A new 'tougher' thread... and so it continues

Mrs_Chip

I loved my Dom Science lessons, but then I was very interested in cooking anyway, so it was never a chore. We were taught about nutrition and how to wash up and clean (we had a small flat in the DS block, fully kitted out in what would now be very trendy 1970's retro!). Very sexist in way if you think about it, but we did have a few boys in the class. I wanted to do metalwork and woodwork too, but could only do one. Most girls were interested in the lessons then, I wonder how many would be today?

I think my Mum's generation was the last to not to have the sustained pressure of media advertising promoting manufactured food as staple everyday solutions, for us frozen food was a special treat! Combined with the loss of 'cookery' from the curriculum, vital skills have not been passed on.

So Kate, you will be doing vital work! Is it worth contacting the local allotment socs to see if they would be up for donating spare produce - and perhaps incorporate visits to the allotments for those who don't know a lot about growing their own food? And if you have got a Transition town group up there they might be able to offer some advice about partnership arrangements that might be able to offer support of some kind or other. And have you seen this website - ubiquitous JO, but the skills bit might give you some pointer in things that you might need to cover.

scrabbles_2

My mother was a fantastic cook but she wilfully refused to teach me a thing. My parents would have been none too impressed if I'd had any more school time wasted by 'home economics' or 'domestic science' classes. As far as they were concerned I was going to have A Career and frankly anything that didn't contribute to getting me a place at a top-flight university was not worth doing. It wasn't especially a feminist issue - they weren't too impressed at my having to do art, RE, drama, CDT or anything else non-academic either. So it's no wonder that schools don't bother to teach it any more. We are reaching the logical conclusion of what started during my generation's time at school. Home economics were seen as a complete irrelevance. You don't need practical skills any more - you'll just 'buy them in'.

I did get into that top-flight university. During my first year there the fire brigade got called to halls of residence on at least three occasions and these are just the ones I knew about!:
1 - Someone put a plastic plate in the oven and flooded the place in toxic fumes.
2 - A lad in the halls asked someone how long to cook a baked potato for. They said an hour or so. So he put the potato in the microwave, set it to high for 90 minutes, and went out.
3 - Someone in my friend's kitchen set fire to a saucepan full of oil as they attempted to make chips. Everyone there had to be moved to temporary accommodation.

These were people intelligent enough to have got into one of the top ten universities in the country - almost everyone there had at least 3 As at A-level, if not more. Yet many of them were so unable to look after themselves they were a threat to themselves and others. I lived off-campus (by the time I got to uni I had OH in tow) and hearing these horror stories made me feel better about my crappy rental. It might have been nasty, but at least I didn't have to worry about numpties burning it down! And I had a washing machine

(And yes, in case you are wondering, I am a tremendous disappointment to my family. All those brains and education wasted on leading a contented life )

Byatt

Scrabbles, my mum told me she learned by watching her dad cook, so that was the method she advocated for me. Cooking a chicken for the first time when married, I had to call her up to ask if I removed the packaging before putting in the oven. :eek::D Oh, and the giblets...

I never learned anything worthwhile in DS, and this was the 60's. Taught how to iron a hanky and boil an egg. :D Might be why I have an aversion to ironing now though.

Just popped in to say AF's have banana rum jam!!

DD got me some flowers, smellies and a slanket for VD. Wasn't expecting anything. Her card to me said, to my dear mum, from..."a secret admirer..." Gotta love her! :rotfl::A


edit, remember I have a numpty living next door, who has kids and in her late 40's but she still put ash in the plastic bin. (I haven't forgiven her yet!)...common sense cannot be taught.

Mrs_Chip

:rotfl:I had the most unpushy parents ever - I remember my mum saying to me 'You don't wan't to take the 10+, it'll mean you having to go to boarding school' (lie). I didn't know what the 10+ was all about, I was bright enough, but not once was trying to get to university mooted as an option.

GFN123

Evening all

Only had time for a very brief catch up but katieowl - very happy birthday to your son. Your cookery classes sound fab. I definitely echo whoever said try your local council and ask about grants. They may even have a funding or grants office who can advise. Oddly in these austere times, we have a pot of money for community projects which received less applications than last year despite lots of press.

Winchelsea wrote: »

GFN123 - how did my Chloe get in your house?! Not only does she look exactly the same. but she likes playing the same game!

Dolly is my friend's cat but I'm dreading giving her back. She has a HUGE personality and is pretty smart. I watch her continually and she is amazing! I love having her here. Happily I just found a scratching post for her on Freecycle. So pleased about that.

She is adorable and loves to play. She will chase and grab your hands but never ever uses her claws, which I think is amazing as that's just instinctual for cats really. She's been scratching the door mat so I think the post will be very welcome

SDG31000 wrote: »

For Valentine's Day I got a new microplane grater and a near heart attack at the price of beef when shopping in Tesco. I told DH that I didn't want to cook and that I would be happy with a meal deal from Sainsburys. After asking him to take me there for 5 days, I ended up in Tesco yesterday afternoon buying a bone in rib joint for £14.14 :eek::eek::eek: DH definitely owes me a foot rub or 6.

