Going through school, we all had some subjects that we preferred over others, and there was likely a subject or two that we questioned the point of, given what we wanted to do as a career.
It's hard to imagine using Physics or Chemistry if you intend to be an accountant, after all, but maybe there's more to what was being taught than meets the eye.
Curious, Redditor AdHour6144 asked:
"What's something you learned in school that you've never used once in real life?"
Latin Poetry
"Latin Poetry during my third year of Latin in high school. I can honestly say that I do not recommend that class for the average bear."
"To be clear, I recommend Latin. I am specifically not recommending Latin... poetry."
- SnooCauliflowers9981
"Why do I feel like there's a significant story behind why you do not recommend Latin... poetry?"
- FerretAriesss
Safety First!
"Stop, Drop, and Roll."
"It's so much easier to oh, I don't know, not do stupid things with fire."
- LightHouseMaster
Inapplicable Math
"MOST math that is not basic math. Never needed trigonometry, like, ONCE."
- snkr620
"I had to learn how to measure the distance a water ripple will travel and the circumference of the circle it creates over time."
"Like, what the f**k? This is Business calculus."
- ExpiredPilot
Mathematical Life Lessons
"Anything related to trigonometry or calculus."
- ParchedZombie
"If schools were actually concerned with educating students, they would have crossover lessons. Shop class plus math in daily life would be a good start. Years ago I owned and operated a fence construction company, the amount of math I did was crazy."
"When building a deer-proof garden fence, and you want to utilize an angle brace, what length rails do you need to buy? Well, since you know it’s going to be an eight-foot fence and you want to make the posts eight feet apart, will a ten-foot brace work? No, you better get the 12-foot because you’re going to need a rail over 11."
"It would be great if the students were taught that math really is useful and nothing to fear."
- J412h
Applying A New Language
"I took six years of French but never met any French people who couldn’t speak better English than my French."
- Curious_Kangaroo_845
"I had eight years of French, went to France for my bachelor's thesis and spoke English exclusively with all my workmates there. Ordering food was a thing, but that's some two minutes per week and you can cheat by reading the menu aloud. The last day my car broke down, and it was the most French I learned in a day."
"Now I'm dating this girl who speaks French well, and it's also very good for my French."
- Sirviantis
Dancing The Night Away
"Two words: Square dancing."
- jahanhari
"Memory unlocked: we did the Boot Scootin' Boogie in P.E. (Physical Education). I haven't scooted a single boot since."
- ThisFreakinGuyHere
Chemistry For 200, Alex
"The first 20 elements of the periodic table. Although SOMETIMES it comes in handy when I’m watching Jeopardy, lol (laughing out loud)."
- TaylorSplifftie
The Grammar Rules
"A lot of the fine minutiae of writing, like object prepositions, descriptive verbs, who vs. whom, etc. Like, I can write perfectly fine, but I have lost all concept of what these terms mean, where they're applicable, and how to use them. Luckily, I've entered a career in which that knowledge is not useful."
"I'm a professional writer."
- gamedemon24
The Old Days
"I'd like to go make awkward eye contact with all of the teachers who said, 'You won't always have a calculator in your pocket.'"
- boo99boo
"I'll join you to stare at the ones who said, 'You won't always have a graphing calculator in your pocket.'"
- WestNet2532
"And I'll join both of you, and we can also stare at the, 'You won't always have access to the entirety of civilization's knowledge in your pocket' people."
- frix86
Handwriting Styles
"Cursive. So much time wasted."
- KickPuncherMyung
"I have used cursive my entire life since learning in third grade. I still do. It’s just an easier flow for taking notes and looks neater than my print. It’s only a waste if you make it a waste."
- narenard
"Learning cursive was a complete waste of time. Never once have I been asked to turn something in using cursive (outside of a cursive class), while having everything typed is so mandatory they don't bother asking at this point."
- jah05r
Pythagorean Theorem In The Workplace
"Pythagorean theorem, or whatever it's called. In fact, my white-collar job does not require me to use more than basic math."
"That said, I encourage all students to get a solid math foundation in high school because it opens up so many more career options. Try becoming a doctor without taking advanced science classes that require physics, etc."
- goldeverywhere
" Weird thinking that this would be the case where the blue-collar workers are using this formula 10/20x more often than any white-collar job."
"'Bend a 90 for me; we need three of 'em.'"
- WasteNet2553
Beyond The Gym
" Football, rugby, basketball etc; haven't played or analytically watched any of these sports since stopped doing PE in school... I don't know what the offside rule is, I don't know why league and union are different, and I have no idea about basketball."
"I will never truly know, and it likely not cause any hindrance to my life whatsoever. My knowledge starts and ends with the team must get the ball to the other end and get it past the goal mouth, line, basket rim to score points."
- Corries_Roy_Cropper3
"Sports are really important in the States, so I get why they were included in the curriculum, and practicing them had other important applications like figuring out what we liked and might want to participate in, movement, teamwork, and collaboration."
"But I think it would have been more helpful to spend more time talking about exercise BEYOND gym class and how to build a suitable workout routine and meal plan. It's easy to say that you need to move your body and eat the pyramid, but putting it into practice would have been so much more helpful. I don't look back wishing I could have made a better long jump or ran a better mile, but I do wish I'd had more guidance about taking care of myself after school and now after work."
- TheBookishAndTheBard
A Time And A Place For Diagramming
"I remember in grade school one of my Best buds and the teacher got into it about diagraming sentences and at a point the teacher goes, 'Well, if you don’t pay attention… you’ll be on a one way street to dropping out,' or something to that affect."
"My buddy who is a very funny dude without skipping a beat retorted, 'Oh no! So in this worst case scenario, I’ll probably end up working at Mcdonald's, and I highly doubt I will ever have a customer ask, ‘Hey, could I get a diagramed sentence with my meal?'"
"I still remember the teacher’s face… a mixture of anger and the realization he was absolutely right. He got sent to the office but we all clapped for him as he left. Legend."
- stu_pickles_was_drunk
Knowing What's Important
"The facts/details are mostly useless but learning how to learn, think, communicate... is essential."
- Heavy_Direction1547
"Yes exactly. Do I remember ANYTHING from my 'ancient Chinese civilization' class in college? No."
"But did it help me write a proper paper by doing research and citing correctly? Absolutely. I write in medical charts now so any class that helped me write formally and cite facts has been essential."
- icedcoffeedevotee
"You probably learned a lot you don’t remember specifically but you gained a general insight into how cultures work, which has probably changed your perspective on a lot of things, you just don’t realize it. This is the point of getting a liberal education."
- JamingtonPro
The List Continues
"Antidisestablishmentarianism..."
- avenomusduck
"Ahh, the brother of floccinaucinihilipilification."
- FlappyFlops
"The mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell."
- dirt_flower
As teens, it was so easy for us to think that we had everything all figured out and that we could determine what was worth learning and what was not. But through many of these "meaningless" subjects, we learned vital skills, like critical thinking and analysis, that we were later able to use, even if somewhat indirectly.
Maybe school wasn't all bad.
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