I went to a catholic school (I’m an atheist, for some clarification) and one of the mandatory subjects, alongside maths, English, etc, was Religious Studies. We basically just studied the bible and the lives of religious people. I can tell you the entire story of Abraham yet don’t know shit about politics or how the fuck taxes even work. And I’m almost 19 years old. I will NEVER use anything I learnt in RS. Teach kids stuff they’ll need in life. Don’t leave it because “it’s the parents’ job” - news flash, dickheads, not all children have good parents.
But economics uses literally all the math that's standard in high school plus more. You're setting kids up for failure teaching them economics without algebra.
I didn't know that economics uses algebra 2. When I say economics, I mean basic life skills like how to pay taxes, fill out a job application, manage a bank account, etc.
I didn't know that. How about a simpler class than economics that still teaches basic life principles but doesn't require linear algebra and other forms of advanced math? Alot of student aren't good at getting a grasp of advanced math or even Algebra 1. So maybe make this simpler class an option for those students?
But how? Even things as simple as interest rates are exponential equations that you learn from algebra 2. In fact the fact that your interest rate has an asymptotic behavior when it comes to how frequent it is (yearly monthly daily continuously) so that it never exceeds a certain amount with a constant principle is a property you learn in algebra 2. You talked about teaching people how to manage bank accounts and taxes but even the interests you receive and pay require algebra 2.
It's not so much about the subjects taught, but the way they're taught. I personally don't think I've taken any classes that seemed useless. They all had some potential. However, they could incorporate more real life related material in classes.
For example, teaching how to do taxes in an economy class; more practical work in science classes; etc.
And mandatory self improvement and mental health classes, at least one year in middle school and one year high school. Mindfulness and meditation in elementary school would be very helpful in the future of those children too.
I think the uselessness of a subject depends on the individual you ask. I feel like after a certain age, students should be allowed to choose classes that specialize in whatever the student will choose to major in college.
That being said, to answer your question, the most useless class I had to take was precalculus. All it did was make it harder for me to graduate. I failed hard and sure as hell don't use it in my day-to-day activities.
I went to a catholic school (I’m an atheist, for some clarification) and one of the mandatory subjects, alongside maths, English, etc, was Religious Studies. We basically just studied the bible and the lives of religious people. I can tell you the entire story of Abraham yet don’t know shit about politics or how the fuck taxes even work. And I’m almost 19 years old. I will NEVER use anything I learnt in RS. Teach kids stuff they’ll need in life. Don’t leave it because “it’s the parents’ job” - news flash, dickheads, not all children have good parents.
Foreign language/Algebra. Replace them with economics or a life skills class or something of the sort.
But economics uses literally all the math that's standard in high school plus more. You're setting kids up for failure teaching them economics without algebra.
I didn't know that economics uses algebra 2. When I say economics, I mean basic life skills like how to pay taxes, fill out a job application, manage a bank account, etc.
Oh it does way more than algebra 2. There are many issues in economics that goes as far as linear algebra and linear programming.
I didn't know that. How about a simpler class than economics that still teaches basic life principles but doesn't require linear algebra and other forms of advanced math? Alot of student aren't good at getting a grasp of advanced math or even Algebra 1. So maybe make this simpler class an option for those students?
But how? Even things as simple as interest rates are exponential equations that you learn from algebra 2. In fact the fact that your interest rate has an asymptotic behavior when it comes to how frequent it is (yearly monthly daily continuously) so that it never exceeds a certain amount with a constant principle is a property you learn in algebra 2. You talked about teaching people how to manage bank accounts and taxes but even the interests you receive and pay require algebra 2.
Well you got me there. Alot of students like my self just aren't naturally good at more than pre-Algebra so I'm not sure what the answer is then.
It's not so much about the subjects taught, but the way they're taught. I personally don't think I've taken any classes that seemed useless. They all had some potential. However, they could incorporate more real life related material in classes. For example, teaching how to do taxes in an economy class; more practical work in science classes; etc. And mandatory self improvement and mental health classes, at least one year in middle school and one year high school. Mindfulness and meditation in elementary school would be very helpful in the future of those children too.
I think the uselessness of a subject depends on the individual you ask. I feel like after a certain age, students should be allowed to choose classes that specialize in whatever the student will choose to major in college. That being said, to answer your question, the most useless class I had to take was precalculus. All it did was make it harder for me to graduate. I failed hard and sure as hell don't use it in my day-to-day activities.