Decades ago, home-ec classes existed to teach women how to, well, keep their homes. By the time I was in middle school in the late '80s, home-ec class was co-ed and we learned about sewing, cooking, embroidery. And, well. That's all I remember. It was like a freebie class. My teacher was mean and uninspiring. I was a good embroiderer and a lousy cook. And I didn't care much for either. In my early 20s I met my husband, who is a fabulous cook and can sew in a straight line, unlike me. (He loves the cooking and hates the sewing.) I, the product of a 100% '70s feminist, am creating a home where the roles of man and woman are determined by likes and strengths and not by societal expectations. Pretty groovy.
About a year ago I reminded my mom how to knit, and my grandmother how to crochet. Both are still at it, and obviously so am I. I think they'd both be happy to hear about the home-ec-for-the-new-millenium approach at the Tamarack Community School in Milwaukee, as reported in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal Online. Handcrafts as the foundation for a curriculum, eh? Sounds good to me.