When it came to cooking we learned a lot of basics like the mother sauces and nutrition. Sewing was a laugh because as a tall woman (obviously girl then) my mother taught me to sew very young so I could make my own clothes -- so I was able to whiz through the sewing classes. I even took some basic lamaze (never been pregnant), worked at a day care center, was a second grade teacher's aid (hmmm.... maybe this is why I chose not to have kids! haha!). The cooking, though, was always stuff I didn't think I'd ever make, but still we got some technique in. The nutrition has definitely helped through life. Recently hubby came back from his annual physical, and commented that his bad cholesterol was down, blood sugar slightly up. I just laughed. He'd been having problems with rheumatism, arthritis, gout (all related), and I'd tried to decrease his protein intake. Which of course made him eat more starches. Some don't realize that starch and sugar are basically the same thing!