Today there is no guarantee that a teenager will be prepared to live alone. Due to changes in family dynamics since the 1950s it’s about time that ‘Home Ec’, now called Family and Consumer Science (FCS), is brought back to schools.

There are some kids who come from a home where they might not have a parent to teach them to do things like laundry, making smart financial decisions, or making a proper meal. If a class is offered in schools then everyone can get closer to having an equal starting point. “Sometimes we take for granted that kids know how to wash dishes,” said Susan Turgeson, president of the association of teacher educators for family and consumer science. 

“Too many Americans simply don’t know how to cook.” said Helen Zoe Veit, in  the New York Times article “Time To Revive Home Ec.”  “Our diets, consisting of highly processed foods made cheaply outside the home thanks to subsidized corn and soy, have contributed to an enormous health crisis.” When a teenager is confident and able to cook their own food they will be less likely to gravitate towards fast food or junk food. According to The State of Childhood Obesity, 18.5 percent of children ages two through 19 currently have obesity. Helping kids be knowledgeable about nutrition will reduce childhood obesity rates as well as adult obesity rates because that knowledge will stay with them for the rest of their lives. 

FCS is not what some may think it is. Since the 1950s the curriculum has gone from how to make eggs to learning about nutrition, personal finance, healthy relationships, as well as how to balance work and home responsibilities. In addition to how to cook. This comprehensive education is so valuable that it seems crazy that people would not want a FCS program in every school.

A common argument for those against have a FCS program is that it costs too much money to hire a teacher and have the facilities , as well as it would take time away from academic classes. However, FCS wouldn’t necessarily take away any time from academic classes. Most schools have time built in for classes like gym, band or drama. Why not add FCS to a list of electives. As for the money side, the school would have to hire a new teacher. This would be an expense for the school but if they are a first year teacher and only teach a couple half credit classes, their salary would about ten thousand dollars. In the grade scheme of an entire school budget ten thousand dollars is not that much, and if it will benefit the students wouldn’t it be worth it? Facilities may not be as much of a problem. At least here at Triton our drama room has a full kitchen and could be used to teach FCS during a period where there is no drama class.

Quora. “Should Schools Bring Back Home Economics?” HuffPost, HuffPost, 21 Jan. 2018, www.huffpost.com/entry/should-schools-bring-back_b_14286000.

Veit, Helen Zoe. “Time to Revive Home Ec.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 5 Sept. 2011, www.nytimes.com/2011/09/06/opinion/revive-home-economics-classes-to-fight-obesity.html.