low VOC which was important because of my asthma and allergies.

With the help of the people on the IKEA Fans Forum I planned the kitchen, bathrooms, and closet layouts. I managed to get all the cabinets (and some of the appliances) for 20% off, then assembled them all myself. I'm a whiz with an Allen wrench!

The total emphasis now is on classroom learning and there is really no hands on anything anymore. That's a real shame.

Agree that the sewing bit could be retired, but household management is so valuable.

I'm going to take a look at the IKEA fans forum. I'm not familiar with it, but I am totally comfortable in assembling their products.

They are amazed that people can make stuff with their hands! I'm not sure where they think clothing and furniture come from but I guess that is the next step after kids that don't know food is grown on farms and think it originates at the grocery store.

IKEA Fans is a great forum for learning about IKEA products, especially kitchens. They have all sorts of "hacks" to assemble the components for the cabinets. When I was participating, they had access to advance and insider info. I don't know if that is still true, but it was really helpful for ordering my kitchen parts.

I knew that he was a hands on kind of person and he was miserable in traditional classes.

But I could find nothing. In retrospect, I probably should have sent him to a farm. That's what he is doing now, and he is really happy and successful. But all those years wasted in regular schools. Such a shame.

I will check out the IKEA site. We currently live most of the year on a boat, so I don't have any use for furniture, but we are talking about getting a small land based place and I am looking forward to designing my space, particularly my kitchen.

They are designed to be taken apart as easily as they go together. Many apartments in Europe traditionally don't come with equipped kitchens, not even cabinets. Even the cover panels screw on and can be taken off. So if you get a land based place, then want to relocate, you could take your kitchen with you!

The other part that IKEA Fans really help with is that the cabinets are component based. You purchase boxes of specific size, then add doors, drawers and shelves in whatever combination you like. One of the most convenient things is interior drawers that can fit inside a standard door or even nested into the cabinet above a regular drawer.

The component aspect lets you reconfigure the cabinets even after they are installed. IKEA really doesn't tell you all the ways you can combine their components, but IKEA Fans members have done a lot of variations and have tips on what work well.

As I am renting a place in Italy right now, I am aware of the lack of equipment in the kitchen. I have purchased many things and it is great to know that I could actually purchase my cabinets, etc, and ship them somewhere else.

I was surprised to see that IKEA was here, though it makes sense. I haven't been to one, but my suspicion is that they are just like the ones in the US.

Thanks for all the advice.

I think we also made some sort of corn dish, and maybe some green vegetable that day, too. The only other thing I remember making was custard-filled cream puffs. I found Home Ec to be pretty boring, since I had been helping my grandma out in the kitchen long before that. I detested the sewing half. The teacher was a nasty, awful woman, and dreaded that hour almost as much as I did PE, also taught by unpleasant women. I wished I could have take shop with the boys instead.

Although I was being taught some of these things at home, I liked learning them in the classroom with my friends.

But nasty, awful teachers can ruin even the best learning experience.

BTW, I love orange glazed carrots. Do you still make them?

I've never been a huge fan of carrots, although I like them more now than I did back then. Maybe that's what I'll do with the bag of baby carrots I have in my refrigerator. I usually just eat them with hummus or some other dip. Time for something different!

I learned some of the shop class stuff at home, too. My dad always made us help him with home repairs, something for which I am now really grateful. OTHO, power saws still scare me, and it's just as well that I wasn't allowed in the woodworking shop. I'm sure I'd be missing a few fingers had the let me use those saws.

They were freaking delicious and I bought more today so I can do it again.

I am also very afraid of power tools. I am a klutz to begin with, so the thought of things that could cut off my limbs without a second though really intimidate me.

That sounds really tempting!

Braised Carrots with Parmesan Cheese

I don't use it often enough. Just pulled it out and opened it to that recipe to remind myself to try it. Anything with Parmesan in it has got to be good!

I am starting with the most simple of things she puts out there.

Tonight I made her basic minestrone. It was, if I may be so bold, the best I have ever had.

Check it out and don't forget to try some gnocchi!

Plus the woman was shaped like a rain barrel, and she was supposed to teach us physical fitness? She probably would have had a heart attack if she'd done anything athletic.

I don't recall that she was all that nasty, despite having that reputation. I didn't dread gym class with her, like I did PE in junior high.

The first thing we made in Home Ec was chocolate covered banana slices. We did some sewing but didn't do much cooking. The teacher was big time into ceramics so we did quite a few figurines. I spent my whole senior year making a full nativity set for my parents. Several of my classmates helped me get all the pieces done by the time we graduated and it's nice to remember each of them.

Shop classes would've been great. My dad taught me how to use the few power tools he had since I was his official assistant on the house and car maintenance projects. He never told me there was something I couldn't do because I was a girl.

Yum.

We never did ceramics or things that would be considered just decorative, though that might have been fun.

Do you still have your nativity set?

Good for your dad and the message he gave you. My dad wasn't very handy around the house. In fact, I'm not even sure who did the maintenance and repairs.

A bunch of the boys stopped by the Home Ec room and ate all of them.

Yes, I still have the nativity set. It's packed away on the hall closet shelf. I never put it out anymore but it's a nice nostalgia trip to look at now and then.