I had a rather expensive beef joint too. It was surprise from OH who cooked me an amazing beef wellington while letting me sit and drink cava, but I found out the beef fillet alone cost £20 :eek:
I would have killed him except it was such a lovely thoughtful gesture and the meal was delicious. We had chocolate banoffees after and then had to lie groaning in bed, for all the wrong reasons, as we were so full we couldn't move! :rotfl:

Right have got a load of stuff I really must sort but I hope you all are having a lovely evening xx

blackandwhitebunny

Katieowl, we had some people from the local authority (I think linked with the NHS as well) who used our classrooms to teach a basics cookery class. It was a bit different from what you are thinking about as it was an adult plus child class but also focussed on healthy budget cooking. It was very heavily subsidised as people paid £1 a session and all the ingredients were provided plus they were given ingredients and a recipe for a related dish to try at home. (They made spaghetti bolognese and got chilli to make at home) One of the main themes was increasing the amount of fruit and veg included and I remember them doing one class based around showing what one portion actually was - very few people knew. They also made sure that all the recipes could be cooked with a minimum of equipment which can often be a big factor. There were some other good ideas (not that I can remmber them all) such as when they made curry the ladies running the course had bought a load of spices in big bags and they made up their own spice mixture and everyone then got a small jar full to take home.
The teaching of cooking in schools is changing in many areas but the biggest problem is the lack of teachers, many younger teachers trained to teach Design and Technology and don't have the skills themselves. The good news though is that some schools are gradually changing the food courses they teach (we certainly have) and are offering Food and NUtrition (which many of you would recognise as the old DS or Home Ec) or the Welsh exam boards catering course - which actually allows the pupils to be taught basic cooking skills. We're also teaching a Jamie Oliver Home Cooking skills course to less able pupils which is nearly all practical cookery. The other big problem (apart from teachers) is that the despite promises from various governments there has never been money ringfenced (or actually provided) to pay for ingredients. I use most of my budget subsidysing this and providing for pupils from poorer backgrounds but find that often what we make is limited by costs and unfortunately lack of support from parents. (sometimes I think that if I get another note from parents saying that they haven't sent in the ingredients as the recipe contains carrots, peppers, any other vegetable and no-one in their family likes it, or any vegetables for that matter - I will scream.)
Okay rant over...

lizzyb1812

One of my sisters in law has never learned to cook and so neither have her two daughters - my brother and their son do it all!

Glad to see you about Byatt, and what a lovely prezzie from your daughter

For those of you who use skimmed powdered milk Tesco have it at £1-15 for 454g. It's usually about £1-68 for 340g and at the lower price works out at under 26p per litre - less than half the UHT skimmed. I've just bought some and it's dated June 2013.

VJsmum

My DS and DD have both had some cooking lessons at school as part of their "tech" - along with woodwork, metalwork, sewing etc. DD is actually a fantastic cake cook but is less inclined to do much else. DS has an interest but is lazy - he is 12 it goes with the territory.

But as an example, last Sunday he walked into the kitchen and just said "bacon" clearly expecting mummy to rush round and make him a sandwich. Well, this mummy was having none of that and sat on the lap top supervising him make his own bacon sandwich - which he did perfectly competently. His repertoire now consists of eggy bread, bacon sandwich, toasties and soup. But at least he knows you have to decant soup into a saucepan before putting it on the stove - and believe me they don't all. We will be extending this repertoire in months and years to come. Oh he also made mince pies and quiche at christmas - with my guidance, but he did all the work.

Also regarding his laundry, I decided the time had come for him to put it away himself. His protests of don't know where it all goes - for which read can't be @r$ed - fell on stony ground also e.g "YOu know when you want pants, where do you look?" Replied in his pant draw (:cool:) "So that's where they go, then!" :rotfl: Emptying the dishwasher was similarly dealt with.

Schools do have a responsibility, but so do parents - there was an article today in the daily fail (not that I get it, someone directed me to it) about kids going to school not toilet trained, barely able to speak or not knowing what to do with a book. Shocking, it really is. Having said that there was an absolute cutie in a buggy on the train, probably around 15 months. He had a book and not only looked at it with interest, but knew it was upside down and turned it the right way before continuing!

rosieben

katieowl wrote: »

Thanks for your response, these comments are really helpful to me, as I've always been pretty hands on in the kitchen, and I find it hard to believe people don't know basics too.
.. Kate

Brilliant idea for the course katie, bet you're oversubscribed!

I remember one of the women on a Jamie Oliver prog (ministry of food?) was boiling water for pasta, and she asked if it was boiling when there's bubbles on top; we can't know something even that basic unless we've been taught.

kidcat

VJsmum- I here the same stories from local schools all the time, one such has to employ extra dinner ladies for the reception class and serve a different menu, as they cannot sit at a table or use cutlery, so they start by serving real basics that can be eaten with fingers whilst teaching them the basics, by the last term they introduce more menu options that the older kids eat. They have extra TAs for the same issues too, as toileting is a huge problem. Its so sad.