Most overrated school subject?

[reecejackox]

In your opinion

I would say Science , some people really enjoy it at school but I don't in the slightest.

 

[bigbabyblues]

I didn't enjoy science either, but I don't think it is "overrated". Science is very important in our every day lives...doctors, auto industry (really, any industry), air travel, infrastructure, weather, and so many other things we take for granted require science.

I think all of the subjects are valuable in their own right, but I didn't have much use for foreign language. I have no desire to travel outside the U.S. at this point (never have, really), and I don't know anyone who doesn't speak English. I do realize this varies greatly depending on where a person lives and works.

 

[L&Lfan]

Any math beyond simple arithmetic.

 

[ZephyrHawk]

I enjoy science, but if I didn't I wouldn't consider it overrated. It's critically important in a lot of industries, including the one I work in.

The most "overrated" subject I was required to take in school was 7th grade "Shop". Now, I understand that some people and industries really do benefit from these sort of hands-on, mechanically oriented subjects, but that would be at the high school level. This was middle school. There were 3 portions to the class: 1) woodworking (which is somewhat useful, I guess), 2) drafting (which was not really useful back in the early nineties, and completely pointless in this new computer-driven millenia), and 3) boating safety and licensure (something that's important only if you live on an island, which we did). I have, literally, never used any of those skills in my life since.

 

[powellrj]

I can’t think of anything I took that was over rated, but DS had to take a class on self esteem which I thought was very overrated.

 

[marcyleecorgan]

Gym class!

We all should have been learning about financial literacy instead of getting shafted on our student loans, LOL.

And it should have been mandatory to pass a foreign language exam before graduating HS.

 

[katie01]

Any math beyond simple arithmetic.

In sort of the same vein, I wish they would teach kids a "life skills math" class in school. Many times I have seen teens who've had the more complex math classes in school still struggle to figure out how to make change, or to calculate tips or "percentage off" discounts.

 

[tvguy]

Philosophy. Only class I ever dropped. What a crock.

 

[AnnaFloridaLover]

Theology.

 

[Kingdome8]

Any math beyond simple arithmetic.

We were just talking about this as I have a kid going to high school and middle school. Lol. I tell them most likely u will never use any of this ever again. Learn history, some science, some math and a useful foreign language such as Spanish or mandarin.
Then just do ur major stuff in college.
Hate buying these 150$ calculators too. What a waste

 

[kimblebee]

I enjoy science, but if I didn't I wouldn't consider it overrated. It's critically important in a lot of industries, including the one I work in.

The most "overrated" subject I was required to take in school was 7th grade "Shop". Now, I understand that some people and industries really do benefit from these sort of hands-on, mechanically oriented subjects, but that would be at the high school level. This was middle school. There were 3 portions to the class: 1) woodworking (which is somewhat useful, I guess), 2) drafting (which was not really useful back in the early nineties, and completely pointless in this new computer-driven millenia), and 3) boating safety and licensure (something that's important only if you live on an island, which we did). I have, literally, never used any of those skills in my life since.

Our shop classes were Home Ec (cooking and sewing) and Shops (graphic arts and metal work)

 

[neverlandsky]

Middle School: Wood Shop being a requirement
High School: Careers being a requirement. Class was a waste of time.
College: Political Science, Women's Studies, Art History. (The multi-cultural requirements)

 

[maxiesmom]

Algebra and Geometry. Only very few adults need those 2 subjects to get thru everyday life.

 

[DLgal]

In sort of the same vein, I wish they would teach kids a "life skills math" class in school. Many times I have seen teens who've had the more complex math classes in school still struggle to figure out how to make change, or to calculate tips or "percentage off" discounts.

They do, but ironically, they only teach it to special education students. Both of my sons receive special education. One is amazing at math and he understands ALL of it. He calculates our tips in his head when we eat out, and he can even calculate the tax due. He's a human calculator. He takes mainstream math classes.

The other is on the "life skills pathway" and he is learning "real world math," mostly so he will be able to budget, spend wisely, and not get taken advantage of (like he won't fall for someone giving him the wrong change due, for example). He will learn about loans, interest rates, credit cards, etc. My other one won't get those classes, so we will have to teach him that stuff ourselves. It seems strange that the son who will likely need more support as an adult will get a better "real world" education than the one who might actually be able to live independently.

 

[barkley]

Gym class!

We all should have been learning about financial literacy instead of getting shafted on our student loans, LOL.

And it should have been mandatory to pass a foreign language exam before graduating HS.

In sort of the same vein, I wish they would teach kids a "life skills math" class in school. Many times I have seen teens who've had the more complex math classes in school still struggle to figure out how to make change, or to calculate tips or "percentage off" discounts.

dd who just graduated college still complains that they only students at her high school who had so much as an opportunity to take solid coursework on financial literacy were the kids like ds who b/c they were in special ed classes were offered a 'life skills math'. while everyone else had to take the traditional algebra, calculus, geometry curriculum ds and his classmates were learning about the lending concepts (including predatory and the pitfalls), simple and compound interest, basic budgeting/long term budgeting, basic taxation and the like.

foreign language IS required for graduation at our local high schools-2 years.



it used to be that high schools had the basic graduation classes that everyone had to take to graduate-and they offered among those classes that students planning/interested in college could opt to take that were either required for public 4 year colleges and university acceptance or recommended for highly selective colleges and universities. our district changed up a couple of years ago and now THEIR graduation requirements exceed the state's and meet the 'recommended for highly selective colleges and universities' model.

i'm sitting back to see if graduation rates decrease-not every student either wants or is cut out for college. i had plenty of friends in high school who had it not been for the trades classes would have dropped out and foregone their diplomas.

