It was Home-Economics!!
It was all girls and no boys. I got to learn fun things like how to sew and cook. I LOVED this class.
I wish it could go on forever, but it was only for half the year. This class meant so much to me. It was a sheltered little place where I felt secure and did things I enjoyed doing. 
For me the most important aspect of the class was the pleasant diversion from anxiety I had within myself as a young girl. The classroom was a sanctuary where I could enjoy being a girl and doing feminine things. I received rest from the turmoil of the day and had fun and made friends. How many young girls out there right now feel the same way I did back then? Maybe I am the only one. I am so thankful God allowed me to attend this class and have this special time to feel positive and happy during the day.
My girls are not offered a Home-Ec. class in junior high (the most vulnerable years, when girls feel self conscious), they are offered a nutrition class in high school. Looking back, I learned to "hard cook" an egg from my teacher. I remember her specifically saying, "We don't boil them, so we should not call them hard boiled eggs. We cook them gently." I learned to set a table and wash dishes. I learned to sew a straight seem, and that fabric must be shrunk before sewing. The skills I learned built my assurance and helped me through the shy years. Thank you for listening to one of my thoughts. Please share with me if you have a similar story, I'd enjoy hearing about you.
She gets up while it is still dark;
she provides food for her family
and portions for her servant girls.
She considers a field and buys it;
out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
She sets about her work vigorously;
her arms are strong for her tasks. Proverbs 31:15-17
12 comments:
I'm so sorry that you're having to worry about hubby's job maybe. I hope his co-worker finds employment soon, but it's a bad market out there.
xoxo,
Connie
Hoe Ec was my favorite as well.
I took all the classes offered. Esp. Sewing, it was awesome.
Thanks for sharing!
Oh my goodness Kathi, you have just brought back memories for me. I loved Home Economics in Jr High. That's where I learned a lot of things too. I took Home Ec all through High School, they were my favorite classes. You put into words exactly how I felt in Jr High. The picture of the classroom looks similar to the classes rooms I had.
great post. I had the same difficulties as a young girl. I was so uncomfortable with myself and others may have viewed me as 'strange'. But girl, we made it thru and now are great wives and mothers!!! LOL!
Home Ec was a required Freshman class for me. Elective for the other three years. I was able to take refuge in the classroom every year. It was a safe haven for this little bumpkin who did not have the "right" clothes to wear and who lived up on the hill where the other poor kids lived.
I am sorry girls are no longer to take this class. I think our schools offer something called Life Skills.
In this class they even carry a doll around that represents what life would be like would they get pregnant. This doll is computerized and reports the type of care it receives. Sad commentary of life today. What would be wrong with teaching the girls to JUST SAY NO!! I guess I am going off on another rampage though, aren't I?
Loved my Home Ec classes!!!
Thanks so much for commenting! That is cool that you substitute teach, I am sure you get to work with great children there too.
I have never taken a home-ec class. The college I went to (Pensacola Christian College) offered it as a major for awhile, but then stopped.
Have a great day!
I LOVED Home Ec!! I remember our Home Ec teacher was a robust cheery woman who was married to the custodian of the school. They were both so nice.
Hugs,
Robin
Hi Kathi,
This is such a great post, it reminded me of my Home- Ec. classes and how much fun we had too with just us girls. Thanks for the memory.
I also enjoyed reading your last post, so enjoyed seeing the pic. of you in your class room, you look so natural and like you are having so much fun.
Have a great week end.
Hugs,
Sue
Oh Kathi...I loved Home Ec. I felt so "at home" there, much like you. In high school, I took Sewing every single year. My nickname in high school was Susie Homemaker. It didn't start out as an endearment, but it sure became one...and still lingers today, what with my blog name. Have a blessed weekend!
Love,
Amy
Girl I do not know how you got dropped off my Google Reader list. But you did. Loved the old pics. What a lovely woman of God you are now! Hugs!
Oh how well I remember those years. In my area, we went to Middle School from 6th-8th grade. Home Ec was still gender-segregated and I loved it! I was a shy, awkward, tiny little girl and, like you, loved that Home Ec was "just us girls".
Interestingly, my own kids had the same home ec teacher at the same middle school I went to. Of course, times had changed and boys & girls were in class together. But my former teacher, their current teacher, still made sure they ALL knew how to sew on a button, cook a basic breakfast and lunch, how to balance a checkbook and other life skills. She was from the "old school" and felt that her class was the only one geared to teaching those life skills. She has since retired, that middle school has been torn down and I don't even know if home ec is offered anymore.
Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
Oh my I loved HOME EC too...and thought about it being my major in college. MY favorite thing is being a wife and mom and doing all the housey things...playing house!
xo rachel
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