The Reintroduction of Home Economics

New York Times article “Time to Revive Home Ec” by Helen Zoe Veit

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/06/opinion/revive-home-economics-classes-to-fight-obesity.html?scp=2&sq=food%20obesity&st=cse

When I think of the high school class home economics, I imagine girls in aprons kneading dough and baking sweets. These girls represent to me the stereotypical view of “home ec” because they are learning how to become the perfect housewife. Even though I have this image stuck in my mind, my view has been challenged when I read Helen Zoe Veit’s “Time to Revive Home Ec.” She argues that Americans do not know how to cook and should be taught by taking home ec classes. When I first read the article, I felt skeptical of Veit’s opinion. I told myself that of course Americans know how to cook. Americans watch dozens of cooking shows and idolize the celebrity chefs of the Food Network. When I thought this over, I realized Veit makes a legitimate claim when she presents the facts that about one-half of Americans adults and about one-third of American children are either overweight or obese. I have read countless times about the effects about being overweight: heart disease and diabetes. Veit writes that Americans do not know how to cook the “right foods.” Our American diet is composed of a couple of basic products: corn, sugar, and deep fried grease. We do not eat enough fruits and vegetables and we overindulge in sugary and salty snacks.

The cooking channels make cooking look easy because the meal is already half prepared. The hardest or the most time consuming parts of cooking have already been completed. The food shopping is done, all the vegetables are chopped and the ingredients are laid out on the table. The celebrity chef just has to throw all the ingredients in a pot and then the meal is finished in thirty minutes. A home ec class would teach students all the components of cooking. They would learn how to make a meal instead of watching some superstar on TV. Home ec should be brought back to schools but now male and female students could learn to cook fresh produce and quality meats. This becomes an enormous task because these classes would be expensive. However, the obesity in America is more costly in the long term than the home ec classes that could change our diet.