The most pointless school subjects

[LauraSol]

Are there any school subjects you think are/were pointless? Is there anything you wish you'd been taught instead? I'm conducting research, thanks very much!

The only subject I truly hated was MUSIC 🎶!!
It's pointless, to teach someone who is just not musical to sing or play an instrument. It's degrading to perform in front of your peers and fail miserably! And failing not because you didn't put any effort into it, or you choose a higher level but because you didn't hit that note or where totally out of rythem because your DNA won't let you!!!!

It's pointless, to teach someone who is just not musical to sing or play an instrument. It's degrading to perform in front of your peers and fail miserably!

Wouldn't be so bad if they actually used the lessons to actually teach you how to play an instrument, but they don't. So, the kids who've got musical parents or who've had lessons know what it's all about. The ones who've not, haven't a hope in hell's chance of achieving anything. And yes, forcing kids to play a piece of music as part of the year end test is ridiculous. My son did "london's burning" on a recorder for years 7, 8 and 9 - whilst half the class were doing classical music piano solos, or electric guitar renditions or, as his best friend did, the saxophone. Utterly stupid and degrading.

Home Economics
Art
Technical (woodwork, metalwork and technical drawing)

So theposters who have never used standard deviation or other statistical skills, trigonometry or algebra don’t want any kids to learn it.

Who has said that? What people are saying is that you need to be fluent in the basics first - the sort of things that everyone needs in adult life. The kids who have the ability/flair for more advanced stuff will be able to take it. Those who can barely add up really aren't going to suddenly be able to do trig or integration. I don't think anyone has said that advanced maths shouldn't be taught, more that it should be an option/progression rather than compulsory for all, even those who've no hope!

Careers (the teacher let us watch Ferris Bueller's Day Off endlessly).

General Studies A Level.

IT (obsolete).

Art.

It was an hour and bit of my week which would have been better spent on homework/coursework in the library.

Pe should be banned. Horrible memories of shivering in shorts and t-shirt being left out coz noone liked me so didn't even get to warm up by running around.
More real life stuff, pensions, mortgages, politics things we actually need to know.
Stop with Shakespeare your not inspiring anybody to read his books.

It’s a moot point that a more practical education would potentially exclude kids who couldn’t access private education from entering certain professions. I guess what puzzles me looking back is that I emerged out of the secondary school system, and that was squarely aimed at ‘non-academic’ kids. (Very divisive, of course). For all that, it wasn’t at all practical - at least not for girls. Boys got to do things like woodwork and metalwork (and I like to think they too had to make thoroughly pointless stuff - sort of wood equivalent of a doily ). As girls, it was blindingly obvious we were being ‘educated’ for motherhood and home-making, which makes the daftness of our cookery/needlework projects all the more telling.

Tell me how ‘the kids who have more ability/flair for advanced stuff’ are going to do this advanced mathematics if all they have been taught up to the age of 15 is adding up, percentages, mortgages and household budgeting?

Other posters have moaned that they have never used trig, algebra or standard deviation so they can’t see why kids need to be taught it. Did you miss that bit?

Kids with less aptitude for maths don’t have to do A level, but suggesting that everybody should have basic level ‘maths for life’ teaching that doesn’t cover anything difficult is silly. Just because some kids aren’t great at maths, should the others suffer?

Hiding this thread. So many bitter people!

No subject is pointless. Learning is a joy - it doesn't matter if it has a use, it is the pleasure of finding out something new. Who cares if you are good at it or bad at it or if it has an immediate application.... your brain keeps on working and you are less likely to suffer form degenerative mental illness in old age. Also if you know how to learn when you get to a subject that you thinks has value it is easier to learn it because you have practiced with other learning.

@babdoc thank you for saying exactly what I was thinking, but much more eloquently than I would have!

Art, needlework! Why waste time on subjects I was useless at? Use of English!

I wish we had done budgeting, child development and psychology generally!

