It Changed My Life for the Better...

[Yar]

I remember in high school having to diagram sentences. Idiotic sentences assembled in impromptu fashion were written on the board. Then our task was to diagram these bastards as a quiz.

Well, I have yet to actually do that in the real world. In fact, I see no point in diagramming sentences. It was the biggest waste of time and probably the most boring thing I had ever done in school.

So, what are some things you had to study in school that you have yet to use in the real world?

[qwertysaur]

Decomposing fractions. A simple example is 5/6 = 1/2 + 1/3 Now do that with some variables and it gets pretty messy. While I do understand that they are used for some anti derivatives and integration, I know I won't ever actually need that.

The delta epsilon theorem of limits. So useless.

Also Polar functions. Unless you count passing time by drawing on my calculator with equations, I probably will never use them.

[rubah]

diagramming sentences is useful when studying other languages because it forces you to realize how the parts of our languages work together and how that might be similar to or dissimilar to constructs of the same idea in other languages.

In English, you telephone someone, but in french, you telephoner to or at someone. In english, you might like to telephone, but in French you would like telephoner. However, in English, to is a preposition, so realizing that it is actually part of a conjugation is weird, but when you realize that you don't "like to [do]" but rather, you "like [to do]", replacing the appropriate infinitive verb in French becomes trivial.

The diagramming comes in handy as a visual aid to keep the relations and flow of the phrases in order!

qwerty's calculus would be very useful to a computer engineer trying to write algorithms for multivariable functions

I use everything I learn. ///shigabooks.com/// This comic is an example of how seemingly useless information can uh, well you'll see 8)

[Ouch!]

I had a diagram sentences are part of my morphology and syntax assignment last night. It's nice to be able to identify parts of speech in languages I don't even speak as long as I have a rough vocabulary supplied from which I can do a basic translation. Does it have a practical application in every day life? Not particularly, but I find it absolutely fascinating regardless.

I've yet to use any of the more advanced mathematics I took in high school. Given my position as a creative writing major, I doubt I ever will!

[kikimm]

Similar to Ouch!, I don't think I have had to use any of the math I learned, oh, I dunno...after middle school. *hate math*

[Jessweeee♪]

So far I have never needed to know about the railroads of Texas. Why oh why did they make us take Texas History in middle school? Useless!

[Moon Rabbits]

I've noticed that the things I've learned in highschool aren't applicable to every day situations period. School is too specific to be applicable to every day situations, imho. Although Rubah is right about diagram sentences.

Except that when I learned I hate teenagers.

[nik0tine]

American schools have destroyed a great many minds and cheapened innumerable lives. After having finished school I am convinced of one thing: Education exists to instill flawless literacy and basic numeracy skills. This can be accomplished by the 3rd or 4th grade and certainly by the 6th grade. ALL mandatory education needs to end after the 6th grade and the remainder of our educational budget should go to erecting a high quality library on every street corner in the United States. We need libraries, not schools./tangent


and to answer the question more directly I have used nothing other than my ability to read, write, and perform basic mathematics in my daily life.

[Rye]

In my office job, I used nothing of what I learned in High School.

In my career that I'm working towards (English teacher), everything I learned in English and psychology, and some history, will be applicable, it seems. Nothing of math will be applicable, as far as I know, except for minor stuff for grading.

[Roto13]

Any math past grade 5 or 6. :P Especially high school math.

[blackmage_nuke]

Out of my compulsory education i havent used anything I learnt in History and math (besides programing a nifty little game which shoots cannonballs for software class, though that was more part of my noncompulsury study)
Though I do thoroughly enjoy math.

[Old Manus]

English Literature GCSE

God that was slow motion torture

[o_O]

I haven't really used anything I learnt in geography which I took from my second year of highschool to my second year of university. It turns out that not many people care to know about the sorting or composition of sediment.

[IronOcean]

seriously i am a simple guy i have not had to use anythign outside of 5th grade math ever....

[champagne supernova]

This reminds me of that Family Guy episode (the one where a fan created the idea) - where Chris is told he can't function in the real world if he can't do Maths.

Personally, there are sections of geography I have never used since. But I think everything else I've used, if not for work (Maths, Accounts, etc) then for personal use (Art, Art History, English etc).

I think the point of school is also to try teach a way of thinking - of being given a problem and then trying to find ways to solve it.