# What is the singlemost useless thing you learned in school? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 7, 2022, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-singlemost-useless-thing-you-learned-in-school/962434 "2022-04-07T02:31:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2022, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-singlemost-useless-thing-you-learned-in-school/962434/61 "2022-04-07T15:20:40Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > How to use a card catalogue. It was useful at the time, but nowadays it feels akin to knowing how to make soap or candles at home. I’m going to push back against this one a little. I doubt I’ll ever use a card catalog again or the readers’ guide to periodical literature. But due to that process (look up a subject, get a bunch of books and magazines that might be related and the dewey decimal number where the subject was located, search through all of the results and filter out the 95% that isn’t relevant, repeat with a different word/set of words until there was enough for a five page report.) I’m much, much, much better at googling for information than people who seem to just read the headline of the first search result. I have never, ever, ever needed to know the history or rules of pickleball. Not once. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2022, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-singlemost-useless-thing-you-learned-in-school/962434/62 "2022-04-07T15:21:56Z")
> [@MrAtoz](#): > > For a long time, I thought that diagramming sentences had been a complete waste of time. But as I’ve read more and more stuff (especially stuff written on the internet), I realize that doing it gave me a good understanding of the structure of language, and of how to construct a coherent sentence. Those really are useful skills. I thought diagramming sentences was very useful: it really helped me to understand how our language works and how sentences are put together. As for my general contrubtion to the thread: All knowledge is related to other knowledge. So, while I have learned plenty of things that I have never used directly, I cannot claim with certainty that there was anything I learned that was _completely_ useless. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2022, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-singlemost-useless-thing-you-learned-in-school/962434/63 "2022-04-07T15:24:10Z")
Reminds me of a lecture on Von Danniken that we had. For history class! ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2022, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-singlemost-useless-thing-you-learned-in-school/962434/64 "2022-04-07T15:26:12Z")
I had poor handwriting until a clever teacher taught me how to do calligraphy. Then I had nice handwriting until finishing medical school. Now it’s chicken scratches (unless I want to write nicely). So I give a pass to cursive. OTOH, we also spent hours doing technical drafting. Sure, it’s useful. But so is fortran 77. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2022, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-singlemost-useless-thing-you-learned-in-school/962434/65 "2022-04-07T15:31:20Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > Reminds me of a lecture on Von Danniken that we had. Now that’s a name I’ve not heard in a long time. A long time. Those strange theories were all the rage back then, weren’t they? > [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > For history class! But not in history class! Geeze! ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2022, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-singlemost-useless-thing-you-learned-in-school/962434/66 "2022-04-07T15:33:23Z")
In my driver’s ed class, we spent maybe 10 minutes learning how to use a “3 on the tree” standard transmission in the driving simulator. I completely failed the simulation, but it doesn’t matter because I’ve never seen a car with a “3 on the tree” gear shift before or since. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2022, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-singlemost-useless-thing-you-learned-in-school/962434/67 "2022-04-07T15:42:03Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Now that’s a name I’ve not heard in a long time. A long time. You don’t watch enough _Ancient Aliens_. Sure, that guy with the weird hair is the breakout star and source of innumerable memes, but Von Danniken shows up as a talking head on that show all the time. I think he’s a producer, as well. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2022, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-singlemost-useless-thing-you-learned-in-school/962434/68 "2022-04-07T15:50:22Z")
If it’s genuinely useless, I guess I’ve forgotten it. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2022, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-singlemost-useless-thing-you-learned-in-school/962434/69 "2022-04-07T15:55:26Z")