 

[DLgal]

Most overrated would be chemistry. Unless you will actually go on to become a chemist, I do not see the value in learning all those formulas and about all the different kinds of reactions. A very basic understanding of chemistry is important, but, like high school level and beyond...not valuable information for the majority of people. I literally don't remember about 95% of what I learned in Chemistry, and I got all the way through Organic Chemistry at the college level as a pre med student before I changed my mind and abandoned that pathway.

 

[DLgal]

dd who just graduated college still complains that they only students at her high school who had so much as an opportunity to take solid coursework on financial literacy were the kids like ds who b/c they were in special ed classes were offered a 'life skills math'. while everyone else had to take the traditional algebra, calculus, geometry curriculum ds and his classmates were learning about the lending concepts (including predatory and the pitfalls), simple and compound interest, basic budgeting/long term budgeting, basic taxation and the like.

foreign language IS required for graduation at our local high schools-2 years.



it used to be that high schools had the basic graduation classes that everyone had to take to graduate-and they offered among those classes that students planning/interested in college could opt to take that were either required for public 4 year colleges and university acceptance or recommended for highly selective colleges and universities. our district changed up a couple of years ago and now THEIR graduation requirements exceed the state's and meet the 'recommended for highly selective colleges and universities' model.

i'm sitting back to see if graduation rates decrease-not every student either wants or is cut out for college. i had plenty of friends in high school who had it not been for the trades classes would have dropped out and foregone their diplomas.

We live in a similar district. My son is a high school freshman and will literally not be able to obtain a standard diploma because NONE of the high schools here offer non College Prep level English or History classes, the two subjects that he needs modifications in because of his autism and related reading/writing difficulties. The state doesn't specify what kind of English or History classes they need to take to graduate, beyond saying "4 years of English and 3 years of History to include one semester of US Govt and one semester of Economics." All our English and History classes are aligned to the UC (University of California) admission requirements and are either CP or AP level classes. Pisses me right off that my son will only get a certificate of completion because of this. I plan to have him take the state's High School Exit Exam so he can have a HS diploma "equivalent."

 

[barkley]

They do, but ironically, they only teach it to special education students. Both of my sons receive special education. One is amazing at math and he understands ALL of it. He calculates our tips in his head when we eat out, and he can even calculate the tax due. He's a human calculator. He takes mainstream math classes.

The other is on the "life skills pathway" and he is learning "real world math," mostly so he will be able to budget, spend wisely, and not get taken advantage of (like he won't fall for someone giving him the wrong change due, for example). He will learn about loans, interest rates, credit cards, etc. My other one won't get those classes, so we will have to teach him that stuff ourselves. It seems strange that the son who will likely need more support as an adult will get a better "real world" education than the one who might actually be able to live independently.

do either or both of your sons get a life skills class that reminds you of home-ec? this is another thorn in my dd's side-her brother got to take a life skills class that taught cooking ('beyond the microwave'), baking, household budgeting, grocery shopping, home ownership vs renting (including landlord/tenant laws and rights), insurance basics, laundry, sewing....all the stuff we learned in home ec back in the day-but they DON'T offer home ec anymore.

 

[barkley]

We live in a similar district. My son is a high school freshman and will literally not be able to obtain a standard diploma because NONE of the high schools here offer non College Prep level English or History classes, the two subjects that he needs modifications in because of his autism and related reading/writing difficulties. The state doesn't specify what kind of English or History classes they need to take to graduate, beyond saying "4 years of English and 3 years of History to include one semester of US Govt and one semester of Economics." All our English and History classes are aligned to the UC (University of California) admission requirements and are either CP or AP level classes. Pisses me right off that my son will only get a certificate of completion because of this. I plan to have him take the state's High School Exit Exam so he can have a HS diploma "equivalent."

that's terrible. my ds (also on the spectrum) also needed modifications with reading and writing in some subjects but our state allows an alternate coursework plan to be written into the iep that substitutes classes in the same subject matter (swaps one for another). ds didn't take some of the newer college prep level classes but b/c he successfully completed the swapped out classes (which are the same subjects just not cp/ap level) he got the same diploma as everyone else in his graduating class.

 

[DLgal]

do either or both of your sons get a life skills class that reminds you of home-ec? this is another thorn in my dd's side-her brother got to take a life skills class that taught cooking ('beyond the microwave'), baking, household budgeting, grocery shopping, home ownership vs renting (including landlord/tenant laws and rights), insurance basics, laundry, sewing....all the stuff we learned in home ec back in the day-but they DON'T offer home ec anymore.

Yep, my younger is in 7th grade and they have a full kitchen where they will practice cooking for the teachers throughout the school, and each other. They do a cooking lesson weekly. They also will do "crafts" where they learn sewing basics and will make little trinkets to hand out at the senior center during the holidays. They do a weekly CBI (Community Based Interventions) field trip where they learn how to navigate public transportation, grocery shop, visit places like dry cleaners, banks, restaurants, pharmacies, etc and learn when and how to use those places.

The high school has a life skills lab, with a fully stocked kitchen, washer and dryer, vacuum, bathroom where they will learn basic plumbing repairs, like how to fix a clogged sink or toilet, how to repair leaks, etc, computers and printers (they will learn how to hook up these things, troubleshoot connection issues, and stuff). They have things like an ironing board and iron and sewing machine and will learn how to do things like fixing a button. They also get very extensive hands on experience with budgeting, using debit and credit cards, etc. They are actually issued prepaid debit cards through a program our city has with the school district so they can practice during the CBI trips. It really is a great program and one of the main reasons we chose this school district.