In Good Company: Cissy Subjects
"The father who objects to his son being taught ‘cissy’ subjects like cookery and needlework sounds as if he could do with a lesson or two on the facts of life himself. He says his son will be ill equipped to find a job.''
Enid Blackburn wrote these words decades ago, but they still strike a chord in today's tough economic times.
If our job situation continues its downward plunge, dear Merseyside Father, the only occupation your son is likely to follow, is standing in the dole queue where the well and ill-equipped stand side by side. Where cooking, sewing and anything that diverts young minds from the frustrations of being one of the country’s unemployed millions will definitely be considered a primary art.
Even before he leaves school, knowledge of cookery can add a new dimension to his life. One boy from a comprehensive school was quoted in the Press as saying: ‘I especially like cookery because I can make things to eat for myself before my mother gets in at night.’
And I would like to point out to Mr Merseyside that if your son were lucky enough to find a wife to support him, his cooking and sewing would be a definite asset.
During my schooldays my mother’s hacking cough often confined her to bed. My stomach still quivers when I remember the concoctions my dad served under the name of tea. He made up his own recipes – they all tasted the same – poisonous.
He once made scones with salt instead of sugar and we nearly drank the tap dry. But the next morning my mother had stopped coughing and we were all on syrup of figs.
Besides joining the girls for cookery, I believe boys ought to be taught to wash and iron and change nappies.
Also there ought to be compulsory courses on ‘How to cope on the dole.’
What sort of info you are required to give once you reach the girl at the desk. How to fill in forms correctly, how to release frustration without harming others. How to manage on the handout when it costs £1 bus fare whenever you sign on and £1 for medical prescriptions.
When my daughter, who has been on the dole for three weeks, went to collect her antibiotics, I put my pride in my pocket and asked if there was any reduction for redundant teenagers. ‘Only if she is on social security’ was the answer. Which to my mind is a ludicrous way of saying: only if she is receiving extra benefits.
Pupils should also be taught the art of directing their money past the pub doors. What alternatives have they? In bleak weather, pubs offer superior comfort, reality-blunting refreshment and good cheer.
Leisure centres do offer cheap amenities for those who haven’t become too despondent – and can afford the bus fares.
But for most healthy energetic adolescents eager to earn their first wage, the dole buys a bleak and sickening non-existence.
Girls should also be encouraged to what were hitherto considered masculine pursuits. Home maintenance, particularly decorating says my hus-band. While jobless daughter is out ‘despairing’ each evening with her jobless mates, he is condemned to the back kitchen with a paintbrush.
I am not an ardent women’s libber, quite the reverse. For instance I violently disagree with maternity leave for expectant mothers. I believe a child is entitled to mother's complete attention until it is five, at least. And I think that our school-leavers are entitled to a better prospect than a few weeks temporary work while dilettante mothers give birth.
