Who says what we learned in school is not important?

@TheHorse (217644)
Walnut Creek, California
October 20, 2022 1:06pm CST
I have heard people say that what we learn in our formal schooling isn't important because we never use it in real life anyway. What bullshit! I am currently replacing some veneer on a corner of a Klipsch speaker I'm working on. I leaned in one of my physics classes about distribution of mass, and about center of gravity. In this instance I am pressing down a very small area of the veneer, so the glue between the veneer and the speaker will catch and hold. I have a scissor blade under the far edge of the stacked paint containers to focus the force on the desired area. I'm not using any of the fancy formulas I learned in physics (though I can calculate the depth of a vertical mine shaft or well by how long it takes a rock to hit the bottom), But I AM using the general principles of physics that I learned in my youth (high school and college days). Can you think of times you've used things you learned in school in your day-to-day life? Do you bristle when you hear people say education is not important?
21 people like this
22 responses
@marlina (154131)
• Canada
20 Oct 22
Education is so important and will always be
4 people like this
@vandana7 (100096)
• India
22 Oct 22
I am left to wonder how come school drop outs still manage to become billionaires.
3 people like this
@TheHorse (217644)
• Walnut Creek, California
20 Oct 22
I agree. I even use some "physic of music" when I tune my instruments!
2 people like this
@LadyDuck (470492)
• Switzerland
22 Oct 22
@vandana7 Good friends, or rich parents... usually the right friends behind your back.
3 people like this
@BarBaraPrz (47061)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
20 Oct 22
Every time I read something... or count out my pills.
4 people like this
@TheHorse (217644)
• Walnut Creek, California
20 Oct 22
Yes, reeding and rithmetic are good.
3 people like this
@LadyDuck (470492)
• Switzerland
21 Oct 22
Those who say that are people who learnt nothing at all so they pretend it's not important or useful.
2 people like this
@vandana7 (100096)
• India
22 Oct 22
I have issues in retaining education.
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (470492)
• Switzerland
22 Oct 22
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (217644)
• Walnut Creek, California
21 Oct 22
I agree. But I didn't want to say that.
2 people like this
@DaddyEvil (137248)
• United States
20 Oct 22
Well, I learned about naps and learned to read before I started school. (That's what I've done today. Read and take naps.)
2 people like this
@DaddyEvil (137248)
• United States
20 Oct 22
@TheHorse Yes, melatonin... I'm sleepy because it's time I should be asleep instead of visiting with friends on myLot.
2 people like this
@TheHorse (217644)
• Walnut Creek, California
20 Oct 22
Sounds like a productive day. I bet you know what hormone regulates your sleep cycle.
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (217644)
• Walnut Creek, California
20 Oct 22
@DaddyEvil Have a good rest.
2 people like this
@wolfgirl569 (104999)
• Marion, Ohio
21 Oct 22
I use small things. But I dont use a lot of it.
2 people like this
@wolfgirl569 (104999)
• Marion, Ohio
22 Oct 22
@TheHorse I dont buy milk too often. So only a half gallon or 4 pints worth Like math I mostly add or subtract. Seldom multiply or divide. History I need to look up but I didnt like that class.
2 people like this
@TheHorse (217644)
• Walnut Creek, California
22 Oct 22
@wolfgirl569 I (almost) slept through most of my History classes. But I'm more interested in it now.
2 people like this
@TheHorse (217644)
• Walnut Creek, California
21 Oct 22
Do you have some examples? Heck I still remember from grade school that four quarts equal a gallon. I do quick calculations when buying milk.
1 person likes this
@NJChicaa (119294)
• United States
20 Oct 22
As a teacher, of course I do. Students always say "why should I learn about biology? It has nothing to do with my life!" I'm like "IT IS YOUR LIFE!"
