I did pieced-work cloth squares for a quilt with a high-school geometry class some years ago, and I was amazed that not only did the *students* not know how to thread a needle and sew a seam, their mothers didn't either!
I asked a few of them about it, and they said that these days if you need pants shortened or repairs done, you take them to an alterations shop. (And probably pay quite a lot, though I didn't ask that!)
But unlike in parts of Europe, in the USA hand sewing, basic carpentry and so forth have *not* traditionally been offered in grammar schools for at least 75 years now -- and in the last 30 or 40 years, not in the high schools either. Those who introduce such things as optional extras are looked on as daring innovators
BTW, I have fond memories of my father doing the "wooden toy boats" thing with both his daughter (me) *and* son
I agree with you, in part.
I do agree that it is difficult, if not impossible, to have a true appreciation for the value of a craft, any craft, if one has no idea how it is performed or what it involves. If one doesn't know how many hours it can take to embroider a design, or make a quilt, one is unlikely to understand why such items are so expensive when they have been made entirely by hand.
On the other hand, I think it is still possible to appreciate ordinary quality in every day objects, just from looking at them carefully and ascertaining whether they appear sturdy or fragile.
For my part, I did not receive craft instruction in school. Whatever I learned about sewing, or knitting, or the other crafts I have experimented with over the years I have learned from books, from having someone teach me, or from attempting them until I had an understanding of at least the basic principles.
I agree it might be better to make basic handicrafts instruction available in our schools. It would be, I think, more useful than the "art" we were urged to make with colored paper and crayons in primary school (the only kind of "craft" education I received), even if most children like it no better than what passes for art education in many American schools. However, I suspect this change won't happen--if only because of the difficulty in finding individuals who are both willing and able to give craft instruction on a primary-school level.
when I was in grammar school (US) back in the 60's it was still obligatory to take sewing - all the girls made their graduation party dress in sewing class which was quite the accomplishment. I and most of my friends learned things like embroidery and knitting from grandmothers - it seems though there isn't time nowadays to sit with the youngers and pass the skills on.
To my mind - this is not just about crafts saavy but about self sufficiency.
My experience with learning (or trying out, I should probably say) different crafts at school is pretty similar to what Katrin describes (except I didn't like the "Werken" bit because the teacher was mean and nasty). But today when 13-14-year-olds come to the Textile Museum where I work, a lot of them don't even understand the concept of seams. I had to explain very thoroughly to a couple of girls that clothes don't stick together by themselves; you have different parts held together by seams! I had to actually show them two pieces of cloth, a threaded needle and what happened when you pushed the needle through the cloth before they understood.