In many ways they were but the loss has just accelerated in the last 30/40 years
When I first did a trade course it was for 5 years now you can get the same thing in a few months
When I did a business course it was 3 years full time, you can get the same qualification in 3 weeks now
When I was young I learnt about many things from my father and elder brother, now I don't think that many parents spend quality time with their children
Australian schools were among the best in the world now they are down to 15th place
Of course there are new skills that were not used in earlier times, but the skills required to communicate on facebook or similar for 24 hours a day we did not need as they are not needed today
There are whole new industries "teaching" subjects that in earlier times we knew due to common sense and observation
