Why has “Home Economics” been erased from colleges?

Question

A woman wants to be a doctor, and she can apply for a scholarship --- men and women council her and praise her for her studies.

However, if she desires to be a young mother many in society scoff at her and give more warnings than praises … plus, few beyond her immediate family (husband, parents) reach out to educate her on how to do this.

What’s wrong with getting a “Mrs. Degree” in today's society?

Please answer as if you were a School Career Councilor - Thanks.

Answer 1

Nothing is wrong with that option, if it is what makes you happy and gives you fulfillment.

With college curricula, you have to realize that they are determined by what classes have enough students to make money (and pay salaries, etc.). Home economics classes do not have much demand these days, so they are not economically feasible for colleges.

If your goal is a "Mrs. degree," remember that you can choose all sorts of majors to do that. Why not major in education or nursing, for example? Those would be wonderful skills to contribute to a happy family.

Answer 2

At my high school they did have a home ec class (that was 5 years ago). It wasn't called that, I can't remember the exact course title, but it we did some cooking, sewing, learned how to do a budget. I'm pretty sure my college doesn't offer anything like that, but I think I have seen some colleges with a home economics major. really enjoyed the class I took and agree with you, it would be a great benefit to women (and men) to learn some of those things. When I have a family, whatever career or job I have is gonna take second place. I absolutely would not mind being a housewife if my husband can financially support the family. I have already decided my children will not spend a minute in daycare. The first five years of my children's lives, I will be there for every moment.

Answer 3

Uh, colleges do still have "home ec." It's usually called "family studies" or some such. You are right that universities don't teach their students how to cook, but this is more the domain of the technical college.

Universities aim to provide their students with liberal educations. These consist not in hands-on, career-specific training such as auto repair, massage, or welding, but in fields that are broad and often theory-based: math, philosophy, languages. Degrees in cooking, textiles, child-care studies and other hands-on subjects can be readily had from any local technical college, so you might try there before turning to the university that specializes in abstract rather than concrete knowledge.

Answer 4

Public schools are financed by the state and what their main goal is training a knowledgeable workforce for employment so that the state can than have a larger tax base to work with. Private schools have to break even/make money for them to be a viable alternative, it does not make economic sense for an individual to spend $120,000 on a degree when no income will be derived from that education.

For those who are looking for home-making options, technical colleges have a plethora of programs that would allow the individual to be better trained for raising a family. The local technical college have the following programs that would benefit a stay at home parent.

Child and adult care education.
Accounting/Finance and Credit.
Culinary Arts.
Emergency Medical Services.
Computers.


At the age when most children go to college, very, very few are married so while their parents may support them, it changes the dynamics of future relationships if one is known to want to stay home. If I had the option, I would opt to stay home and have my wife support us financially.

Answer 5

Definitely agree with Derovious. Honestly, you're supposed to learn cooking by yourself, when you're out of your parents', if you didn't cook at home. I'm 27 and still can't cook (well, just the minimum), but I wouldn't expect a college to offer such classes. As for taking care of a baby, you learn it once you have one. parents usuallyget a book when the woman is pregnant, and learn a lot of things about what to do/not do, or what to eat/not eat duribg pregnancy, and what to do when the baby is born You're also helped by your parents, and by your doctors. Cleaning? Come on, everyone knows how to clean! And taking care of bills? Well, same thing: you start doing it when you're at uni, or when out of high school. No need to take a class for that. If really you are hopeless at it, I'm sure you can find books in the subject, or you can ask someone you know about it.

So, what wrong with a "Mrs Degree"? You must be kidding me!

As someone pointed out, if you're interested n knowing a lot of things about any of those subjects, there are classes which are a bit more thorough, or which only require a few hours. No need to get a degree in that.

Answer 6

The truth is that the dearth of Home Education, even at the Middle School or High School level, has nothing to do with Feminism per se.
Those classes were opened to boys and men as well as women back in the late 1970s. Both men and women were uninterested in the courses offered, and eventually those classes ceased to be offered, at least in the Houston area, where I raised my kids.
For the record, I took and loved Home Ec courses.
I think it's sad that those skills aren't valued or taught to/by the general population.
I was lucky enough to work at jobs that enabled me to be with my kids most of the time, and I taught them those homemaking skills myself.
Maybe it won't be too long before somebody recognizes what we've lost by discontinuing Home Ec classes and they'll be re-instated.
For the misogynists and Feminist Haters here on YA--
Gasp! Yes, Feminists can clean,cook, bake bread, have babies, raise them themselves,work, laugh,love men, and still not compromise their Feminist sensibilities!
Great question.
Good luck

Answer 7

In this day and age when divorce is more than common, it would serve all males and females, well to do all they can to provide a good future for themselves.

When women of the "Mrs. Degree" generations found themselves divorced after 25 years of marriage, they were without means to earn a living that kept them in the lifestyle they had grown accustom. Had these women taken college more seriously in the pursuit of an education and a degree, they would not have to rely on a divorce settlement which isn't usually enough to exist on (nor should it be now-a-days).

Answer 8

Because our twisted society has decided that being a stay at home mom or a homemaker is an undesirable career choice. They'd rather have kids only being raised in public schools where they can be brainwashed and destroyed. Society prefers having kids out on the street fending for themselves.

Because of feminism, women are pressured into being career oriented instead of family oriented. So, in order to further an agenda, those who don't want to go along with it must be ridiculed and outcasted for their choice.

I wish that I'd been taught a lot of practical life skills in school. I got out on my own and didn't know what papers to file, what to do about taxes, how to maintain my car.... Practical life skills would make so many things work better. My dad left us and my mom did her best to teach me her half of the life knowledge, but the parts that my dad had dealt with, I was left up in the air. In a single parent society, some skill sets need to be offered in school.

Answer 9

I think the MRS degree is a silly thing and a waste of time. To clarify, my definition of an MRS degree is going to college to find a husband and then nt do anything with her degree (if she finished it). My university does have classes in the tradtional Home Economics area, but they call it somthing else. Many of those things you can learn either by taking a couple classes, by attending classes at community centers or by life experience- why get a degree in them? If you want to be a stay at home mom, then more power to you, but you run the risk of defining yourself by your children if that's your only ambition.

Answer 10

In the home-ec classes of the 50's, women learned how to cook, clean, take care of children, and behave properly at dinner parties. Now, both men and women learn how to cook and clean in HIGH SCHOOL home-ec classes. (Although where I come from, we call that class "independent living.") You can't spend four years on it. And no institution of higher learning would consider it a veritable major.