IELTS ESSAY W2: Cooking as a compulsory subject at school? Task requirement: Many people believe that cooking is an essential life skill and should be taught to boys and girls at school. Others disagree and believe that it is a waste of school time. Discuss both views and give your own opinion. It is often argued that both female and male students should be taught at school how to cook, whereas other insist that it would unnecessarily take school time from more important subjects. It is agreed that studying science subjects, such as maths and chemistry, are more beneficial for students. This essay will discuss both views using obesity as an example, followed a reasoned conclusion. Childhood obesity is one of the greatest problems of our time in western countries. It is often claimed that teenagers gain weight because they lack skills to cook, and therefore they should be taught at school how to prepare their meals. Not only would they learn useful cooking skills, they also would adapt to healthier eating habits. Teachers often argue that teenagers eat convenience food for lunch because they do not actually know the danger of sugar, fat and salt. According to a survey conducted at the Martinlaakso secondary school, scholars ate junk food approximately twice a week. Therefore, it is urgent to raise the awareness of healthy diets at schools. Although cooking is an important skill in our lives, it is also stated that pupils should not spend their school days in a kitchen. It is more beneficial for them to focus on science subjects, such as maths and physic. These subjects prepare young learners for their further studies and strengthen their problem solving skills. Inevitably, these are valuable abilities when a student seeks a job, in contrast to cooking skills. If cooking were a compulsory subject at secondary school, the number of math courses should be reduced. Recent Pisa results showed that the level of pupils’ math skills have weakened across Europe in recent years. Therefore, it is apparent that our education system needs to teach worthy subjects in first case. In conclusion, I would argue that although cooking skills are important, students should concentrate on science subjects at school. Parents should take responsibility for teaching their children cooking skills and healthy eating habits instead.