useless lessons from your youth

Perhaps we should start a Gransnetters' Latin Club?

We could discuss the defeat of the German tribes (in Latin) - or we could just watch Gladiator instead!

Winter white - did you go to school in Beckenham - my experience is exactly yours! Two useful things - as it’s been said, wiring a plug and the most useful, putting jars upside down into hot water to release a lid you can’t open - unequal expansion!

We had sewing in junior school, and possibly first year senior school too. I can’t quite remember. I resisted it, and managed never to finish the apron we were supposed to be making. I never got past ‘tacking’.

I remember a school report where the comment on my sewing was “[Name] must remember to end off her threads”. I was left speechless by the triviality. It ranked with “[my name] must remember to mark her opponent” from the games mistress. I couldn't believe anyone thought this mattered. Needless to say, I was not popular with the sewing or games staff. They sensed my scorn.

I always thought maths was useless (because i was totally rubbish at it!) until I went to work for a specialist carpet cleaning and repair firm and suddenly found I could work out the cost of cleaning and refringing a round Chinese carpet by using Pi! I really don’t know how they managed before I got there ?!

We didn't do domestic science either but I did learn Latin which has been remarkably useful and I can still conjugate all the verbs and quote 'mensa' - a table..anyone else remember this? My mum was a great seamstress & a good cook so I learnt at home from her. She, like Beaus mum was a huge Brentford Nylons fan, yuk!! The very thought these days! I hated maths, never saw the point of those log tables, sines & cosines and I just loathed hockey & netball as I was useless and the games teacher was very scathing of my efforts on the field & court.

Came top, not too.

At my girls grammar school we made a needlework apron, which included about four types of seam, and 20 rows of embroidery stitches. My marks for the first few were 6,5,6,6,6,4. But I came too in the theory exam, labelling a sewing machine, describing and doing a diagram for various seams etc.
Also made a blouse, which a friend’s mum kindly finished for me, demonstrating other skills including bound button holes, gathers etc......
after two years I had to choose between Latin and Domestic Science. My mum was so disappointed that I chose Latin because she woukdn’t get a home made, iced and elaborately decorated Christmas cake!
Latin was very useful, and still is, as I became a French teacher.
I suppose never being picked for a team( sports) was a lesson in humiliation.

I ran an interior decorating business for many years. Calculated areas, amounts of fabric, carpets,wallpaper , VAT and did all my accounts and never once used the quadratic equation. What was that for? Didn't do domestic science at my convent grammar school, we could choose between that and Italian! (go figure) And I absolutely loathed hockey. Racing up and down the pitch in the freezing fog of winter Nottingham wearing severely inadequate clothing seemed totally mad!

I went to an all girl Catholic convent grammar school. In the final year of study before taking 9 O levels it was decided to add RE to the list and so we crammed that subject in less than a year.

WARNING - this may distress some readers.

Some years later I stood watching my DH doing the "kiss of life" to our baby daughter and feeling absolutely helpless. I did not know what to do. I had a string of O levels but had never been taught life-saving. Nowadays CPR is taught in schools.

I could just do logarithms but it was never explained what they were for or how you would use them. Teacher who swooped round the class with his raggedly black cloak, kindly let me off calculus and coordinate geometry. I enjoyed geometry and theorems, only because they were logical but have used little of the maths I followed up to O level. Times tables and fractions learned at Primary school have been far more useful.

I was sent by my mother to the Court School of Dancing when I was 12 as she said it would "come in useful in later life) It hasn't yet and I'm 66. (I think its because I grew up to be a hippie, not at all what she had in mind!)

We were not taught to iron - I so wish we had been - and we made a sewing bag, apron (no hat!) and a padded pan holder!

We were also taught how to clean our teeth, wash our hair (rinsing it until it squeaked like a cabbage leaf!!) and wash our hairbrushes.
As if I hadn't been doing it for years, we were taught how to wash up.

I loved learning to lay the table and always make sure our table looks good even now.

Secondary modern. Domestic science learned washing, all the canteen t towels overalls etc hang out to dry then iron. Flat learned how to sweep polish dust, don't forget the skirting, make a bed and put clothes away in drawers. In sewing first made blouse for school uniform then skirt. Dropped domestic science in third year, now year 9, and took needlework instead. Couldn't,t cook. Got married. Old domestic science teacher sent me two cookery books for beginners which have proved their weight in gold. Thank you Betty. Could also whip up new fashion dresses etc overnight so best of both worlds

Before and after our PE lessons at my all girls school we had to strip naked in the hall and stand in a long line facing the windows with our hands on our heads girls who had a period could keep their knickers on there was about 35/40 of us. Two female teachers would then slowly walk down the front of us inspecting us as they went before turning at the end and coming back along the back of us patting bottoms as they went. One day one of the girls ask why we had to be naked. The teacher replied “we like to inspect you to make sure you have no marks on your bodies that your parents can blame on us and also so you can be proud of your body and not shy to let others see it. It certainly gave me a positive outlook on life. However I expect today it would be looked upon as child abuse.

I went to a secondary mod school, domestic science, needlework and believe it or not election lesson. In needlework we were taught how to sew a button on properly, made an apron and a blouse with a Peter Pan collar. In domestic science we made all sorts of things and even had to team up in threes and each team cook a three dinner. Remeber we made nettle soup. My sister in the local grammar school learnt how to make a salad.

You iron pillow cases?

Loved arithmetic but hated maths. Only ever used trig and calculus while at university (and never since).

Also did Latin and can still say a few sentences (in the picture is a girl called Puella, she is happy because her friend Flavia is staying in the neighbouring villa”. I also remember Sextus was stuck up a tree which is really useful in life...

Another one from an all girls all female teacher grammar school.
We were taught how to scrub pine-topped tables. We devised a kind of table football game with the bar of soap as a ball and called it 'Scruball'.

In domestic science we all had to make a sewing bag (which I still have), and a shift dress. I chose a pyschedelic patterned material, very appropriate for the 60's, so was happy to wear it. We also did some cookery, but nothing else at all apart from that. That could explain why I'm one of the most undomesticated people ever, lol.

Abso-bloody-lutly a waste of a girls time . Dad was right about reading a cookery book! By the time I got tonsecondary school (11).... I could turn a hem, sew on a button, AND cook a whole Sunday lunch from scratch!! Total waste of an otherwise good maths lesson! That’s what parents ate for....and I could bake bread!! THE most useless lesson was making sure the teaspoon on the cup and saucer was in line with the handle of the cup!!! A whole lesson dedicated to it! But as you can see I’ve never forgotten it. And I hate to say ... but IF I ever use a cup and saucer (rare) I always find myself doing it.

to these. So much wasted time! Love the fact that you were taught to recognise fishing boats, mokryna. Wonder if that was your teacher's obsession?

We also had a ‘flat’ but ours was lived in by 2 of the teachers, hence a free cleaning service for them!
I also remember my primary school needlework lessons and my teacher saying ‘ hemming? That’s not hemming girl, undo it and start again’ . Would hate to think how many times I had to undo it!

We had a “pretend” flat in the middle of our all girls grammar . We were taught how to make beds , hang curtains etc. I often wondered if the all boys grammar were taught how to put the bins out and mow the lawn ?

We all had to take one of our Dad's shirts in to iron. Was it useless? This was before steam irons became commonplace and it was a horrible job. Some of us got creases in that we couldn't remove but the teacher said that it wouldn't matter as it would be covered by the waistcoat! Dad didn't possess one. Even the fearsome headmistress came round to inspect them and comment.

In primary school (1950s) I had to recognize different types of fishing boats. We didn't live near the sea.