2 people like this
@TheHorse (217644)
• Walnut Creek, California
20 Oct 22
Sigh. I do still remember things from my biology class in high school. We're bundles of neurons. I gather we have billions of neurons and trillions of neural connections in our brains. High school kids couldn't tap on their cell phones without both sensory and motor neurons. Am I correct in assuming that ALL nerve cells have the parts I learned about in high school, like a nucleus, Golgi bodies, etc.?
4 people like this
@NJChicaa (119294)
• United States
20 Oct 22
@TheHorse I'm not an expert in axons and dendrites. I can tell you that human red blood cells don't have nuclei. The red blood cells of other animals do.
2 people like this
@TheHorse (217644)
• Walnut Creek, California
20 Oct 22
@NJChicaa That's interesting! I wonder why human red blood cells don't. Do white blood cells?
1 person likes this
@celticeagle (165723)
• Boise, Idaho
21 Oct 22
I do a little. Any education is good. It's like when I realized my grandson couldn't write in cursive. I was shocked. They didn't teach it in school. I, on the other hand, was made to practice to make my letters neat and readable. I also think that education gives a child a different look at the world around them.
1 person likes this
@celticeagle (165723)
• Boise, Idaho
21 Oct 22
@TheHorse .....Exactly.
@TheHorse (217644)
• Walnut Creek, California
21 Oct 22
I agree. We look at the world through the "filter" of our experiences.
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (217644)
• Walnut Creek, California
21 Oct 22
@celticeagle "like" Odd that sometimes I can't "like" a MyLot comment right now. Has that happened to you?
1 person likes this
@vandana7 (100096)
• India
21 Oct 22
Pony ji....you are extremely hardworking intelligent and highly educated person. In your shoes, I would just opt for something like this. I don't need that much time. There are other alternatives to PVC too.
WALLTON Kitchen Wall Stickers Wood Wallpaper DIY PVC Shelf Liner, Furniture, Almirah, Table Top, Wardrobe, Kitchen Cupboard Decal, Mahogany Brown - 24 x 120 Inches : Amazon.in: Home Improvement
1 person likes this
@vandana7 (100096)
• India
21 Oct 22
@TheHorse What is double wide...
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (217644)
• Walnut Creek, California
21 Oct 22
@vandana7 Heh. I thought you might ask that.
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (217644)
• Walnut Creek, California
21 Oct 22
This would work nicely in my double-wide!
1 person likes this
@kaylachan (68236)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
20 Oct 22
I do bristle when people make light of education. While I decided not to go to college, I find that there's a lot I learned in school. I learned a lot about critical thinking, which is a skill we do daily. Every time we go to the store, fill up the tank, and sometimes cook, we're using basic math skills such as fractions, dessmials, etc. And, every time we problem solve, that's a skill we were taught in school. Hell, every time a sighted person reads something. These day-to-day skills are used and no one thinks twice about them.
2 people like this
@kaylachan (68236)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
20 Oct 22
@TheHorse Yep. We do. I rely on other people or technology to read for me, but school gave me the knowledge on how to take advantage of that technology.
2 people like this
@TheHorse (217644)
• Walnut Creek, California
20 Oct 22
Exactly. We take things like basic arithmetic and reading for granted.
1 person likes this
@Tina30219 (81801)
• Onaway, Michigan
20 Oct 22
Education can be very important. Only thing I use in my everyday life is math we all do in cooking especially
2 people like this
@TheHorse (217644)
• Walnut Creek, California
20 Oct 22
Yep. I add a bit of this and a bit of that. I think in "proportions."
1 person likes this
@xander6464 (43729)
• Wapello, Iowa
24 Oct 22
Can you think of times you've used things you learned in school in your day-to-day life? ----------I learned that life's short, so go to recess first and it has served me well. I use it every day.
1 person likes this
@xander6464 (43729)
• Wapello, Iowa
25 Oct 22
@TheHorse If Carpeing wasn't so strenuous, I'd do it every day.
@TheHorse (217644)
• Walnut Creek, California
24 Oct 22
That's a good boy. Carpe Diem is very important!
