Somewhere I read this as somebody’s signature (may be pakwheels.com):

“A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.”

With the ongoing fashion of specialization, people are getting so specialized that they can’t even polish their boots or spread jam on bread slices, even though they’re PhD in some subject or the other. Us oldschool people think that there are some basic skills everyone should have. Kids of the current generation are missing out on too much. I remember which parts of my house I’ve painted myself, which fans I’ve installed, and what sized bit was used to drill the two holes that bulb-holder is screwed into. Nowadays kids don’t know how to wash dishes or dust their own room. And how can we then teach them to become independent and self-sufficient?