"basket weaving" revisited

[Fred Shapiro]

On Thu, 24 May 2007, Benjamin Zimmer wrote:

> Slightly earlier pedagogical griping:
>
> 1940 _Ogden (Utah) Standard Examiner_ 29 Aug. 6A/5 It appears our
> entire educational system has gone soft. The United States army air
> corps has countless examples of boys seeking enlistment, given half
> and whole college credits for basket-weaving, pottery and, tops of all
> in one instance, "recreational reading."

Still earlier:

1935 _National Mathematics Magazine_ X. 26 (JSTOR)  Your results, dear
high school mathematics teacher, are not equal to the time and effort that
you demand of your students.  Let us teach them, instead, dancing, basket
weaving, or anything else that does not put too great a strain on their
mentalities.

Fred Shapiro


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