My dad was a Jack-of-all-trades. He knew enough about a lot of things to do much of the maintenance himself. He was a peach and I still miss him terribly.

That is just all kinds of wrong.

It's wonderful that you have the nativity set. I recently went to St. Francis's sanctuary in Greccio. This is where he coordinated the first live nativity scene. In the sanctuary is an area with creches and nativity scenes from all over the world. It's a wonderful thing to see. I have very fond memories of the nativity scenes I grew up with and those I shared with my children.

You should think about bringing it out next holiday season.

I am sorry that you lost your dad. This part of our lives can be hard.

They routinely checked out the Home Ec room to see if there was anything available to eat.

I haven't put the nativity set out in years. We used to have a big entertainment center and I'd put it on top. That piece of furniture is long gone and I no longer have a safe place to display it.

We lost Daddy to black lung disease in 1982. Mother passed from a massive stroke in 2010. When you get to be my age - will be 69 in three weeks - it's not uncommon to have lost a parent. Thank you for your kind words.

A regional vocational trades school had recently opened, so they paired up with area high schools to offer an alternative for those who might find that a better fit for their plans / interests.

Both home ec and shop were geared toward the basics.

In home ec - chopping, slicing, dicing, measuring, mixing, cooking terminology, standard kitchen equipment, shopping, planning a meal, food storage, etc. Hands on cooking was limited, I think the first thing I made was French toast. Later in the year we made a very simple lunch at each class (all home ec classes were in the AM).

Shop - basic carpentry, plumbing, electrical, painting skills, intro to the tools of each trade covered with some hands on use. Every one chose a project to work on over the course of the class. I made a series of picture frames, which turned out to be a bit more complicated than I assumed.

The overall ideas was to allow a student to transfer to "voke school" after two years, as long as the standard English, math, foreign language, social studies, history requirements were met.

They wouldn't let me take shop, the bastids.

I wish there were more vocational/trade alternatives for kids. Although I think it is fairly class based, in the UK they make the decision for you pretty early on. One of my kids would have blossomed in a vocational school, but never had the chance.

Sounds like you had good home ec and shop classes. I don't' think they have them at all now, let alone the opportunity to go to a "voke" school (lol, my autocorrect keeps changing that to "coke school&quot .

In that time (sixties, New England) schools were starting to take a second look at the one size fits all approach. Drop out rates were phenomenal and a lot of kids just didn't see a four year college track as feasible or had no interest in it. Plus, the trades were well paying, unionized for the most part and plenty adequate to provide for a family.

I had a good time in both. It was a new deal in our school, some sort of looked askance. I was an odd duck as it was, so I went eh.

Wasn't an unfamiliar situation. I helped run my best fiend's campaign for class president. We were in different "cliques". He was in the edgy, rebellious guy group who took it with a grain of salt. I was the opinionated nerd in the fast track group who took it with a grain of salt. Small class, so we laughed and decided to take it on up front.

The campaign slogan - "Two heads are better than one". LOL, it was a walk off.

After 9 weeks of general home ec, I took a full year of nothing but sewing. That was probably the only useful thing I got out of middle school.

Won't ever forget it!

Store bought mayo cannot compare.

Do you still make your own mayo?

I do store bought...

Been hanging out in the Motorcycle & Scooter group for a bit.

excellent store bought mayo in a class by itself.

2 semesters of Home Ec were required. The first thing we made in the cooking term was cheese toast (I think), followed by orange toast. At some point we made biscuits or muffins and then peanut butter cookies. During the sewing term, we made an apron followed by a pleated skirt. We then had to model our skirts at a school mother-daughter fashion show. I took my skirt home and got my mother (who was a fabulous seamstress) to help me finish it. It would have been a pitiful sight without her help.

We moved to Georgia during the summer after 7th grade. In Georgia, Jr. High started in the 8th grade, and IIRC 2 years of home ec were required. I don't remember much about those classes. The school in Georgia was so hot and there was such an awful social hierarchy that I was miserable the whole time in Jr. High.

I really wish I had taken shop, I am still intimidated by repairing stuff.

All I remember cooking in home ec is scrambled eggs and toast, and learning that flatware had to be an inch away from the edge of the table. The only thing we sewed was the most hideous, unflattering "playsuit" in the world.

through the whole betty crocker curriculum. it was great, thorough, and stood me in good stead.
hated the teacher. sr mary alberta, may she rot in hell. i was one of the better cooks in the class, but i was a slob. hurt me big time.

but i learned it. 9 months of hell, but. ...

The first semester was sewing, which I hated. I made this A-line skirt out of kettle cloth, which for some reason I thought would look good, based on the hideous pattern I found at a fabric store. The second semester was cooking!

So, we started simple by making french toast (good intro with eggs, butter, milk, frying pan). I also recall that we made parsnips. I never had one before that class…. boiled, sliced, fried in butter. I remember eating more than my share with my evil twin partner in that class and catching hell for it.

The three things I valued the most in high school didn't include home ec, but typing, shorthand and introduction to literature. I did well in them, and not as well in anything else, mainly because I hated high school. However, the typing served well, and actually, short hand did, too.

Cooking… well, I always loved to cook. I empathized with the home ec teacher's role to pull this stuff together.