Monday, March 22, 2010

I'd Love to Change the World

Remember,if you are old enough, the old song" I'd love to change the world...but I don't know what to do..." Look it up on u tube ,it's a great old hippie song and works good for today!

You may have noticed a new button on my side bar,Jamie Oliver's food revolution.He is on a campaign to save our children.Did you know that this generation of children are expected to have shorter lives then their parents?Yes, it is true.Do you know what is going to kill them? Food. Sounds strange that the very thing that gives us life is killing them. Most of the things being fed to our children these days doesn't really qualify as food. Jamie Oliver is on a mission to educate children on nutrition and change the food system in the public schools.

I am going to go off on a small rant here...let me get my soap box. We are not teaching our young women the life skills of homemaking any more! I blame the extreme women libbers.Now, don't start your hate  comments yet, hear me out. When equal rights for women started it was a great thing.Women should be able to get equal pay and rights,that is just a given. But somewhere along the way it got warped,women should reject every thing feminine and be men. In doing this I think this is where we failed,we stopped teaching our young women the life skills of home making. Let me tell you it is a life skill, just as important as learning computer skills! I don't care what path she takes,she can be a construction worker,at the end of the day the responsibility of the home and children and what the children eat ,are 99% of the time going to fall on the woman!  Our young women need to be taught how to take care of their homes and families.They need to know how to cook from scratch instead of filling their children with processed,chemical filled empty food! Home economics should be mandatory in every school! Every child needs to know  the basics of nutrition,cooking and home care!

I feel a change in feminism. It is more and more about embracing being a woman...celebrating what we are not trying to change it. This feels me with hope! We are not wrong or lesser for being women,we do not need to change what we are! We are wonderful and wise and powerful  beings,the world needs us as the women we were meant to be!

Now we have to fix the mistakes of the past.We have to educate and save our children. We have to. They have no one else but us.

21 comments:

Nekkid Chicken said...

Honey, I so agree with you. As the BE ALL YOU CAN BE WOMAN of the manor. It is my responsibility to be the female in the family; my husband is not good at multi-tasking. I just feel women are better equipped to handle teaching others in the arts of running a home. LOL My husband leaves his tools where ever he last uses them, imagine running a kitchen like that.

I added this Food Revolution button to my blog. I first saw Jaime's new show coming I think to the US on the 25th this month through Barbara @3Acres. I am going to be homeschooling our sons as soon as the school year ends. The cafeteria food is atrocious with no plans to upgrade to healthier foods. All that crap they feed our kids is kiling them and probably adding to AUTISM, ADD/ADHD, Allergies and son on. I am not willing to take the chance with my son's future.

Thanks for sharing
And just my humble opinions
Mal

small farm girl said...

Right there with ya!!!!!!!

Melodie said...

Mal,
Thanks! I homeschool my son and have never regretted it!He has so many allergies I can't imaging what he would be like if he ate public school food,plus the education at home is just plain better! I agree,we all need to take responsibility for our children! Not to sound like a whack job, but if people think the government is looking out for their children they are sadly mistaken!

Melodie said...

Small farm girl,

THANKS!

Anonymous said...

I AGREE! I believe in the traditional roles of the family. I am the Mom/Wife I take care of the house, meals, etc....At the same time I am woman here me roar. No one walks over me like a doormat. I stand up for what I believe in and my husband supports everything I do and any decision I make. My husband takes care of me/wife, children and the home also. I totally agree with you that we need to put Home Economics bake into the school system. We need to teach our children how to cook, clean, the personal pride of doing a good days work and a good job. Playing on the game system is a recreational activity not a full time activity. I do believe that we have started a momement back to what is right. It will take a little time but I believe we will get there.

the wild magnolia said...

Timely post. These words needed to be said. Balance and moderation. Motherhood and homemaking are an honor. Something has set our views and practice of being women askew.

I too believe in equal pay and benefits for women who work outside of the home. I also believe the large portion of homemaking and child care will be the woman's portion.

I admire women who do both jobs.

Fast food consumption must be at record highs. Preparing home cooked meals must somehow come back to our lives. I know there are many mothers who do the best they can but I also feel a longing for the old home ways. Many don't even know what they are missing but they can "feel" something is lacking.

Coming full circle is something to look forward too. And I do.

Joanna@BooneDocksWilcox said...

I was/am for the feminist movement so women can grow up and be whatever they want but yet it has burdened us with more responsibility, very stressful. Mike is a good helping hand though and many women don't have a helpful husband. Because I/we needed the money, I've had to work outside the home all my married life but my heart has always been at home. One reason I didn't have children is because I knew I wasn't one who could handle anymore responsibility. If I was going to have children then I wanted to be the one to raise 'em, dang sure didn't want 'em going to public schools.

Talking about food, when I was a growing up, we always had a garden, and I worked it. Now when I hear that kids can't ID vegtables, it just breaks my heart, and it's scary. For many, many supper meals, was a large a large pot of soup on the stove with fresh veggies thrown in.

Jamie used to be on the FoodNetWork channel and he was my favorite. He'd go out to his garden, pick fresh stuff, come back in the kitchen and prepare the food, can't get any better than that.

Ruth Trowbridge said...

I totally agree, words that must be said so eloquently put - changes like these can save the world - thanks, peace

IanH said...

I have heard this concern several times before, and that is really what started us into growing our own food and raising our own chickens. Rant away, it is really timely and of great concern. Thanks.

brokenteepee said...

