Learning cooking skills from an early age is so important in later life

I READ with interest Cate Devine’s Inside Track article about the decline of food teaching in schools (“No dough schools to rise to healthy food challenge”, The Herald, March 18). As a former domestic science/home economics teacher trained at the Glasgow dough school, I could not agree more.

I still meet up with former colleagues and friends with whom I trained and we have long lamented the fact basic cooking skills are no longer taught in schools.

The young mums of today do little home cooking as everything is bought ready to microwave or open and eat and therefore the younger ones see no examples of home cooking. I know this does not apply to everyone but it seems that in areas where cost and diet are important factors, families have no idea how to begin to prepare a meal from raw ingredients.

I am not sure how this can be addressed as there are so many new subjects being added to the curriculum but perhaps some out-ofschool hours or hobby classes might be one way, although I feel the mums are also needing to be taught cooking skills.

I feel sad that valuable things are no longer important. Margaret Bryce, Greygables, Brodick, Isle of Arran. CATE Devine’s article expressed my thoughts of many years with regard to the teaching of home economics. Having been trained to teach basic food values and sensible eating it has been painful to see the subject being run down and not receive a proper place in the school curriculum.

I am convinced that all pupils should go through school with a basic food nutrition course and be taught how to look after themselves in regard to shopping, eating and general health.

Unfortunately, economy has played a large part in the running down of home economics, a costly subject needing replenishable ingredients.

The challenge of tackling obesity could have been greatly helped by more teaching about food values and diet. Olga Gordon, 4 Holm Avenue, Uddingston.