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I'm a nursing major with two semesters left until graduation with my RN.
Most useless high school courses: algebra II, geometry, calculus, statistics, physics, world history, US history (both easy, but useless), Latin, and French.
Most useful high school courses: chemistry, English, biology, speech and debate, AP biology, AP English, and my online college courses (anatomy and physiology I and II, psychology, sociology, etc).
To those deriding the mathematics classes and claiming they are useless:
Doing things you find difficult is how you get better at things. While you don't necessarily need to get better at mathematics, facing problems, exercising your brain and finding solutions to problems (not necessary math problems) is a good thing. It keeps your mind sharp. Otherwise, the first time you hit a roadblock in life, you'll just throw up your hands and give up.
Just the exercise of "I can't figure out how to do this, let me read this book and find some examples of how it is done" is a life lesson that can be extended to ANYTHING.
To those deriding the mathematics classes and claiming they are useless:
Doing things you find difficult is how you get better at things. While you don't necessarily need to get better at mathematics, facing problems, exercising your brain and finding solutions to problems (not necessary math problems) is a good thing. It keeps your mind sharp. Otherwise, the first time you hit a roadblock in life, you'll just throw up your hands and give up.
Just the exercise of "I can't figure out how to do this, let me read this book and find some examples of how it is done" is a life lesson that can be extended to ANYTHING.
This is a very good observation.
K-12 is the only time in your life in which your are forced to do things that you are not comfortable with. In our adult lives we get to pick things that compliment our strengths.
I think as adults we do need to challenge ourselves a little more rather than just accepting our limitations.
Most useful: 1 yr required philosophy - why? It taught me how to think and analyze
Most useless: statistics - might as well have taken a class in magic
Other very usefuls: organic chem - I can read labels and understand them! and understand how bio-chem reactions in everyday life work
all writing classes - writing is so very easy for me now (back to useing philosophy logic skills to organize)
any and all law classes - gave me an inherent instinct regarding my own liability in all matters
history - it made me realize that ulitmately, we are all related, have all been suppressed and invaded and inslaved at one time in our tribal history
Least useful: any math class above algebra. And I made it to pre-cal, but I can't even remember that crap, and I've never had to use anything above basic algebra in the last 10 years.
senior english: it was not necessary to be forced to read "classics" that just put me to sleep. although I'm a huge english buff, and big reader, I found being FORCED to read those books a waste of time and energy. It should be reserved for college, and be voluntary.
Art. I had to take either Art, Drama, or music. I hated being in front of people, so drama was out. I sucked at singing and playing instruments b/c of my hearing loss, so music was out. So I took art. I wasn't horrible, but to this day, i don't think I really learned anything for the future, besides that, under instruction, i could draw something decent, but nothing to alter my life artistically.
Most useful: English, in general, US history (even though it's the only class I've ever failed, haha), US govt/politics, home economics, science/biology, and physical education.
To those deriding the mathematics classes and claiming they are useless:
Doing things you find difficult is how you get better at things. While you don't necessarily need to get better at mathematics, facing problems, exercising your brain and finding solutions to problems (not necessary math problems) is a good thing. It keeps your mind sharp. Otherwise, the first time you hit a roadblock in life, you'll just throw up your hands and give up.
I am also going to say how useless I found algebra/geometry/trig to be, in terms of practical applications for my adult life and professional career. Not to say that it is useless for others, there are plenty of people and professions where those courses would be useful. But to make it standard curriculum for everyone does not make sense to me. I think the average citizen would benefit more from personal economics and micro and macro economics...too many of us do not understand how money makes the world go round (not algebra!). I have a master's degree and a teaching certificate and I wish someone had taught me how to run a business, not get better at algebra. When I was in school, only those who were not college bound took personal economics, shop, home ec, careers, etc.
As for doing things we find difficult: so I found sports difficult, why not force me to take 3 years of advanced athletic skills instead? There are many ways I could learn to face problems, exercise my brain and find solutions to problems. Music being one of them...I spent many hours over the years practicing my craft. When I face roadblocks, I don't just throw up my hands and give up. If those roadblocks involve mathematics, I would find someone to help me...just the same as I find someone to fix my car, make my shoes and build the roads I drive on. I can't be good at everything, but I actually am well known for my problem solving skills.
The other issue with algebra/geometry/trig is that it still is not taught in a way that follows good educational practices. If you can't engage your learner and make us understand why we are doing each lesson, it is never going to be any other way. And because I was identified 'gifted and talented', sucking at math (which for me began in 4th grade) was tough on my self esteem. Most of my teachers assumed because I was smart, I should understand, and many of them were very dismissive of my troubles. Kinda like you, dspguy....
Probably typing and a class called business machines (10 key calculators, copy machines, fax machines and abc shorthand was thrown in, and telephones with many buttons and a switchboard). Kept me employed late at night, in my own room, during college~I'd charge $.50 per page to type a paper. I was amazed at the number of friends I had that wouldn't/couldn't type. I worked the temp. agencies while home on break, because I could type and run office equipment.
While in graduate school full time (nights) I worked for the temp. agencies again. Paid my tuition, my bills, my spending money and I saved enough to make the down payment on my first car when I finally signed a teaching contract.
Ironically, I taught Home Economics/Family & Consumer Sciences for 32 years~just retiring recently. Major emphasis and most useful class I taught (from student's perspectives and years of former students coming back to tell me) was a course called Single Living. It was a personal finance course that dealt with banking, investing, finding an apartment, budgeting, credit and insurance, dealing with roommates and the challenges of finding and securing employment.
Most useful: physics, chemistry, shop (metal, auto, woodshop etc.) all mathematics and most of science. I'm in aviation and that stuff comes in quite handy
Least useful: choir, and most of the 'arts'. I have a degree in music so I enjoy it, but it was fairly pointless and was usually only taken by people who needed an easy A or a filler class.
Literature - at least let people read what they want to, or at least get out of the habit stating that Shakespeare is the greatest thing since sliced bread.
Art - I had fun in the class, I liked it a lot, but half of it was the teacher convincing everyone who is a great artist and who is not, as if people are not allowed to form their own opinion by simply looking at the art. Oh yes, trying to tell everyone what the art means; I see a horse in a field, it does not mean anything more to me than that.
Classes that are graded based off of subjectivity - Basically the teacher graded on how much they liked you and/or your parents (small town).
I never had home ec or anything like that, straight math, science, English, social studies type stuff, and shop.
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