An opinion from Italy.........About the preparatory technical education for the construction of model airplanes.

Technical Education is a forgotten, undervalued subject that has in fact disappeared from the new school system.
40 years ago it was called Male and Female Technical Applications.
The boys made small projects, went to the lab to make them, cut plywood, learned the fretwork technique, used various tools, glues, colors, learned to connect electrical wires, performed the experiments studied during science class and much more.
The girls take up cutting, sewing, embroidery, crochet and cross stitch, etc.
Certainly this discipline contributed to the development of manual skills and creativity in young people.
Unfortunately, Technical Application has been dropped from school curriculum.
Over time, the subject has moved from being purely practical to being theoretical, for classroom study, forcing us to abandon the laboratories.
Losing this cultural aspect was a social defeat.
The Technical Application could offer students many opportunities, thanks to innovative technological solutions, today more easily available than in the past and easy to approach for kids.
Seeing what they have learned in class put into practice, through operational, concrete models, referring to objects of common use, which refer to theoretical topics, would certainly be edifying for the students.
In this regard, I like to quote a phrase from the founder of the Scouts Baden Powell: ''If I listen I forget, if I observe I remember, if I do I learn'', which can be traced back to the words of Benjamin Franklin ''Speak to me, and I will forget, teach me, and I will remember, let me participate, and I will learn''.
In my experience, the Technical Application carried out in the 70s - 80s, brought out my aptitude towards manual activities, from here arose the passion for model airplanes and subsequently the goldsmith's art, specializing in the creation of unique artefacts entirely handmade.
I think that the government and the educational choices in the school environment have something to answer for regarding the lack of interest of young people towards the artisanal arts.

Sorry for my way of writing in English, I use Google translate !