I think a lot of this is geared towards learning to think. Not so much remembering the quadratic equation. But I have a couple. I took a class in high school in the late 70’s, “Life’s Myths and Realities”. Heh. One of our assignments was to write a paper. The subject was to describe what your perfect date would be (umm… what?). My cousin, a very popular girl involved in theater, music, choir and academics. An ‘A’ student, got a C- on her paper. She’s one of my best friends and I still raz her about it. Frankly, I think the teacher was a creep. Again in High School. The class was called Logic. Ok Sounds good. But it was really 1st grade level basics. If A=B and B=C then A=C. Umm, yeah, no shit. And finally, again in High School, a class that taught speed reading. I read about normal I suppose, but I do it for enjoyment. I did learn a couple of memory tricks in that class that helps though. Most useful class was typing, and drafting. It’s the drafting classes I took that got me to where I am today. Thank you Mr. Carmichael. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2022, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-singlemost-useless-thing-you-learned-in-school/962434/70 "2022-04-07T15:59:28Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > it doesn’t matter because I’ve never seen a car with a “3 on the tree” gear shift before or since. I grew up with one - a 67 Chevy pickup with a six-banger and three on the tree. But we sold it before I learned how to drive. In college, I was looking at buying a 70s Dodge truck with the same, and on the test drive I shifted too fast and knocked the (old and worn out) linkage out of whack. Maybe I needed more tree time, but that was a deal breaker. My next Dodge was a four on the floor, as God and Lee Iaccoca intended. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2022, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-singlemost-useless-thing-you-learned-in-school/962434/71 "2022-04-07T16:06:31Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I grew up with one - a 67 Chevy pickup with a six-banger and three on the tree. But we sold it before I learned how to drive. I learned on a three on the tree as well. '65 Chevy van. Seemed stupid then as it does now. But it taught me proper clutch and throttle management. ---
**Author:** ![Lancia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lancia/32/17174_2.png) [@Lancia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lancia)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2022, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-singlemost-useless-thing-you-learned-in-school/962434/72 "2022-04-07T16:08:08Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > Not only have I never seen a dental dam ever outside of that class, I have also never heard ANYONE talk about dental dams past that class Did you go to school in the mid 80’s to mid 90’s? Encouraging the use of dental dams in sex was a big thing during the height of the AIDS scare. I vividly recall being taught (in the mid-90’s) that condoms and dental dams were the two biggest pieces of armor one could use to avoid HIV infection during sex. I was also taght that this knowledge was well established. I have no clue what recent research suggest wrt to their effectiveness, or even if they’re readily available at drugstores. > [@GESancMan](#): > > There was no improvement to my life from reading a few Shakespeare plays or _To Kill a Mockingbird_ . I agree with Shakespeare. I _tried_ to like Shakespeare, I really did. But I soon realized the plays were stupid, had mostly petty and vindictive characters, and the language was so long obsolete that simply trying to pick apart the meaning of any given line negated any other benefit we got from reading the play. _TKAM_ has its place, but not as a component to an English class. Modern classrooms would be wise to use a book like _Dear Martin_ instead, which can be used to teach the same themes but in a much more modern and accessible way. Of course, _Dear Martin_ has become a lightning rod for the anti-CRT crowd, but their opionions matter none. The idea behind teaching all these is to teach analytical and critical thinking skills while also exposing kids to the “classics.” I have no use for that rubbish in my classroom (I’m an English teacher 🙂 ) and find most curriculum that use those readings do so out of a misplaced sense of nostalgia and obligation. * * * My personal contribution to the question: the standard 5 paragraph essay. I mean, I get it why its taught – hell, I teach it to my own students – but its so. Damn. Pointless. A well-written cover letter covers the same concepts and teaches the same process and has actual use in the real world. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2022, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-singlemost-useless-thing-you-learned-in-school/962434/73 "2022-04-07T16:18:16Z")
> [@amarinth](#): > > I’m much, much, much better at googling for information than people who seem to just read the headline of the first search result. My googlefu is pretty strong, but not due having learned how to use a card catalogue. I worked for a magazine publishing company from about 2002 to 2007, when the internet existed but the resources it offered weren’t nearly as plentiful or easy to access as they are now. To meet deadlines, we often worked until 2 am or so, so we couldn’t avail ourselves of traditional fact-checking tools like calling people or visiting the library. So we had to be very clever to maximize the value of the internet, which didn’t mind that it was 2am. That’s how I developed my ability to google information. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2022, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-singlemost-useless-thing-you-learned-in-school/962434/74 "2022-04-07T16:25:59Z")
Very close, I went to high school in the late 90$ but we were probably still using early 90s instructional plans, which is why I found it completely useless. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2022, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-singlemost-useless-thing-you-learned-in-school/962434/75 "2022-04-07T16:29:32Z")
