Economics

In my first year at Secondary school Mrs.Norton, the needlework teacher, required me to make a pinafore from black and white gingham then decorate it with a coloured cross stitch border. The edges had to be turned twice and neatened with catch stitch. Phew.. my mother took over and finished that bit. Mrs.Norton was so impressed she asked me to show the class how I’d done it so nicely 😉 Did I wear it for Domestic Science in my second year? No, I needed a white overall with my name embroidered near the collar. How I wished I was called Ann or Mary. Rebecca took forever to complete. ‘O’ levels, then ‘A’levels and D.Sc. became Home Economics. Three years in Bath then jobs in Orpington, Barnet and Hemel Hempstead brought another name change, now I was teaching Food Technology and the National Curriculum took away our ability to decide our own curriculum based on the pupils needs. One whole term had to be devoted to airline catering. British airways sent us cartons of packaging, husbands brought containers from trips with Air France, Lufthansa, Air UK etc. The children planned what they would put in them for children, people with dietary needs or allergies. What did they actually cook? Nothing at all. These are the parents of today, now faced with providing food for their families having very little proper teaching. The supermarket shelves are heaving with ready-meals containing many ingredients that wouldn’t be there if it was home made. It’s rare to see a shopper looking at the labels. Home Economics went out of the window – with it went common sense!