Was all the stuff, we learned in school that we knew we wouldn't ever use, worth it?

fuzzybuddy

fuzzybuddy

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Most of my classmate (1964) made it through high school ,or at least 10 th grade. Way back then, we carped about learning things we'd never use. Well , that was 56 years ago, for me. I can swear on a stack of bible I have not cosined a tangent since then. Nor have I figured the circumference of anything And as far as one train leaving New York at 60 miles/hr- hell, we fly, now. So what about that stuff we learned that we would never use, was it worth it?


In a way, even though I never truly used some of it, knowing about gave the insight that there wasn't much I could not understand about the world.
 

What those subjects taught in general was thinking through a problem, or "problem solving". So even for those who didn't need that particular application of math later in life, being able to think through problems and procedures in a logical manner is useful. Minimally, we improved whatever ability in that area we might have already had, so exposure to the process certainly didn't hurt us.

In the course of getting an engineering degree in college, I had to take a lot of math that I didn't use for years. Now in retirement, I have been taking one short term contract each year as a side thing and certainly a much more efficient way to earn a lot of money in a short time frame compared to being a greeter at Walmart or delivering pizza. This year, I ended up using some of that old college math. So we never know when we might need some of this stuff, and when we do, we can be glad that we were at least exposed to it.

Tony
 
fuzzybuddy said:
Most of my classmate (1964) made it through high school ,or at least 10 th grade. Way back then, we carped about learning things we'd never use. Well , that was 56 years ago, for me. I can swear on a stack of bible I have not cosined a tangent since then. Nor have I figured the circumference of anything And as far as one train leaving New York at 60 miles/hr- hell, we fly, now. So what about that stuff we learned that we would never use, was it worth it?


In a way, even though I never truly used some of it, knowing about gave the insight that there wasn't much I could not understand about the world.
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I used a lot more of it than I ever thought I would. Biology may have been the single exception, but all the math,
chemistry/physics, history/civics, English/speech, shop classes, and Spanish were useful to me at one point or another.
 
Nope... when did I ever need Physics.... ( I was useless at that) ?.. when did I ever need hockey/ netball/ shot-putt/ long-jump played out in front of the boys woodwork classes windows in my navy knickers.. ..when did I ever need Cooking..which involved bringing an apple, and a pack of frozen pastry and a shilling ...when did I ever need Homecraft which involved vaccuming and dusting a mock house on the school site.. I could have taught them the latter , I'd been doing it since I was 6
 
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I agree with the idea that it taught us how to solve problems, show up, complete assignments on time, work with others, and follow directions.

The 3Rs were important but IMO most of the rest were of little value. I would prefer to see an emphasis on life skills and less emphasis on general knowledge.

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Yes! everything except maybe Palmer Method Penmanship and grade school gym class. Often amazes me how long some long ago bit of knowledge pops up when needed. Even tho I didn’t become a chemist or physicist I learned enough to know how every day things work.
 
Algebra.

To this day I am angered over the mental frustration and stress I had to endure as a result of having to attend algebra class, only to end up with D's and E's, at the end of each school year.

A compete and total, 100% utter waste of time!

Downright insulting, really!

Mathematician discusses solving a seemingly unsolvable equation
 
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I attended a private high school that taught only college prep. classes and they were all required to graduate.
At least way back then they were 4 yrs of English and 3 years of math, science, social studies, and 2 years of Latin or Spanish.
I got decent grades but got a big red F in Algebra. I just hated it and it made no sense to me at all.
Nevertheless, I had to have it to graduate. I had no choice but to take it a the public summer high school.
He was the first and only man teacher I ever had, as I'd always been taught by Nuns, who I loved and respected.
Anyway, somehow that man teacher made perfect sense to me and I passed the Algebra class with a B+. I was floored, but I got to graduate with my class!
I've never used it since.

Besides @bowmore is my brainy math wiz and I don't need to use it. :love: He doesn't know how to TOUCH TYPE though....neener neener...😜

By far the most useful thing I learned in high school was how to TOUCH TYPE very well.
I've used the skill every day of my long life.
 
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I thought I would never use the 3 years of Latin I was forced to take in high school, but over the years it's been a major help because so many English words are based on Latin. Plus, working in a doctor's office, it helped a lot in deciphering terminology.

I thought the course in poetry I took was just an easy 4 credits, but the professor was a wonderful man who managed to impart his love for poetry, and it's something I've enjoyed tremendously ever since.
 
If I hadn't had to take such courses as two years of algebra and a year of geometry, perhaps I could have better explored and pursued subjects potentially more useful, such as psychology, business, or even home economics where females only in my day learned cooking, household management, and clothing repair skills!

image.jpeg
 
Although I don't regret taking Latin in high school (three years was considered absolutely necessary if you were going to college and I do remember how many parts Gaul was divided into just in case I ever get on a game show and it comes up.....omnia Gallia tres partes est..... ), I wish I had taken at least two years of Spanish. I did take French my senior year but Spanish would have been better. Two years of Latin would have sufficed.
 
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I wish I'd have attended class more
I hear all the different subjects round out a person

I did do rather well in typing class
Loved the rolling ball Selectric

Riiight up to when Melody's bra strap caught my fancy
That prissy snooty blonde sat in front of me
Had to pull it
Just had to
It was like a Chatty Cathy dare
How did I know her chest was gonna cave in like that

I wore her handprint on the side of my face for hours
....and was transferred back to the Royal pounder

I was just getting familiar with the home row, too
 
Well, maybe not, but you only know that in hindsight. Dave was an engineer, so I'm sure he did use algebra and calculus and physics. And we probably don't realize that we do use some of those things without realizing it. I don't regret a bit of it, even algebra.
 
hollydolly said:
Nope... when did I ever need Physics.... ( I was useless at that) ?.. when did I ever need hockey/ netball/ shot-putt/ long-jump played out in front of the boys woodwork classes windows in my navy knickers.. ..when did I ever need Cooking..which involved bringing an apple, and a pack of frozen pastry and a shilling ...when did I ever need Homecraft which involved vaccuming and dusting a mock house on the school site.. I could have taught them the latter , I'd been doing it since I was 6
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I'm laughing. In high school on Friday afternoons we had an option to take a class we never had on our curriculum.

For a laugh, I took cooking.
It turns out to be the most useful course since I have retired and I am now single. It really is a chemical exercise. You just can't throw everything into one pot and hope for the best.

I even post recipes now and take pictures of the dishes I make.

But I was terrible at math until algebra was introduced. Finally I was able to substitute a symbol for the unknown and adjust it.

So I didn't have to worry about the dumb farmer who measured one half of his field in feet and the other half in yards to get the square footage. I could just adjust it in the algebraic equation and then substitute the numbers.

Everything is useful if it makes you use your brain.

There's nothing wrong with a plumber who has a university education because eventually he will have to write an exam to get his master plumber ticket and education helps that tremendously.
 
Some of the things I learned in school came in handy when I had to help my children and then my two older grandchildren do their homework,until now. I don't understand my 10yr old granddaughters homework at all.
 
Gary O' said:
I wish I'd have attended class more
I hear all the different subjects round out a person

I did do rather well in typing class
Loved the rolling ball Selectric

Riiight up to when Melody's bra strap caught my fancy
That prissy snooty blonde sat in front of me
Had to pull it
Just had to
It was like a Chatty Cathy dare
How did I know her chest was gonna cave in like that

I wore her handprint on the side of my face for hours
....and was transferred back to the Royal pounder

I was just getting familiar with the home row, too
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The initials of your real name wouldn't be T.C. would they???
Cuz if so, I'm still mad!
 
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