It’s not just home economics lessons that are a good investment (Letters, 24 December). May I put in a plea for proper woodwork and metalwork teaching, now sadly replaced by design and technology classes? Those skills I learned in school have been invaluable in the 51 years since I left, more than can be said for differential calculus. They have saved me money, but more importantly have given me a deeply satisfying hobby of model engineering. A snobbish prejudice against anything involving handwork still permeates the education system.
Roger Backhouse
York
• Home economics classes, including laundering, toilet-cleaning and floor-washing, could help in making boys and men more aware of their domestic surroundings. After my mother died, my father, six months into fending for himself after 47 years of marriage, said to me: “I had no idea how much work your mother had to do to keep this home going.” His tasks had been keeping the fire in and mowing the lawn; she did everything else. If boys were made aware of what domestic work entailed, they may feel it was something they could share in.
Margaret Davis
Loanhead, Midlothian
