Chris wrote about teaching crafts to young people in schools. I don't know
what the current situation is in the UK with the National Curriculum in
either primary of secondary schools (I retired in 1997), but when I was
teaching there was no time for "recreational" subjects. I'm not putting
lacemaking down, but that's what it would have been considered as. I know
the National Curriculum has been altered drastically since I retired, but
I'm sure there are still many restrictions on what can be included.
While I was teaching(before I even looked at lacemaking), one of the maths
teachers joined the community education classes in lacemaking being run in
the evenings and suggested that perhaps it was something they could consider
in the art department. The response was that it wasn't creative enough
because the patterns were set - there was no scope for individual
creativity! Admittedly I don't think the modern and creative lace using
different fibres and techniques we see now were common then. The internet
was only just coming on stream in schools, and there certainly weren't the
number of lace web sites there are now. If the art teachers bothered to see
what's being achieved, I'm sure they could include it in the curriculum.
I don't know whether it's still the case, but students of school age (under
16) wouldn't have been able to join the evening lace classes because it was
considered that they had enough to do coping with their school curriculum
unless the school's head teacher signed to say it was relevant to their
schoolwork and that the schoolwork wouldn't suffer. Slightly ridiculous as
they could join the scouts, guides, go to dance classes, music classes or
anything else outside school time but not anything run under community
"education".
There is no need for it to be considered "craft" now. That term seems to
"lower" people's view of it. Call it "creative" or "art" and you attract a
whole different group. Silly really.
Jean in Poole, Dorset, UK
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