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

Despite attending a very academic top girls school and getting excellent results, the subject most used in my life in general was the one year at age 11 we did Domestic Science - the aim being to be able to employ competent domestic servants!

As a girl from a very working class family I was never going to have servants but I learnt how to sew, embroider, cook all manner of things (though my dad did say that my rock buns were definitely appropriately-named!) - including becoming a whizz at pastry-making of all kinds and how to peel a potato without taking the peeler off the spud- household hygiene (though sometimes I don't do it to the highest standard nowadays) and basic childcare.

Although I qualified as an Accountant and eventually became a Senior Lecturer in various accounting subjects at University, those Domestic Science lessons gave me tools that I have used daily throughout my life.

English Language, without a doubt.

I would say English and Geography. English because instead of just reading a story or poem you studied it, the characters, the plot to get an understanding of it better. Geography because I always found it interesting, and ended up in transportation industry so had a better understanding of how and why goods were transported. And I also love to travel and learn about the world.

I thought I commented in this thread back when it started back in August.

Anyway, French was definitely the subject I've used most in life since school, and still do, but so many others, such as history, geography, chemistry, English, maths, physics and games have all proved useful at various points.

Of course, considering I came to Germany fairly soon after leaving school and technical college, German would have helped, but it wasn't on offer at our school, and at tech you could only do German if you had an O-level in it.

I think I learned it the best way in the end: au pairing and learning with 3 and 4 year-olds, while conversing with students and people of my own age, then au pairing in a family with 11 and 12-year-olds thus covering all development stages in less than two years. But the grammar I learnt in English and French lessons at school helped me pick up German easily too.

English.

When I was courting my husband he proposed to me after I’d helped him with writing essays for college. I still do all his editing and proofreading now.

I also taught English as a second language (alongside my ‘real’ jobs) for many, many years and met many interesting people in doing so.

English.

Biology.

I loved learning about plants, how they reproduce and the structure etc.

Knowing how the body works, seeing the bones of the skeleton, learning about the systems and how organs function was fascinating and of course invaluable knowledge for me to look after my own body through my life.

It gave me a lasting interest in nutrition which seems to have [so far] served me well. I have respect for my body and look after it as best I can. The human body is amazing and conception, pregnancy and childbirth is miraculous.

I also really enjoyed doing all the diagrams needed throughout my school years.

French, followed by German. They got me a fascinating job at the end of the Sixties, when it was becoming clear that we would be joining the Common Market, and I used them regularly for years.

Maths

History.

The joy and pleasure I have got from studying the past has suffused my whole life and does still. In my 30s, following an interest my small son had I became involved in archaeology and that has expanded myhistorical knowledge and understanding of the past. I particularly love studying the history of landscape and to be able to stand on a high hill ( hill fort) looking over a Somerset landscape to the 18th century park of the local squire, noticing how the road that once went through the park and past the manor house, had been diverted around the park to divide the squire from the people, seeing the church still in the park, but the village which had been moved because it was too close to the manor house had been demolished and rebuilt a short distance way, then see a huge hedge marching across the landscape and realise that this hedge probably date back to Saxon times. i could go on and on and bore you stiff.

Second to this is Latin. To study English history, Latin is so useful, to work out wjat is said on church memorials, to be able to turn latin numbers into 'real' numbers - and also to tell DS why people walking in the street are called pedestrians, among many words.

I would not be me without history.

I’m glad that I have a very basic understanding of French as I find it a beautiful language.

English and Latin.

English and history

English and maths, as most employers ask for them these days. Also took English literature and passed this and it does give you a wider understanding of drama, films and literature. Took the two languages- French and German- and did use them in Belgium and Germany with reasonable success way back.
Subjects I wished I had kept were biology and chemistry as I was good at these for the first two years, but two poor and boring teachers saw me lose interest in the third form.

Typing - I learnt typing as an extra subject to go with my academic A levels and got various certificates.
It did mean I could get temp jobs during the university holidays which were much better paid and more pleasant than working in restaurants and bars. Still comes in useful in my main job.

Advanced Spanish, Computers and Business ..

I'd say it was Shorthand & Typing, which, ironically I never set out to learn.
I started A levels but just couldn't get to grips with A Level Economics (despite a very good pass at O Level), so I dropped it.
I was told I had to do something else to fill the gaps in my timetable, hence chose Shorthand & Typing.

Best decision ever. Was never out of work, easily got jobs, good money, great hours, right up until retirement.

Drama and poetry were my favourites.
There was a small group of us in the 5th & 6th form who weren't good at Maths and at last we had a super maths teacher who knew how to help us. There was no pressure. The bad news was that we had to attend his class after school. School buses finished at a set time after school so some of had to walk a mile or so to the bus station or wait for ages at the end of a very long road. It was worth it though. These days I think many young people are collected by parents but in those days we found our own ways. On one occasion I went on a bus in the evening [daylight still I think] which stopped to be searched by police as there had been an escaped prisoner from a nearby prison! That was a tale to tell the next day

English, History and Latin.
Of the extra- curricular subjects, I liked Current Affairs and Art Appreciation, both of which enhanced my critical thinking, and speech training, useful in my career.

Jess20

As a retired academic looking back..... I went to a very unambitious girls school where the aim was to keep us away from boys and prepare us for marriage to local farmers sons. None of us did GCSEs or even CSEs. I left at 15 and got a job and started evening classes in the academic subjects I'd missed. I must say there was one teacher who tried to get us to think for ourselves and she was probably the main influence for my future career (she was sacked unfortunately, I imagine for being unqualified and unorthodox). In terms of a subject, I have to admit I'm pleased I can cook and sew and domestic science, despite not being aimed at qualifications, has been the most useful subject I learnt at school.

If your academic speciality was education you must link the school you went to with indoctrination not education.

French, because if you have experienced French grammer Italian and Spanish are then easy, (we didnt have latin) Also I found it very useful travelling in Morocco, Syria and Lebanon.

I also did typing and bookkeeping in school which I have found useful as I am not just a two fingered typist and can keep the accounts for my business.

English literature because it developed my love of reading.

I’ve been a nurse for 50 years, have worked in travel medicine for 20 of those years and love travelling myself and I m an avid bookworm 🤷‍♀️ so Human Biology, Geography and English have played an enormous part in my life

Human Biology, Geography and English

I went to 14 different schools ( parents moved around a lot) and it was reading that was thing which was most consistent between schools. I ended up teaching it for 34 years!

But I found all subjects interesting. My reading came in useful as, while others were making friends and having fun, I had my nose in a book and had prizes for coming top in various subject exams:- Geography, Biology, English and, at one school where I arrived just in time for the exams - everything except History as it was a period I hadn’t studied.

I often wondered how I would have done if I had gone to one, very good school and been allowed to work and study without disruption. I ensured my own children had this opportunity and they did extremely well.

We all love English, History. Politics and cooking!

I would have to say history. So much of what I was taught as a child turned out not to be true. I remember being so shocked at how awful Christopher Columbus was. So many examples like that.