Yesterday I was talking to a bookseller in Lancashire who specialises in selling books for the City and Guilds Embroidery course. He said that applicants for the course used to be interviewed to see if they had the necessary aptitude in design, colour and basic technical skills, and that students surrounded themselves with books for research. Now, because of falling numbers, the syllabus has been changed and those who don't show that they have an aptitude for design and colour (like me) are told that they'll get by. Getting bums on seats was becoming increasingly more important even when I retired from teaching 6 years ago.
He said that many students no longer have do research from books, but get the basic information they want from the internet and make do with that. The result is that publishers are becoming reluctant to even reprint books, and the status of such courses is diminishing. He had one girl visit his shop to see if she could buy just one book to cover the whole of the City and Guilds course. She was a nursing assistant and worked nights. She'd found that if she got a 'craft' qualification of any kind she could changed to working days and teach crafts to the handicapped patients. She thought the embroidery certificate would be the easiest to get. Sums up the status of the word 'craft'. Jean in Poole - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
