MCPS is known for its superb academics. However, whether it scores an A+ in other regards, such as nutrition and textiles, is highly questionable.

Originally offered as a way of enriching women’s education in the mid 19th-century, home economics has slowly, but not quite efficiently, established its importance in modern education.

According to a Oct. 2014 Huffington Post article, 187 colleges and universities in the U.S. offer home economics as a college major. Called Family and Consumer Sciences, this major not only focuses on traditional home ec courses but also heavily centers around STEM education.

With a great focus on real life, home ec should be offered as an official MCPS course. Whether an Honors course or an AP credit one, home ec is not only useful for everyday life but invaluable for personal and interpersonal growth.

With AP’s just next week, and an instinctual pressure to play sports and be president of a club and do community service, high school is hardly the time to just do what one wants. However, home ec can offer such a respite.

Additionally, stellar grades do not compensate for a lack of basic skills. The former proves how much and how well a student studies whereas the latter proves how prepared a student is for the future.

Of course, learning how to sew or design a room may take some practice to master, but learning how to maintain family relationships and start a business are life skills that are just as crucial, if not more than, learning the Pythagorean Theorem or knowing how to write a resume.

Moreover, knowing at least the basics of cooking and how to care for your health can also prove beneficial, especially in college when you have minimal time to do anything but work.

CHS requires students to take one semester of health and two semesters of art. Home ec covers not only sexual education and fitness but also interior design and textiles, so why should we take multiple classes when we can just take one?

Fortunately, unlike many other high schools in the U.S., CHS does offer home ec, albeit a small part: Personal Finance class. With that said, there is no reason for us to not continue our homemaking endeavors.

Besides, history has changed: women are not the only ones who should be able to cook or stitch up a hole in their shirt.