Originally Posted by
Arleners
I teach a quilting course in the continuing education program at our local high school. The room I have been assigned to use is the home economics room. From what I can see, there is a lot of attention paid on cooking. The kids also learn about child care. Besides for the machines my students bring in the evenings, I have never seen a sewing machine in the room. Home sewing is a dying art. You will always have people interested and learning, but maybe from relatives and friends, not from our public education system.
It's because of societal changes and schools having to teach what parents don't. I'm 60 and back when I was in high school it was taboo for unmarried girls to having babies. Schools have to focus on child care now. Also, with more emphasis on testing, "vocational" courses took a back seat.