What has been the most important school subject in your adult life?

[OneUmberJoker]

Maths

English and business for both career and also because the teachers were fabulous and got me to an A* in both because they truly believed in me and tried everything to see what helped me reach my full potential despite the fact I had a chronic illness and severe anxiety at the time. This was a while back as I am now married with 3 DC, two of which are school age and I still think about these teachers and their impact often.

Science, but that is because I use it everyday in my job. It also taught me critical thinking and to always question doggy looking statistics in news articles.

Touch typing as it saves lots of time typing emails, and preparing documents at work.

Apart from that, business was very important. Budgeting, learning about loans, banking, consumer rights and taxes was very useful. I know that you can pick it up from articles etc but it was great to learn it in a classroom setting.

English Lit and English Language. Reading has given me so much pleasure and writing helped me in my career.

History. Followed by English Literature. Both taught me how to analyse evidence and text which I need daily. Then Art, which taught me to look properly at things. Maths, sciences and languages I don’t really use

Maths

it underpins science, computing , data science , so got me a good and interesting and worthwhile job

and reasonable pay with the choice to go for big bucks - but I chose to prioritise family time - a choice that is a luxury for many

History. It teaches you how male ego has the power to curtial peoples right and kill, how easily people can be brainwashed, how nothing is new, it's just an endless pointless cycle of violence. Happy Sunday everyone!

English

Maths

English and Maths are a given surely? I would say French, touch typing and back in the day in Sixth Form I did a course in car maintenance and learned how to change a tyre, change the oil, sort the spark plugs etc.

Music and Latin

History - A level modern European history actually comes in useful in conversation at work as well as being generally relevant to understanding the context of the world around me. I think there should be considerably more time devoted to history at school (not just what happened but the relativity of facts and understanding the relative reliability of different sources etc )

Science.

English. If it wasn’t for that none of us would be typing here.

French and German; teacher, tutor and use both in my current role.

Maths – just generally tbh

Weirdly not English as learned in school as such; I am a writer and editor and I learned how to do that by doing it, not when writing essays about Silas Marner and war poetry. I mean I love Eng lit and lang and am all in favour (tho I didn't take English A level) but I wouldn't say I use the learning from my O levels regularly.

Home economics - I still use some of my school recipes. Also remember being told how to wash pots in the sink. Glasses first then cups a saucers, side plates, dinner plates and dishes, cutlery and pans last. I do have a dishwasher now bit if I have to wash by hand it’s in that order

One thing we spent hours using at school and never used since is my logarithm book!

On a purely practical level, typing.

On an intellectual level - I'm not sure. I was an all-rounder, and I've taken bits from all of them. The only one I found disappointing was art, because we didn't really do much about the different techniques of using different media.

Glad to see lots of people in favour of Latin, though - I took it to A-level and it was important- I'm just not sure it was the most important. I think it was the combination of everything, not one in isolation.

Languages - I have been an MFL teacher for decades!

It's interesting that people are saying Latin. I did Latin A Level but I do question how useful it really is, given that you can learn so much about language by learning a modern language, which is potentially of more practical use than a dead one. I'm not at all against Latin - it's fascinating - but I always thought it was a bit daft to end up learning how one's own language worked via a different, ancient language, rather than being taught actual English grammar and syntax properly!

I took geography and it has FA to do with my job as a tube station staff. All I need to know is the points on a compass. Sociology has been more useful, tbh, for dealing with unhoused people and fare evasion, and mental health. I can't do maths, TF for calculators, and the computer accounts system. (Unbelievably, Oyster cards and singles are still purchased). English doesn't really matter, as I don't write policies and procedures, and emails tend to be short. As long as the incident reports make sense to other people reading them. Home Economics: have you seen the state of our staffroom? 🤢😷⛔ Design & technology: we use copious amounts of hazard tape to keep stuff from breaking completely, I hope that counts. Only until someone comes out to fix it. 🚧 PE: I am very unfit, especially after running to an emergency. I'll be putting you in the recovery position whilst needing it myself.

I wish there was an A level in interpersonal communication. That would have come in handy. I should also have joined the debating team.

Science is more a train operator's realm. Physics, mainly.

My poxy C for Domestic Science at ‘O’ Level.

Came in very handy during the poverty/YTS/squatting years in the 80s.
See also the “no, we are not giving you maternity pay or leave” years.
Then the Credit Crunch.
Really rose to new heights during the pandemic. We live a stone’s throw from Codogno so I had just enough time to do a massive shop of staples before all hell broke loose and our income disappeared.
Still paying off since the cost of food went seriously haywire after Russia invaded Ukraine and the increased fuel prices swiftly came down the wire to the consumer.

My A in English Language is the one I’m most proud of. Because my dad had left us that morning, I was in a such a state of shock I don’t even remember how I got myself to school to sit the paper. However, it was Mrs. Bull criticising me relentlessly in Domestic Science for three years that saved my arse from the worst that poverty can chuck at you. I can do things with cheapo organ meat and pulses that mean if nothing else I’ll never have to feel half-starved or live off own brand biscuits again. Just as long as I have a single hob, a pan and something slightly sharper than a butter knife.

It doesn’t mean I’m a good cook, far from it. My half Italian son learned to cook at 12 year old in “self-defence”. It just means when the shit hits the fan I make a lot of food for very little outlay.

I only passed 4 out of the 13 I was supposed to get. I may have failed a lot of them, but I don’t regret studying any of them. They’ve all come in useful in their own way. But DomSci takes the gold medal for its very obvious real world advantage.

Maths and English.

English and music

Art and Design Technology.

Science.

Same as @TaborlinTheGreat about Latin. I loved it, did it to A-level and was very good at it, but I wouldn't say it's been especially useful to me, despite studying and working in a healthcare profession. I still wish I'd done a degree in Latin though!

The one subject that came to mind aside from mathematics was history. I think it taught me about the world and events and human nature in a way I would have otherwise missed out on.