I think in this case it's a complex intermingling of broad pubic sentiment and governmental policy driven by that sentiment (at some point, school boards had to

I think in this case it's a complex intermingling of broad pubic sentiment and governmental policy driven by that sentiment (at some point, school boards had to make the explicit choice to deprioritize cursive and wood shop classes, those decisions tend to be made by groups of local individuals, but in aggregate the sentiment reflects a larger trend in the intellectual priorities of a nation)