1 person likes this
@RasmaSandra (79236)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
20 Oct 22
I have always thought that education is important and I am still learning many things even now as I look for information online. Even my music knowledge had to be learned I mean I only came into the world at the end of the 50s, but I discovered and learned all I wanted to know are rock and other genres etc I am always working on articles, and I certainly need to get that info online,
2 people like this
@TheHorse (217644)
• Walnut Creek, California
20 Oct 22
I try to keep learning as well.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (176200)
• United States
20 Oct 22
Education is important; but I never use the very hard Geometry I had to learn in high school. I always use my English and Math however!
2 people like this
@TheHorse (217644)
• Walnut Creek, California
20 Oct 22
I wonder what would constitute hard geometry. Heh. I'd have to check.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (176200)
• United States
21 Oct 22
@TheHorse Ha ha. It was difficult for me; and the instructor wasn't a very good one. The kids all seemed to know everything; and the teacher was reluctant to stay after school for special help. I had High School Algebra in Junior High. I had a lot less trouble with that.
@Nakitakona (56486)
• Philippines
21 Nov 22
Education has made me of what I am today. If i am uneducated probably my life would be miserable.
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (217644)
• Walnut Creek, California
21 Nov 22
Same here. I use my knowledge of developmental psychology every day when I work with kids. And of course when I teahc at the college.
1 person likes this
@Nakitakona (56486)
• Philippines
24 Nov 22
@TheHorse How long have you been teaching in college? Just asking.
@GardenGerty (160405)
• United States
21 Oct 22
People I am around do not say that. Meanwhile, I can do some advanced math, rely on fractions and generally enjoy what I have stored in my brain. However the class I most obviously have used was College Swimming, as I never learned to swim until in college. I taught both my kids to swim, worked as an assistant in swimming classes, learned why girls float better than boys (distribution of body fat) and work with helping my student swim even now, fifty years later.
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (217644)
• Walnut Creek, California
21 Oct 22
I hadn't known that girls float better than boys. But it makes sense.
@allknowing (134965)
• India
21 Oct 22
The three 'R's surely but nothing beyond as what we did in school was just mugging.
1 person likes this
@allknowing (134965)
• India
21 Oct 22
@TheHorse Just learning to pass exams. Mugging means studying (lol)
@TheHorse (217644)
• Walnut Creek, California
21 Oct 22
Mugging?
1 person likes this
@Fleura (30099)
• United Kingdom
20 Oct 22
All the time! Quadratic equations I haven't used in a long time, but I have certainly used my schoolgirl French and German, English of course, sciences are the basis of my working life, geography I use mainly for interest and to explain things to the girls, history is something we could all learn from! And practical subjects like sewing and metalwork I use a lot too.
1 person likes this
@Fleura (30099)
• United Kingdom
20 Oct 22
@TheHorse Oh yes electronics was fun! And I have an affinity for vehicles of all sorts.
@TheHorse (217644)
• Walnut Creek, California
20 Oct 22
I am still trying to learn about things that were unknown to me when I was younger, like how electronic components work, How cars, work, etc. I don't want to ever stop learning.
1 person likes this
@aninditasen (16329)
• Raurkela, India
21 Oct 22
Surely we do use lessons that we learn in school and college. We learned as kids that we should pick up the lid when the water boils. The same principle is followed with water heater with only fire replacing electricity.
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (217644)
• Walnut Creek, California
21 Oct 22
Interesting example!
1 person likes this
@Treborika (17662)
• Mombasa, Kenya
21 Oct 22
We only apply less than 20% on what we learned at schools. The rest is pure life experience and stuff.
@dad212r (26)
• Indonesia
21 Oct 22
I agree that studying at school is important. But of the many lessons only a few we are used to in life. Depends on what our role
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (217644)
• Walnut Creek, California
21 Oct 22
"Used in life" can mean many things. I still remember some of the poems I learned in college. Sometimes I'll see a headline and I will realize that they are referencing a poem or a literary work.