[katy1981]

my son has a cookery lesson once every two weeks and makes some at daft like rice krispie buns how in gods name is this education.

i keep hearin that this countrys kids are so unhealthy and that they eat too much rubbish and that parents should help the goverment tackle this.

i agree to an extent but i also belive they should be taught to cook properly its rubbish what they get taught to cook i mean come on picture it hi hunny how was your day you must be starvin heres a rice krispie bun and a can of coke enjoy. I do my own cookery lessons with my son three times a week and he helps with neary every meal so he can fend for himself one day. i think that cookery lessons need more fundin and support from the goverment and they need to be recognised as serious a subject as maths, english and science. What do you all think vote and let me know.

[zombiekillah]

good idea really . my school cooking lessons consisted of thing like making buns out of all the sweets i could fit into it (more like runny vomit like substance than buns) but we learned how to make chow mein and fried rice which have been very useful over the years. thing is they can only teach you the very basics , and have to adapt lessons to what everyone will like ... i taught myself to cook pretty much , my parents don't do much of it , my gran taught me to make cakes as a nipper but the rest was self taught ... which i find quite rewarding ! something my mother once said to me that stuck was , 'if you can read , you can do anything' . which is true in a lot of cases ..... as for this , if you can read a cookery book youre pretty much already there ....

[Shiesh]

If you were born in 1981 how old is your son???

Even if you had a teenage pregnancy and gave birth at 14/15 your son would only be just ending primary school education.

I would expect at that level of education they probably only do teach very basic cookery skills!

I recall at secondary school myself at the level of aged 12/13 we only cooked very basic foods..I am sure if he develops a passion for cookery...upper school and college will support him!

[Hels]

A teacher once told us "school is to prepare you for life" well doesn't seem like that anymore. It's more concerned with getting you to pass exams so that the media can have a go (again, yawn) about how the exam system is being dummed down (nothing about how hard the kids are working)!

Life skills classes should be all about how to survive - this should include how to shop for and cook healthy food, how to clean, wash, iron, basic hygeine etc. But all of this 'education' should be backed up at home with parents being the prime 'educator' particularly for life skills.

I remember spending many hours (particularly on Sundays) with my dad in the kitchen. We'd decide what we were going to cook and then do it. Dad is (and always has been) a better cook than mum. It doesn't matter whether you have boys or girls, they should be encouraged to participate in the running of the household in terms of cleaning and cooking. It's unfortunate that some parents do not spend enough time educating their children and see it as a job purely for 'the state'. Perhaps that is where the biggest education should be.

I didn't think I did too bad as a parent, until recently when my grown up daughter asked me to make her an egg sarnie, when I told her to do it herself, she said she didn't know how to break an egg !!! Now I know i've failed!

[JoeP]

Things must have changed - when I was at secondary school, (1970s) all pupils had to do some Domestic Science (cookery) and even needlework.

The meals cooked were pretty rudimentary - they had to be easily mnageable with within a lesson structure. However, they were things like bread, shepherd's pie, apple crumble, etc.

However.....

I genuinely think that this a a parental task. For example, school cookery lessons cannot even hope to do stuff that suits all people. We now have a society where dietary considerations need to be taken in to account, be they based on religion, health or ethics. Parents are in a position to best teach their kids how to do these things. I could cook pretty well by the time I left school at 18 to go to uni, thanks to my mum and aunty. For several years I used to cook both my own and my other's lunches in the school holidays becuse she was working early mornings - that was part of my daily set of jobs.

In general 'life skills' SHOULD be taught at home because to leae such an important thing to the schools is abbrogation of parental responsibility.

Joe

[DragonofAna]

Sorry but I agree with Katy1981. My children were helping me cook biscuits, bread, and other delights at home when they were only 4 - 5 years old. They started making crispie buns at school as part of their education when they were 11 - 12. By that time they could make these with their eyes closed so what was the point?

Of course - not all children have parents who cook or bake at home. Some parents are too busy with work and such to spend the time teaching their kids. Not the parents fault.

My youngest was helping make chocolate crispies at school when she was 3 years old so I guess it all depends which schools the children attend.

Yes - to cookery education being a major subject. Just think "I may not be able to do algebra but I will not starve to death cos I cannot cook"

Dragon

[samc]

If schools are going to Home Ec/Domestic Science/Food Technology at least teach them something practical and develop skills for life.


My youngest sister left school 5 yrs ago and everytime my parents go away she's on the phone wanting easy to do recipes.

She did Food Technology GCSE but never actually cooked anything. They just did the theory. Not even a chilli, shepherds pie or apple crumble appeared out of the class.

My dad was a pretty good chef and those of us interested had many a happy time on Winter evenings cooking and baking for fun. My sister wasn't interested and now can't leave home for fear of starving.

[Tracie]

Originally posted by samc

She did Food Technology GCSE but never actually cooked anything. They just did the theory. Not even a chilli, shepherds pie or apple crumble appeared out of the class.

I'm really surprised at that... my mum teaches Food Technology and her GCSE classes complete at least one practical session a week, if not more. Maybe it varies between examining boards (and things may have changed from 5yrs ago), but as far as I know Food Tech students are supposed to both design and make dishes as part of their coursework. It's a real shame that your sister missed out on doing that

[samc]

Originally posted by Tracie
I'm really surprised at that... my mum teaches Food Technology and her GCSE classes complete at least one practical session a week, if not more. Maybe it varies between examining boards (and things may have changed from 5yrs ago), but as far as I know Food Tech students are supposed to both design and make dishes as part of their coursework. It's a real shame that your sister missed out on doing that

It is a shame! She might not think Pot Noodles are so tasty.

Knowing my sister it is possible she 'got out of' picking up a pan and peeling a potato.

And thinking about it more one of my young cousins at school is doing Food Tech and they had brought home 'goodie's though not weekly so your mum is a credit.

So think I will retract my previous statement and apologise. It's not the schools, it's my lazy sister who is the problem.

[NKOTB]

Surely it all deplendd on the age of the child and whereabouts in the reucation system he/she is. However, it is important that young people are taught about FOOD - what to eat, what not to eat - and how to prepare it. I agree that buns are silly - and if anything should be taught at home let them make the fun stuff there. I was a child in WW1 (yes, there as still some of us around) and therefore because food was in short suplly I did not cook at home but I did learn from my mother - not just about how to prepare food but how to present it. My son enjoyed coolking from being small - but not my daughter - but they ar e both excellent cooks now. Its a big help if you and they actually enjoy food.

[psyn]

When I did Food Tech GCSE, we were given profiles of a range of people to cook for - for example - a diabetic with a meal budget of £2.50 per portion. This approach worked well as nutrition and budget both have to be considered. We did a practical at least once a week. As far as I know this practice was the norm at schools in my area.
Now as a primary teacher myself (year 1), each child in my class prepares food at least once every 6 weeks (more often for special projects such as Chinese New Year). We very rarely bake sweet products and concentrate more on the skills such as weighing ingredients, chopping and mixing. My aim for this year is to grow herbs and vegetables as a class. Lots of teachers in my school don't seem to bother and resort to things such as buns which is a shame as I feel the children get so much out of freshly preparing food.