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From my experience of talking to a lot of school students (about grades 6 to college, so a variety of children and adults) there're a LOT of people that don't know how to cook. While they're at home they think "I don't need to learn to cook, my parents cook for me." and so they don't learn, and then they go to college and they still don't know how to cook, as a result they end up living off of microwave food.

Examples:
1. Some guys I've talked to take the approach: "After college I'll get married and my wife will cook for me"
2. And I've talked to girls that say: "I don't want to learn to cook, I'll just marry a guy that cooks."

So let me ask you this: What happens if someone from example one marries someone from example two? Neither knows how to cook, which means that they would either:
1. Have to hire a cook, but since they're newly married they probably wouldn't be able to afford that.
2. Go out to dinner, which would eventually get very expensive
3. Have microwave food, which not only is it unhealthy but it's not very cost efficient.

If they could cook then they could easily just make something that doesn't cost very much and it would last a long time.

For example if they were to buy the ingredients to orange chicken:
Chicken, onions (and possible other vegetables, and it doesn't necessarily need to have onions), soy sauce, corn starch, and orange juice. All of these ingredients are fairly cheap, and could last for up to a week (or longer depending on how much chicken you bought), this is assuming of course that they're living with just the two of them. Where as if you bought frozen orange chicken it would last probably 3-4 days max, so it lasts for less days and it's more expensive. So you see knowing to cook would save the couple a lot of money.

What I don't get is this: They teach cooking in school don't they? So how come so many people don't know how to cook?

So everyone should learn to cook, if you don't know how you should learn. If possible you should learn young, before college.

Discuss: Do you think everyone should learn to cook? Should schools have a better teaching system for learning to cook? Do you agree or disagree with me and why? If you're neutral please state your reasons for being neutral. If there's any points you would like to add to my argument I'd love to hear it.

I can cook, and cook well. I'm ready to cook for my wife. <3

That's kind of what I thought... the only time I made an inedible meal was when I put the wrong ingredient it, it wasn't pretty.

Really cooking isn't that hard it's just following instructions, that's why I get sort of exasperated when people tell me that they "can't" cook. And although the basics of cooking are easy to learn there're lots of things to learn about cooking, some of which is difficult others easy. Like what herbs taste good in what dishes and exactly how long to cook something to make it taste really good, etc.

Lucky for me I dodged a bullet on that subject. My honey loves to cook which is great because I suck unless it's making starchy s**t taste good. cool I make pretty tasty red potato hash.

if u r as lucky as me u don't need to cook even if u know how toXD

i agree ppl shud learn how to cook

I love to cook and do so for nearly every meal I put in my face. If I didn't cook well, I'd be pretty sad. sad
I managed to coerce my partner into cooking tonight, though! YAY!

Sadly, most people DO go out to eat about everyday, even though it IS more expensive and unhealthy.

Oh, cooking and cooking well are two different things. IF you are far too rusty to navigate the kitchen, you need help. As for making lasagna or some sort of casserole (is that how you spell it?) I think I'll pass.

I can cook eggs, I can stick something in the oven, I can boil pasta, etc. Cooking something should be seperate from having culinary abilities. You need to be able to at least be able to cook for youself for a short term basis. My father hasn't cooked in years but he definately knows how.