It was mandatory in my school district (Long Island, Sachem School District - not the district from which I graduated). I can't remember if I was in 7th or 8th grade though - 7th was '88-'89, 8th was '89-'90.
There's a discussion on home ec on a message board I frequent, and I can tell you that it was a requirement in my school district in junior high.
I don't remember much about the cooking part, but I remember sewing. You could choose from a number of pillow patterns, each a fun shape and made with felt. I made an ice cream cone that had a drip of ice cream that was sewn separately and then attached to the finished pillow.
Unfortunately, the part of home ec I remember the most was being self-conscious of my arms for the first time. I wore a sleveless top one day and heard a boy at my table whispering to his neighbor that fat people shouldn't wear sleeveless. It's only been in the last couple of years that I've gone sleeveless in public again.
I hated junior high boys.
Posted by beenie at November 14, 2004 11:59 AMWe had to take home ec, too, at some point. I remember cooking. We made chocolate chip cookies once. I distinctly remember the teacher (who was the mother of a boy I would end up dating in high school and was our soccer coach) telling us to measure equal parts shortening and butter. A boy on my group insisted she had already measured the stuff and dumped the entire portion into the batter. When we baked them, the cookie part melted into one sheet of goo with little piles of chips where the cookies should have been. I hate him.
We also did pizza. I learned how to properly slice pepperoni without chopping a finger off.
Posted by: Malia at November 16, 2004 08:34 AM