Do you remember any girls being in Woodworking class or boys in Home Ec?
Written by woodworker on March 7th, 2009
Jackie O’Blue asked:
There were a few that crossed over to those classes. I always thought it was a good idea to see a few of the guys in Home Econ. I only remember a couple of girls that took Woodworking or Auto Mechanics. class. It was only beginning in the early 70s to allow each gender into classrooms that were generally for one or the other.
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There were a few that crossed over to those classes. I always thought it was a good idea to see a few of the guys in Home Econ. I only remember a couple of girls that took Woodworking or Auto Mechanics. class. It was only beginning in the early 70s to allow each gender into classrooms that were generally for one or the other.
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Tags: Auto Mechanics, Home Econ, Woodworking Class
25 Comments at "Do you remember any girls being in Woodworking class or boys in Home Ec?"
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When I was in high school, in the early 70’s, our school had a class for each. We had “Bachelor Living” for the guys and “Home repairs for girls” for the girls. It was basically home ec for guys and shop for the girls.
In bachelor living we learned cooking, cleaning, minor sewing repairs, etc. In home repairs for girls they taught things like changing your oil, building simple projects, etc. It was pretty cool.
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I remember boys in Home Ec, they did well. I’m going back to the late 50’s early 60’s.
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I made a balsa wood cuckoo clock at primary school in woodworking.
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As a high schooler I took drafting…..the only girl with all those boys!
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i took home ec back in grade school. it worked out great for me. i got a bit closer to the fairer *** and have a love for cooking.
what woman doesn’t want a good cook?
see? nerds are smart.
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way back when i was in HS boys were not welcome in home ec and girls were not welcome in shop classes. too bad.
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Only boys could take wood-working class when I was in junior high school and only girls could take home ec. I wanted to take wood-working until a boy cut his finger off in ninth grade. They let boys take home ec in high school, but made a special class for them, they cooked easy things like wiener wraps, jello and simple salads and sewed karate robes, lol. I think it is good to learn as many life skills as you can, after all everyone eats.
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There were a couple boys who tried hard to get into home ec when we were cooking. Didn’t make it.
There was also one boy who wanted into cheerleading. The teachers scratched hard, I think, to find reasons why he couldn’t.
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Yes Jackie we all took wood shop and metal shop that is what it was called then…as a whole class…I am 42… now my sons have it is sort of funny they have changed the name of things to sound better to the kids…Now it is something like Domestic Engineering…Lol
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In my school, in 7th and 8th grade, all students were required to learn some basics of, home ec. wood-shop, printing (drafting), and art. Classes were mixed and the boys made home ec fun if not a little wild. 1982-83. Still think that is a cool approach, except I still get jealous when my husband can make more stuff with wood etc. than I can because I know how fun it is and I **** doing dishes.
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We weren’t allowed to cross over. Girls had to take Home Ec and boys had to take shop.
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Never did home economics but our science class was next door to their class and I did enjoy sampling their attempts at cooking especially as food was quite short in those days.
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when i went no boys were allowed to take home ec. and no girls in wood shop.
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back in the day so very long ago, we were ot allowed to take home ec as a boy or woos shop as a girl.
The funny thing, it was mandatory for girls to take a year of home ec but boys did not have to take wood shop. Sexiest? I think so, LOL.
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My sons took home ec to learn how to cook and my daughters did well in wood and metal shop. All of this was in the 1970’s
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I was the only girl in “Shop” class. working on cars, and woodwork.
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No, we were completely locked out of taking Woodworking or Drafting classes, but I think woodworking might have been a lot of fun. We were also separated by those who were planning an academic career or those who were learning skills to work in the trades. In a steel mill town, learning a trade was greatly encouraged and night classes were held in many subjects.
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Mid 1980’s I taken home Ec. in 6th grade. Also industrial arts (wood shop/ drafting) Then in 7th and 8th we (the boys) taken drafting/shop class for two hours. There was one boy in my class called Gary who taken home Ec in 7th and 8th grades.
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Those gender lines were never crossed in my school. Sad, but true!!
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It wasn’t allowed at my school. I was denied entrance to the horticulture class because they said there was no place for girls to change clothes. I said I’d change in the bathroom. The guidance counsellor said, “Only ****** change their clothes in bathrooms”. I hope those attitudes are gone.
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When I was a kid boys didn’t need a class in Home Eco. to learn to lick the bowl that Mom had used to mix a cake or prepare the icing for a cake. Girls didn’t need to take shop in school before they could come out to the barn to hold something while Dad drove some nails in it. When I was a kid boys didn’t squat to pea and girls…….well, girls did. Nobody was confused.
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It was the early 70s. I don’t remember ANY boys in Home Ec…and there was ONE girl who took drafting…and I remember everyone thinking how ‘odd’ that was. At my 30 year reunion, that same ‘girl’ had become the owner of a very prestigious and successful industrial design firm. Another ‘girl’ had gone on to become the Fire Chief in her city…pretty cool.
I also remember that there were never any boys in the typing classes…which is ironic, considering that today…EVERYONE uses that skill now….who knew?
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I hated home ec classes because I had learned all of it and much more from my mother. The classes were so lame in the 60s - tuna noodle casseroles and sewing a basic dress.
I always asked to be allowed to take shop classes instead but we actually were not allowed to cross the line.
Luckily, my mom knew how to fix things so I was taught some off the wall skills for a girl of that time - I probably replaced my first toilet before I could drive.
I think what is really needed as a life-skills class now is one that teaches:
setting up a household budget
menu planning and shopping strategies
balancing a checkbook
fixing a leaky faucet
replacing a light switch
checking fluid levels in your car
changing a flat tire
and more of the basic everyday things we run into that young people just aren’t being taught to handle.
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I took electrical wiring, meat cutting, woodworking and shop. Learned how to weld with arc and acetylene, wire a light bulb, fix a lawn mower. And the boys learned how to cook and do dishes. haha
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When I went to high school in the early 80s, about 20% of my cooking class were boys. Girls almost never took auto shop or woodworking.
I wish I would have taken woodworking because now I’m interested in making furniture and building cabinets and bookshelves. And boy, I’d sure like to be able to talk to a mechanic about my car and not feel like I’m getting taken for a ride (no pun intended).
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