LETTER OF THE WEEK Futility of home economics

It’s a favourite refuge of useless politicians trying to tackle some social problem: put it on the school curriculum.

The latest instance of this is a report from the Oireachtas Children’s Committee on tackling childhood obesity. The report calls for home economics to be made compulsory up to Junior Cert. Somehow, an hour or so of home economics a week will fill our children with knowledge about health and nutrition.

It’s utter nonsense. When I was in school, home economics was regarded as a joke. I remember a textbook with valuable tips such as: ‘Remember to change your underwear regularly.’

The same went for civics: a doss, not taken seriously by teachers or students. What we learned about health, nutrition, politics, etc, all came from home, from not school. Margaret Daly, Bray, Co. Wicklow.