Comments on: Sewing on a button http://whatjapanthinks.com/2010/02/16/sewing-on-a-button/ From kimono to keitai; research Japanese facts and figures through translated opinion polls and surveys. Thu, 10 Apr 2014 22:29:01 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.8.2 By: Taro 3Yen http://whatjapanthinks.com/2010/02/16/sewing-on-a-button/comment-page-1/#comment-214339 Tue, 16 Feb 2010 08:46:25 +0000 http://whatjapanthinks.com/?p=2510#comment-214339 Sheee-it, I went to school before you were born. Even then at least one semester of “home ec” for the guys and one semester of “shop” for the girls was required in Chicago area for the guys in 8th grade (13 years old).
As Janne said, “Those classes are probably the most useful ones I ever had.” My mandatory “Home Finance” class in high school served me so well that every Income Tax season I had my pockets full of $10 bills from my fellow grad students who asked me to just “double check” their tax returns.

]]> By: Janne http://whatjapanthinks.com/2010/02/16/sewing-on-a-button/comment-page-1/#comment-214320 Tue, 16 Feb 2010 00:52:08 +0000 http://whatjapanthinks.com/?p=2510#comment-214320 You didn’t have sewing in grammar school? From first to sixth grade we’d have one lesson weekly with woodworking or sewing, alternating every semester. Seventh to ninth it switched to cooking/housekeeping and metalworking/”home technology” (wiring a plug, cleaning a drain, that sort of stuff). Sure, still just one lesson a week (a double lesson every other week in practice), but you still learn quite a lot.

Those classes are probably the most useful ones I ever had. I couldn’t name the top ten rivers in Europe or describe the difference between an adjective and and adverb if you put a gun to my head, but I can still make a pillow case with proper inseams, use an expanding bolt in drywall and the top signs to look for that a fish is fresh.

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