Sometime in fifth or sixth grade we had to learn to play a recorder. While learning to play an instrument wouldn’t be useless for everyone, it certainly was for me. ---
**Author:** ![Lancia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lancia/32/17174_2.png) [@Lancia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lancia)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2022, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-singlemost-useless-thing-you-learned-in-school/962434/76 "2022-04-07T16:44:08Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > How to fill out a deposit slip and balance a checkbook. By the time I was old enough to have a checking account, deposit slips and balance sheets were obsolete and I’ve never once had to do either. While I agree about the deposit slip (although to be fair I’ve had to fill those out for any physical checks that were to be dposited at my credit union as recently as 2016), balancing a checkbook is something that all kids should know how to do. Physical checks are pretty uncommon these days but knowing how to track expenses and balance accounts is vital. Judging by a representative sample of about ten (asked my students), Kids These Days dont know how to do that or even recognize that its important to do so. They look at their bank balance online and assume that amount is their avaliable balance, ignoring the fact that some things may not have processed through yet. They apparently think everything in cyberworld happens instantaneously so a puchase made at 5:07 pm from Amazon will be debited from their account at 5:07 pm exactly. The idea of float is foreign to them. ---
**Author:** ![XOldiesJock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ec9cab/32.png) [@XOldiesJock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XOldiesJock)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2022, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-singlemost-useless-thing-you-learned-in-school/962434/77 "2022-04-07T16:46:35Z")
I can’t say I ever “learned” this, because I didn’t, but it was the most useless thing I was ever taught: diagramming sentences. I had an English teacher for 8th and 9th grades who was obsessed with diagramming sentences. Every pop quiz, every test, every exam consisted of diagramming sentences. I know now that I had/have ADD, and if a subject held no interest to me or if it seemed pointless or uselessly complicated, I simply zoned out on it. I failed test after test because I simply could not remember what went on pedestals and what went on dotted lines. Yet somehow, I’ve made my living for the last 50+ years by use of the spoken and written word. I know everything about how to use the English language effectively. I’ve been a public speaker, a writer and an editor. And I still couldn’t diagram a sentence if my life depended on it. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2022, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-singlemost-useless-thing-you-learned-in-school/962434/78 "2022-04-07T16:51:39Z")
Oh, I just remembered the Goth Kings! The Goths invaded Spain in 409, when the Roman Empire crumbled in our neck of the woods, and the Arabs invaded Spain and Portugal between 711 and 718 (quite the Blitzkrieg for the time) ending the Goths reign. In between there were a succession of Gothic Kings whose unusual names we were suppossed to learn by hearth. My generation must have been one of the last to go through that and my teacher was not particularly successful. I had to [google](https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anexo:Reyes_visigodos) it: Ataúlfo, Sigerico, Walia, Teodorico I, Turismundo, Teodorico II, Eurico, Alarico II, Gesaleico, Teodorico III, Amalarico, Teudis, Teudiselo, Ágila, Atanagildo, Liuva I, Leovigildo, Recaredo I, Liuva II, Witerico, Gundemaro, Sisebuto, Recaredo II, Suintila, Sisenando, Khintila, Tulga, Chindasvinto, Recesvinto, Wamba, Ervigio, Égica, Witiza, Ágila II y Rodrigo. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@salinqmind1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind1)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2022, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-singlemost-useless-thing-you-learned-in-school/962434/79 "2022-04-07T16:53:42Z")
Algebra? … I had an EXTREMELY difficult time with math all during school. Somewhere along the line, I failed to grasp ‘math’ - though I could do the basics, but even today I have to count on my fingers and have a scratch pad nearby to do cipherin’…I knew algebra was going to be a horrific shit show, and it was. I think I failed with a 48. Took it over in summer school, of course, and failed it with a 43. … If they didn’t let me out of school by taking bonehead math twice, I’d still be sitting there in Mrs. V’s class, watching her write what might as well be Sanskrit on the blackboard. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2022, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-singlemost-useless-thing-you-learned-in-school/962434/80 "2022-04-07T16:56:14Z")
Be glad it was Ohio and not Georgia. Georgia has 159 counties! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-singlemost-useless-thing-you-learned-in-school/962434.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-singlemost-useless-thing-you-learned-in-school/962434.md?page=5)