My mother once told me that she considered taking a typing class in high school, and her mother told her not to, because once an employer found out that she could type, the only thing they'd hire her as would be a secretary.

Typing was the best class I took in high school. It meant I could type my own papers in college and not have to pay someone else to do it for me. I think I still have the Brother manual typewriter that I received for high school graduation. (Yes, I went to college before the days of word processing.)

Seriously, except for e-mails most of what I type are process documents for the office and lots of spreadsheets.

But, yeah, I know what you mean, Hil. I ran into that even in the military. Despite the fact I was a trained electronics technician, they tried to assign me to full-time office work at my first command. Uh, no.

Oy, askye, that is a sucktastic day. Feel better!

When I run the world, some sort of home-ec class would be manditory. How to sew a button, fix a hem, read a simple recipe, and the stuff I WISH I had been taught: how to balance a checkbook, how to keep track of your credit, how to read/negotiate a lease ... Basic "adulting 101" stuff. Some of which I still am super-wobbly on.

Basic "adulting 101" stuff. Some of which I still am super-wobbly on.

Seriously. I wish I had been taught all that. Also auto shop.

My father insisted that I take home-ec in high school ... said it was because my mother hadn't learned to cook before they married (going by the results, I'm doubtful she learned afterwards). I didn't learn that much about cooking ... enough that I knew "creaming butter" didn't mean adding cream to the butter (something my mother did). I DID learn the basics of sewing, which did well for me - I made a fair number of my own clothes in high school, made costumes in college. And I learned the basics of embroidery, which I still do a little of.

We had that, boys and girls, in 7th grade, 8th grade and 9th grade. We learned how to comparison shop, make a grocery list, apply for jobs, have a cheese tasting, basic nutrition, meal planning, simple sewing and simple cooking.

Miss Fallon was our home ec teacher, and she was a really great lady!

I didn't need the sewing class they forced us to take in junior high, I'd been sewing for 3-4 years by then and had even won a prize (a pair of pinking shears) for a dress I made. So, while everyone else had to make a skirt (learning how to sew zippers was the endgame), I got to make...wait for it...a pair of palazzo pants. 1969 people, not a good year for fashion.

have a cheese tasting

Love.