Recently a friend and I were discussing whether the following would take off and be beneficial.

People sometimes express concern that many boys / young men are not taught practical skills for healthy independent living. Some of these are "traditionally feminine" skills like being able to cook nutritious food and maintain a clean home. Others are "traditionally masculine" skills like changing a tyre.

The idea is a practical course for boys to attend, where the emphasis is on learning useful skills for survival in the modern world:

  • obtaining food - smart shopping, urban horticulture, foraging and hunting
  • nutrition and cooking
  • maintaining your living space and being clean
  • old-school survival skills
  • understanding relationships

Some schools still teach some of the skills, but this would be more focused and could include more of the community aspects that historical movements like Scouts did. Without being too hokey, the whole thing could be framed around "survival".

Obviously, modern girls would benefit from learning these skills too, but I think it could be really rewarding for boys to do this together without judgement from girls, especially since people still point to boys relying too much on their mothers or female partners in these areas.

Do these courses / programs already exist? Would a gender-exclusive approach like this be possible, and is it necessary or beneficial? Is this better than just looking things up on YouTube?