Bringing Non-Essential Subjects Back into the Classroom

  In a class that I am taking at Roanoke College, we have been in the midst of discussing the role of arts, music, dance, and theatre in public school education. Then an interesting thought came to my  mind, more of a remembrance.
  I remember my middle school days. Built into those days, besides the core subjects, were sets of experiences to enhance and enrich our understanding of the world around us. We were exposed to a new home economics experience every term. One term would consist of Nutrition and Cooking, the next term would be Woodworking, the third term would be Sewing, and the fourth term would be Silk Screening/Metalworking.
  There was another experience we had in middle school unlike any other, a one-hour period called Activity. This would change every term as well and we had a list of activities we could choose from. These activities were based on each teacher's area of interest. I learned Knitting, Chess, and worked on the School Newspaper. It allowed us to interact with teachers we don't normally see and we were learning valuable life skills.
  In other words, besides having Art and Music once a week, we also had gym two to three times per week. We had a truly Liberal Arts education in middle school. What happened to these classes?
  As budgets for public schools shrink, programs like these were shutdown. We are now graduating students who can't cook, sew, perform basic maintenance on their homes, or balance their checkbook. The only students receiving this education are attending private schools or homeschool students. With both parents, and sometimes one parent or guardian, students are being left to fend for self and learn the hard way. Most often, this way is filled with mistakes and tougher consequences.
  Which brings me to this question, should public schools be teaching the nonessentials? And are they really nonessential? If private schools think these life skills are important, why are we not doing them in public schools? Private schools do have the advantage of smaller classes and access but so should public schools and public school children. What do you think?