Otto Salomon in his book "The Theory of Educational Sloyd," outlined the formative purposes of Educational Sloyd as follows:

1. To instill a taste for, and a love of labor in general.
2. To inspire respect for rough honest, bodily labor.
3. To develop independence and self-reliance.
4. To train in habits of order, exactness, cleanliness and neatness.
5. To train the eye and sense of form. To give a general dexterity of hand, and to develop touch.
6. To accustom to attention, industry, perseverance, and patience.
7. To promote the development of the physical powers.

And to meet these utilitarian aims:
1. To directly give dexterity in the use of tools.
2. To execute exact work.

What exactly are we teaching in schools today? It might be worthwhile to consider our objectives and determine whether our methods promote the values we hope our society will reflect.