I guess I am lucky to have two daughters and a daughter-in-law who all love to do a variety of handwork/sewing - and are quite skilled. All wish that they had more time to do so - challenging careers and children take up most of their time. I can remember when I was in the same position. Now in retirement I can spend more time on such activities. I encourage and teach my grandchildren to sew when they are with me - just like my mother did. The joys of being a grandma!

I am lucky that I had Home Ec classes in Junior High. I remember that the textbooks were from the 50's (this was 1970), but the teacher was excellent. We learned to make jumpers and skirts. I still remember laying out patterns and learning what all the symbols were. We also did some cooking and meal planning. The end of the year, we had a fashion show for our parents. We did the food as well as the show. I had a mother who sewed, but she did not have the patience to teach me. My sewing skills were honed by a friend's mother who also worked at the Singer store.

The emphasis on standardized testing to receive federal funds and general budget cuts have impacted the students in a negative way. Practical arts are few and far between. I am a retired biology teacher and was amazed at the skills my students were lacking. They couldn't tell time unless it was a digital display, measure with a ruler, or follow written directions. These skills were reinforced in my home ec classes.

I think it's such a shame that kids don't get to have mechanics, woodworking and home ec. Not everyone can get a white collar job right now and these skills come in so handy even if you never have to use them for a job (but there are always jobs available for a good mechanic if you need that skill), it's nice to be able to look under your hood and have an idea of what's wrong ( I had a mechanic take an meter to my alternator and tell me it I needed a new one, I told him the meter would work better if it was turned it on, I used one just like it at work), or learn to use tools to make bird house and do some repairs. I still remember the flavor of the shortbread cookies we made in home ec and that's the first time I ever got to use a sewing machine.

I tried the sewing classes for a while. It seems the kids now have so much on their plate, with homework, sports, and just life in general, that the sewing lessons took a back seat to all that. I had more cancellations at the last minute than I actually had sewing lessons. The Viking Sewing Gallery gave my name out. People were gung ho for the first couple lessons, but that dwindled rather quickly. They expect to be able to make their own prom dress after the first lesson.
My grandsons learned the sewing basics in middle school and in high school they actually have a cooking class where they concentrate on various ethnic foods from week to week. I am confident they will be able to take care of themselves when they are on their own.

Recently we had one of our schools assign making quilting blocks for their math class. What better way to learn with such a hands on project! From what I heard, the kids enjoyed the project. If they incorporated these things into school in new ways - such as sewing or woodworking - for reuse/recycle projects, the students would probably get a lot more out of it. I have been out of high school over 35 years, but when I was there, we had Home Economics (sewing was just a small part - we made a simple skirt since I attended an all girls school) but so much more was covered, cooking, parenting, etc. I would like to see these classes return but extremely updated with what our kids will face in keeping a household nowadays. It certainly should be available for all students and made to be an integral part of learning, not just a "freebie class". I am really dating myself, but 35 years ago, the thought process was all boys went to college and it was an option for the girls. Shortly after I graduated, things drastically changed and more and more girls were advised to go to college and that is a wonderful thing for me to have witnessed happening.

Getting back to the original topic - sewing classes - check out the local fabric/craft stores in your areas. Hancocks offers beginning sewing for all ages in my area.

I am a Home & Careers teacher, as they now call it, and teach approximately 400 eighth graders a year. It is a class taught over 3 quarters: one quarter being career / financial literacy oriented; one quarter cooking; and one quarter sewing and yes we teach machine sewing!!! This is a class taught to both girls and boys and I can say it is quite difficult teaching 25 students to sew on machines at one time in a class that the parents tell them "doesn't matter." Why should it not matter? It is a class that can lead to a career and it is an important skill to know to mend and keep clothing maintained. In addition it provides the students with background on chosing clothing fabrics and how to clean vaious fabrics. My class is NOT an "easy, do nothing class"! It is jam packed with activities like learning hand sewing stitches, making a hand sewn quilted potholder, sewing on buttons (with holes or shank), ironing a shirt, threading a sewing machine, making machine stitching samples and making a fleece hat. It is also a graded class -- not Pass / Fail and students who take it lightly occaisionally do fail. Education seems to resort back to what parents think are or aren't important. Parents: Let's make our students think that everything is important!! After all, you never know when they may need these skills or may need to use them to earn a living!!

I think that it is a shame that home ec is not taught in schools today, but as you said, the extras are the first to go. But what do you all think of the fact that spelling and pennmanship is not taught in schools today. I have two grandchildren that have a writing problem, one only prints and the other one's writing is hardly legible and they are both 15 yrs old. I think someone dropped the ball somewhere.

I am a firm believer that girls should have home ec & boys should have shop (with lots of supervision) & then they should swap classes. Girls should take some shop & boys should take some cooking/sewing classes. I worked in the school system (in Canada) for 20 years & because of lack of funding things are let go but they need to be re-evaluated. Perhaps not so much $ in administrative costs & get back to basics.

My son turned 37 this past December. When he was in college (1st year) he called me one night and said "Mom I want to thank you for teaching me how to cook and clean. You would not believe how many guys here don't know how to do either." I was a single parent and worked a lot of hours. My ex offered no help so I had to do it on my on. When my kids went into 7th grade they already knew how to wash their clothes, clean their rooms, clean the kitchen and cook some meals. Once a week we set the table with fine china and they were taught how to use silverware. I don't regret being hard on him or my daughter. It begins in the home no matter how many hours you work. Needless to say when I received that phone call it really made me feel good.

My local HS has "domestic" classes. they are open to all students.They learn to cook and keep a kitchen and pantry, and how to shop for groceries in the Food classes. There are classes that do the tying of quilts. But they learn something about textiles.