I wanted to add I think it easily is part of overall health and self sufficiency. Children need to learn what a vegetable is and how to prepare meals from scratch. If we want our society to eat less packaged and processed foods, then a class that discusses being able to pick fresh produce at a store, how to cook a variety of meals, how to prepare foods quickly and safely is extremely valuable. I don’t really care if a few students find it boring, there are always bored kids in every different type of class.
Plus, it depends on the teacher. We made pasta, homemade cheese, bread, many different meals that allowed us to know how food was made, not just how to cook it. Learning to iron a shirt can mean big savings for someone starting out in the businessworld; that is a one day instruction, so even if you hate ironing, it is not a big annoyance to go through that lecture one day. Not ruining a load of laundry is also a big money saver. How to remove stains. Sewing on a button. Home Ec is very practical for daily life, not to mention those students who might discover a love of cooking, sewing, or some other part of the course.
I find that very many parents don’t teach these things to their children. The parents might be in a place that they can financially afford to send everything to the cleaners, and feel overwhlemed by time constraints to cook from scratch, or take the time to teach their children cooking skills, even if they do cook from scratch. So, things that were passed down several generations ago regarding home are not passed down as much anymore.