I think I've used most of what I learned at school at some time in my life. My worst experiences were at primary school, back in the 60's when teacher thuggery was considered acceptable. I still have vivid memories of big grown men thumping me or subjecting me to humiliation. After passing the 11-plus I went to an all-girls' school, which was heaven in comparison. No physical punishment. I'm surprised no academic has done any research on the cruelty of those years, and the effect it had on children.

Iwantacookie your bad grammar shows you don’t value learning.
Also Shakespeare did not write ‘books’
It’s no wonder this country in the mess it’s in. Free education is a massive privilege that many around the world don’t have. Stop bashing it and encourage your kids to love learning.

I'm someone who sees the value of education for its own sake. That is, beyond life skills and skills for future employment. That said, I fail to see what I got out of RE. Yes, religion is an important part of life for many people in this world and we should have a basic amount of knowledge of the main six religions but one lesson per week until the age of sixteen was excessive. It should be rolled into Citizenship which should cover things like the very basics of law, our constitution etc.

I'd concur with other posters who've found that music went over the head of those who didn't learn an instrument. For those who did learn an instrument, the content was nothing that they didn't already know.

Had I been introduced to Shakespeare as it was meant to be (on stage, whether in the audience or as actors) I may well have grown to enjoy it. Dissecting paragraphs of it in English Literature classes has put me off for life.

I'm appalled though that so many people see no value in mathematics, MFL, and history. How can you easily calculate compound interest without algebra? Those who see no value in MFL presumably are the people who complained to a travel agent that "there were too many Spanish people".

This thread! There were things I did not enjoy at school but none of it was pointless. I wish I had listened more in things I hadn't liked then as I would have more knowledge now.
Some very depressing replies here- how can you make subjects optional in year 7?!

German. In a small rural town in Queensland, Australia. Just- why
My daughter learns Chinese which I think is good.

The more vocational subjects like food technology and ‘design’ (i.e. sewing) were such a wasted opportunity for school to teach something wonderful and practical. By 14 I knew how to make a simple spag bol and use fabric markers to decorate a t-shirt! I don’t know why they aimed so low.

I think that schools are now expected to cram so much into the curriculum that some things that could be great are just not taught properly. My son is taking Food and nutrition, the amount of things that come hone incredible because there wasn't time to cook them for long enough is ridiculous.

A lot of the class made their chocolate seize when they melted it last time so the teacher has suggested cooking chocolate next time...No! Take the time to go through it with them again properly! Poor lady doesn't have time. It's frustrating for me as well as he cooks at home with me and is already working at a higher level that on he's being taught at. I emphasising knife skills and school are using food processors.

Whenever there is a thread like this I see people saying it's depressing or that it's teacher bashing. I think it's very telling though how frustrating, depressing and demoralizing a lot of us found our education to be. It's hard then for us to be 100% behind our children's teachers and schools when we come up against problems now. We want things to be so much better for our own children.We are ultimately products of our own experience.

Not "increbible" clearly "inedible".

Now typing would have been useful at school...

I do see a lesson in careers if approached properly. Deciding through tests which areas that the individual child should look at and being able to go through different career options within that area and the different ways to get to the career.

I think if everyone did do a careers lesson properly there would be far less problems in school and far fewer people going to university and far more happier and successful people

I can honestly say I have never used any of the things I got taught in school after the age of 13. If it was acceptable to leave at 13 I would have walked out of the door.

All I wanted to do was get on with my life and school actually held me back.

Trewser yes!
Most subjects give you a taster to decide whether or not to do it and give you a grounding.
French - wish more people did a language. We might not be such a lot of isolationist.
Ethics - should be compulsory and then the world wouldn't be in such a mess.
You could go on for every subject!!

I can’t think of anything really - maybe accounting at a push although I did economics after so probably not an option

I even appreciate touch typing age 12-14 as I’m pretty fast now

Something might be pointless in your eyes but would be very valuable to someone else!