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

English, maths, shorthand and typing.

I was always 'good at English'. I suppose it was written in the stars that I would take it as a degree and end up teaching it. However, other languages also influenced me. I enjoyed learning Latin and Greek - both very handy for crosswords.

For myself - Economics (that and a subsequent evening class in Sociology) started me off as to how to (try to) understand my society.

From the money point of view - shorthand/typing/office practice - as that's what I earnt most of my money from after leaving school.

Yep....and I still don't know "what I want to be when I grow up" - even if society wound the clock back to the 1970s (ie when I left school). I've always been envious of those people I've come across who were fixed as to what they wanted to be from Day 1 and then went on to do just that. That one is a whole other conversation - of "Did you ever decide what you wanted to be - or did you just do the best option that was presented to you - but actually you didn't want to have to work for your money at all?"

Pretty good going for someone who didn't actually want a job at all to manage to do 40 years of full-time work during a 41.5 years worklife - plus all sorts of sideline work to try to cover the extra costs of being single all that time.

M0nica

I cannot think of any subject I studied at school that has not been useful since.

I always say that the most useful subject I had for childrearing was O level latin. DS went through a phase of wanting to know why every word was what it was and my ability to tell him that people walking along the street were called pedestrians derived from the latin word 'pedes' - a foot, to name but one, was really useful. At one point I found myself wishing I had studied ancient Greek in order to deal with all those cameras, cinemas and hippopotomases.

English first and foremost. Latin and modern languages. I did French and German, and a bit of Italian. Music, especially singing. We did a lot of singing at school in those days (1950s).
All of these subjects have influenced my adult life.

Ziggy62

windmill1

Art and poetry in my day but, sadly, these subjects seem to have been slashed from the general school curriculum. The 'heavy duty' subjects such as Maths, the Sciences and English take prominence.

But wouldn't it be a very 'grey' world if only academic stuff was taught on the premise "it makes you fit for work"!

Surely education shouldn't be restricted to subjects for churning out drones?

Oh that's sad, I loved art and poetry. It was my escape

Don't worry Art and Poetry are still in the curriculum.
For my GD it was poets of the First World War at GCSE and the English Metaphysical poets at A level. Plenty of poetry in primary and years 7-9 too.
My GDs didn't do Art after Year 9, but it was an excellent department.

Ah that's good to hear

JaneJudge

All of it surely

Yes.

I didn't do Home Economics but I learned to cook from my mother and recipes, self-taught sewing and other crafts.

We carry on learning throughout our lives, extending our knowledge of certain subjects, changing career paths, going on courses and the subjects we did at school form a basis for all of that and hobbies too.

Learning to read is the most important subject because without learning to read, we cannot expand our knowledge of other subjects.

English Language and English Literature.
Art.
Music.

English language and Latin. I was educated in Scotland and although I did not appreciate it at the time, I had the use of words like were and where, there and their hammered into me.

I was useless at Latin, but some concepts must have stuck, as they have been helpful throughout my life, not only in solving puzzles.

English/English Lit. And if we can name a subject that has had the most negative impact on a person’s adult life, that would have to be PE, as a child I found PE positively traumatic, was bullied and made to feel useless. Throughout my adult life I have always veered away from people who are competitive and to this day hate taking part in outdoor activities.

It would have to be reading, writing and spelling.
The ability to research and find out facts for myself and ask questions has been more valuable than anything else.

Maths…my excuse was measles/(mid 1960s)flu epidemic never caught up after that somehow. And no one seemed bothered.
Beyond multiplication tables learned by heart, plus old enough to remember pre decimalisation, which has been useful..but percentages still elude me !😏
I also always prefer to have written instructions to refer to because many people who teach just aren’t always that good at explaining imo.

Maths.

Couldn't narrow it down to one !!
English, Latin, French and Maths (arithmetic actually).

Most useful - English, Latin, French and Maths. Most enjoyable - Music. Though the time I spent doing tech drawing and woodwork hasn’t been wasted.

I cannot pinpoint any subject, I was a bit of a nerd and absolutely loved school and soaked up all subjects with enthusiasm, (despite being bullied for a while in senior school)

Maths was never my strongest subject, but it has helped in my business, Latin has helped me understand language, English I devoured books and still do, despite my tastes changing to more easy reads at the moment, too much excitement and stress in day to day life.

Geography gave me the desire to travel, the sciences fascinated me, and our AC also had the aptitude and love of them when in school. History was like storytelling, despite for some reason my inability to memorise kings and queens and dates 🤷‍♀️

Domestic Science, I can make a roux standing on one leg with a hand tied behind my back, never lumpy, I love the science of baking. Sewing etc., was part of this and I must admit despite my enthusiasm I was a complete failure, I can sew on a button, name tape, swimming badge etc., and that’s were my talents end.

English and Art and craft. The latter has lead to many opportunities and the making of long term treasured friends.

English (we learnt to analyse newspaper bias) and physics (good for all kinds of DIY).

English and Drama. I learned to speak clearly as well as learning the subject - my mother who was a singer and actress, sent me to elocution classes! Since those days I've given talks on a variety of subjects and this weekend I was asked to relate a special poem written by my granddaughter at her wedding at the church. Afterwards I was told by one of the congregation who was an actor that I spoke very clearly and that he heard every word which gave me a real boost! So I had learned something at school after all!!!

English very important, I had to up my game when my boss told me, I'll give you the bare bones of what I want to say and you can draft my letters around that, but he told me he had faith in my letter writing skills. Secondly history I loved it from an early age, my father was a history buff and we had loads of books pertaining to history. I also love geography in the context of knowing about different countries and their culture. These three were my best subjects at school. Domestic Science has been useful I'm forever grateful for learning to make a roux and a basic white sauce, so adaptable. Finally, mental arithmetic, I was never particularly good at maths but glad I had the basics knocked in at an early age even if we had at times terrifying and unsympathetic teachers who flew into rages if we didn't "get it" first time.

Oh GG just seen your post about making a roux Our teacher told us never be without a balloon whisk and your sauces will never have lumps. She was right!

Definitely French. I loved it from day 1 and it found me the right job at a difficult time in my life.

English, Art and Biology.

But the biggest lesson learnt in my Grammar school was how stuck up/snobbish certain people are, and how people are assessed by their jobs/income/housing situation. How certain people look up to or down on others because of it [and how they treat/talk to them]....and think what you have counts more than who you are.

That left it's mark on me. I experienced and witnessed some nasty stuff. It dictated how I've lived my life since. I vowed never to be like some of the teachers, pupils and their parents. It taught me how not to be. I also reject the current celebrity/reality tv 'stars' culture for the same reasons. The outside appearance/money is no indicator of the character inside.

[My first school was terrific though].

Spanish because I have loved in South America

Geography