The handicraft tuition, for example, could often deliver far more practical and lasting results to a child, and their parents, than could literacy. Lace-making schools, straw-plaiting schools and knitting schools all offered a genuine trade that could enable a child to earn a living, both in the short term, and for life. Schools and parents varied considerably in how much emphasis they placed upon the craft and how much on the book work. The nature of the local economy and the finances of the family could tip the balance either way. Of course, the teachers of these schools were also strongly
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