And yet (from my perspective) they are driving these classes out of high schools in favor of more academia. I value education a lot, but I don't believe everyone should have a college degree. I do believe everyone needs a certain set of life skills that things like shop class and home-ec help impart. My high school didn't offer either of these. I would have liked the opportunity to take a shop class. I think it's more than just sad that these classes aren't considered core/vital curriculum. I think it sets up future generation for dependence on others and on establishments in order to provide for them services (and even goods) that they should be able to complete/create themselves.
I absolutely agree with you. I think that by the time my daughter is in High School she will wonder what Physical Education (gym class), Shop and Home Economics ever were. But these are the things that she can learn at home from me and her mother (not so much the shop class). A trade is an important thing to know. If the zombie apocalypse comes and we survivors are judged on our abilities, nobody is going to care about the wise-cracking business development manager that can strum a guitar and write a song. -I'm basically zombie bait. A poet? -You may actually be fed to them prior to me ;)
Isn't PE mandated or something? Did you see the article last week about how US schools focus more on sports than many other civilized nations in the world? I found this very interesting. Hey! I have a tool kit! I learned how to take doors off their hinges this weekend. Now I, too, will be able to punish my children using this method at some point in time. But my poetry and my (sigh) knowledge of the federal regulations that govern banks isn't going to do me much good in the apocalypse, I agree. I think you and several others on here (humanodon?) are runners. Every once in a while I pick up running and it's mainly in fear of the zombie apocalypse. Rule Number 1 is cardio after all.