Home economics, like a lot of art and other non-essential type classes have been cut from schools due to budget constraints. In my opinion far too much of a school's budget is spent in the sports department. Not that athletics isn't important but when football is the be all and end all something is very, very wrong.

When a football or basketball coach is making 2x as much as a math teacher (and that is his sole job) something is wrong.

There needs to be balance.

I learned to cook at home out of necessity for reasons I am not going to go into here but I am a very instinctual cook. I am a very good cook. Not everyone is. But cooking basics can be taught. I learned to sew in Home Ec but I think my generation (I'm 50) was about the last to get this in the schools.

If a mother wasn't taught she will have a hard time passing it on to her children.

sunset pines farm said...

My feelings, exactly.
There is no time that is more precious to me than the time spent in my kitchen with my daughter, or outside in the garden, or taking care of our animals.
I pulled her out of public school 3 years ago for many reasons, the ones mentioned above included.
My grandmother taught me everything I know. The least I can do for my daughter is pass it on to her.

melanie said...

Most of the "strong" women I know and admire are proficient in the "feminine arts" and homemaking...with a healthy sprinkling of power tool operation and no fear of dirt...it's how I hope to raise my daughter.

Texan said...

yep yep yep... I could't agree more.. what the heck is wrong with being a woman anyway?

We were not meant to all be men or we would all have been men LOL... I agree equal pay for equal job but some how it got messed up past that ...

and girly you know how I feel about food! or the lack of food that people eat...so many people eat non nutritive chemical based stuff ... not food!

Sad when grown women at the check out have to ask you what a vegetable is because they have never eaten them I guess and the young kids they have to ask too.. and I am not talking about odd veggies. I am talking about everyday ones... uggggg

and I am so on board with Pricilla about the Football comment...hey I enjoy sports myself quite a bit as you well know, but that is not what kids go to school for ... the amount of tax dollars spent on sports is silly and how much of the student body even benefit from those programs, a very small percentage over all ...that money should be going for education and hey lets upgrade the food in the cafeteria too with some of that! Its gotten very out of balance in school.....

Okay I am done with my rant too :O)...

~ Jackie said...

I'm right there with you! Although I can prissy up if I want to, I have never really been a "girly girl." I get power tools for Christmas and birthdays, and I'm proud to say I know how to use them!!

BUT, I also love cooking & homemaking and am proud to have a "reputation" for making some darn good jams and jellies. I love involving my two pre-teen granddaughters in the jelly making, and they look forward to it....in fact they reminded me just last week it was time to go pick strawberries. Yahoo!!

Lin said...

Why are we just expecting the women to do these things?? Why aren't men expected to learn to cook healthy foods too?? What if my son never marries?? Is he just supposed to find some woman to cook for him?? Or live at home with me??

My husband does all the shopping for food and cooking in our house. I cut the lawn and fix things. I don't think there is anything wrong with both sexes knowing how to do all the things around the house. To think otherwise is really outdated.

My father died at the age of 32. We didn't have the luxury of "boy" jobs and "girl" jobs. We did what we needed to survive. To assign jobs according to gender would have done us in. I don't mean to be contrary, but I don't think life is that simple anymore.

Christi said...

I love this! So well put! I am actually guilty of not taking ANY home economics classes in school. I can work on my vehicle, do some electrical, drafting, woodworking, etc., but I'm not as handy in the kitchen as I wish I was. Now that I have kids of my own healthly, 'simple' food is very important to me. I think you should post some cook-from-scratch recipes on your blog. I would love that!

Melodie said...

Lin,
You are lucky to have such a wonderful husband!I teach my son to do all these things ,from cooking to laundry,but the reality is in most homes the woman is still responsible for the majority cooking no matter how many other skills she has.In a perfect world working women would have equal responsibilities in the home ,but this is just not a perfect world.Plus there are so many single parent house holds right now,like you grew up in,where the moms just don't have a partner to help.When I said Home ec should be mandatory,I meant for all kids!

Anonymous said...

Count me in, I'm also in complete agreement. I'm so thankful that my mom was home to raise me and to teach me homemaking skills. While she baked pies, I was given a little piece of dough to roll out and fill with jam. That was my first experience in the kitchen!

Now, I take my granddaughter in hand and pass on the tradition, since her mother won't allow her to bake or cook in the kitchen. We have made everything from pancakes from scratch, to roast beef and gravy. My granddaughter now has a passion for cooking. She also knits, at 9 years old.

sunset pines farm said...

He does look like Nibbles. His name is Oatmeal, he is a wether- part Nubian, part Alpine, part Togg-those big, floppy ears are too cute. He thinks he is the boss. He is also our largest goat and only a year old-we call him our mule. Way taller than me when he stands up.

Lin said...

Whew! Okay, I feel better now. :)

Leslie said...

I totally agree! I think Jamie is right on and look forward to his show. I really liked the special series he had a few years ago when he was trying to change the lunches in England.

I also believe that the art of homemaking was lost with feminism. I will speak for myself when I say that having defined roles in a marriage makes for a very happy marriage. There are things that men do better and there are things that women do better. What is wrong with that?

I came from a time when lunches where made from scratch in my elementary school cafeteria. I remember when there were not any drive-thrus. I had home economics class in junior high and now they do not have the class available anymore. We do need a revolution, the American diet is out of control.