Lucky you. At least you knew what "sharp" was like.
It's all relative. I took shop starting in the 4th grade, mandatory until the 8th grade. I took 4 years of it in high school, where it was optional. Started using power tools, unsupervised, in th grade. The wools were demonstrated, and then we were expected to se them right, and not hurt ourselves. We listened, and no one sufferred injuries that a bandaid wouldn't fix. Except for the idoot jock that was horseplaying and shoved an arm thru the shp door window, cutting an artery - he survived. We learned woodworking, welding, some mechanics, drafting, forging, sheet metal work, metal lathe and milling machine, and even a big of electricity, and probably one or two things I don't recall just now. However, I graduated high school in 1958, age 17. Oh yes, attended schoo in two different small countryschools, in the same school distric, in rural southern Michigan. .
I was 22 years behind you but I remember being taught all that stuff. It's a lot of the reason that I'm a toolmaker today...I was taught how to love the actions needed and how to DO the actions...or at least how to fake them well enough to get the job done.
I still have the center punch that I made in the forge part and also the ashtray that was cast during the foundry part.
Could you imagine the hue and cry that would go up if parents found out that an ashtray was made WITH TAX DOLLARS??????
Mike