Gender equality has been the battle cry of the current generations for a number of years. Typically, women strive for some type of equality with men but it can also be accomplished from a different direction. Perhaps that is why one school in Spain is doing what they are doing, because it is now necessary for men to be more equal with women.
According to the more traditional gender roles, the husband would go off to work and the wife would stay home to take care of the home and the children. Most women work outside the home today and men help out with childcare and housework. Many women also feel that they still carry the bulk of the load.
They may be wondering why the majority of the household tasks are done by them. It may actually have something to do with the possibility that men don’t know what they’re doing.
When many girls were children, they help their mother around the home and learned how to do many of the things that they still do now that they are adults. Most boys were off doing something else.
If men never learn how to cook a meal, do the laundry or make the bed, they may resist the possibility of doing them when they get older.
Gabriel Bravo, a coordinator for the program, said:
“It seemed very useful for our students to learn to perform these tasks so that, when they form a family, they are involved from the beginning and know that a house is a matter of 2, it’s not a matter of the woman cleaning, doing the dishes, and ironing. This will allow them to become aware and learn to handle themselves at home.”
At first, some of the young men at the school hesitated to learn more about ironing and sewing. After they learn how to do it, they realized it wasn’t that difficult.
“For some it was the first time they had held an iron, it was fun and instructive at the same time, we are quite surprised and the parents are very happy.”
We live in a time in which home economics is not typically offered and if it is, it is not required. This school seems to be making strides in that ‘old-school’ direction.
