Temple Gradin, Writing for the New York Times:
I often get asked what I would do to improve both elementary and high school. The first step would be to put more of an emphasis on hands-on classes such as art, music, sewing, woodworking, cooking, theater, auto mechanics and welding. I would have hated school if the hands-on classes had been removed, as so many have been today. These classes also expose students — especially neurodivergent students — to skills that could become a career. Exposure is key. Too many students are growing up who have never used a tool. They are completely removed from the world of the practical.
When I was a school psychologist, we used to lament the slow attrition of the trades programs at the high school at which I worked. Kids who didn’t care much for academics looked forward to cabinet making or metal shop every day. It seems like things have been turning around lately, though, with more vocational programs and county schools that offer programs that would be expensive and difficult for your local public to produce.