This school has introduced a home economics class where boys learn to wash, iron, and cook
Once generations of young people learned to tidy up and keep their room in order when they were called to do their military service.
Today compulsory military service no longer exists, and it is really rare, especially among boys, for boys to know how to do the simplest housework.
To remedy this, a Spanish college has launched the idea of including lessons in home economics among the other subjects taught at the school.
The institute in question is the Colegio Montecastelo which is located in Vigo, a town in north-western Spain that is part of the province of Pontevedra.
In the normal scholastic program, a home economics course was added in which, ironing, cooking, cleaning, etc. are taught.
As instructors, in addition to members of the teaching staff, there are also some of the fathers of these same students.
This novelty has taken everyone a little by surprise and at the same time aroused much curiosity. When we talk about cooking to schoolchildren this is seen to be quite normal, but regarding the other housework chores, some people were not very convinced.
Despite the initial resistance, the home economic lessons continued, and with discreet success, with many of the young men discovering that they were very much able to do things, typically feminine, that they had not even imagined that they were capable of doing.
Satisfaction and applause also came from the parents who took the opportunity to test the skills of the boys also at home.
The students did make a bad showing and demonstrated that they had learned well what had been taught to them in the classroom.
Beyond a clever advertising or marketing strategy, the initiative is extremely valuable and useful. With this preparation, in fact, young people can learn skills that will be useful to them as adults, both alone and when they form a family.
Another progressive aspect is also to convey the idea that everyone should be able to make their own contribution at home and that certain tasks do not necessarily belong to women or men only.
Given the success of the experiment, the administrators of the college have made it known that they will increase access to the courses, hoping to be an example also for other schools in Spain.
