Things you learnt at school you have never used - ever.


I don’t agree with this. Certainly access to all the information ever needed has changed the world, but humans need to know how to access and use the info. If there’s no formal schooling, then everyone is an expert at everything they Google.
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It's not meant to be serious marra😁
 
Amazing how many people are saying algebra. I can't imagine life without it

Must admit that I don't use calculus very often these days though it used to be integral.
 
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Apparently children who learn a 2nd language when young have much better learning abilities.

I think it causes actual physiological (is that the word?) changes In the brain.

We should be doing that.

If so, they should stop mandatorily teaching French (at least that is our school attempted to hammer into us with no option otherwise for the first 3 years of comp) and instead teach Spanish (it is a considerably easier language for a native English speaker to pick up so everyone says including a mate of mine who can speak 7 languages to a good level). Might encourage more kids to progress in it and go on to learn other languages.

Detested French. Such a niggly, disinteresting and a hard at times language to pick up. Was buzzing when I could drop it at the end of year 9.
 
I remember once during History our teacher going off track and spending half an hour discussing the case of Donaghue v Stevenson.
At least you didn't do A level Law and have to learn that case inside out (knowing the facts of it, what the judges quoted and what the legal precedent was set by it), as well as the same for about 70 odd other cases. Then, on top of that, be given a load of scenarios in the exam and having to work out which case (out of the 70 odd) was linked to it then describe in detail what the legal decision of each should be. Mind boggling.

Didn't mind the first year but the 2nd year was horrific.

Went into the final exam genuinely blagging it the majority of the paper (with largely a hit and hope attitude) and came out with a C overall.

@SAFC Wilks can back me up.
 
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If so, they should stop mandatorily teaching French (at least that is our school attempted to hammer into us with no option otherwise for the first 3 years of comp) and instead teach Spanish (it is a considerably easier language for a native English speaker to pick up so everyone says including a mate of mine who can speak 7 languages to a good level). Might encourage more kids to progress in it and go on to learn other languages.

Detested French. Such a niggly, disinteresting and a hard at times language to pick up. Was buzzing when I could drop it at the end of year 9.

Language teaching needs a total overhaul.

If we are going to start languages (and I would agree that Spanish should be the first one offered these days) then it should start as early as possible. The main problem though is the quality of language teaching. At 16, I got a Grade A GCSE by pure rote learning but was functionally useless. At the same age, 16 years olds in other European countries would be expected to have a decent level of English to get a top grade and by 21 be virtually fluent. Many courses at Universities across Europe are taught in English as there are so many international students.
 
If so, they should stop mandatorily teaching French (at least that is our school attempted to hammer into us with no option otherwise for the first 3 years of comp) and instead teach Spanish (it is a considerably easier language for a native English speaker to pick up so everyone says including a mate of mine who can speak 7 languages to a good level). Might encourage more kids to progress in it and go on to learn other languages.

Detested French. Such a niggly, disinteresting and a hard at times language to pick up. Was buzzing when I could drop it at the end of year 9.
I hate how it's taught. I picked up English without knowing what a past participle was when I was 2, why the fk do I need to know it to understand French? I learned more from Michel Thomas tapes in a month of commutes than I did in 5 years of school French.

Totally agreed about Spanish mind.
 
Shakespeare.
How to wire a plug.

One of his lesser known works that
Detested French. Such a niggly, disinteresting and a hard at times language to pick up. Was buzzing when I could drop it at the end of year 9.

I stopped French in year 9 because I didn't like it and knew who I'd get for GCSE.
I did Spanish in Year 10 and 11 instead. Should have had that from the off.
 
I hate how it's taught. I picked up English without knowing what a past participle was when I was 2, why the fk do I need to know it to understand French? I learned more from Michel Thomas tapes in a month of commutes than I did in 5 years of school French.

Totally agreed about Spanish mind.
There are some languages that are hard to learn as a teen or adult without understanding the grammatical structure (Russian and other Slavic languages, for example). But that's not the case for any of the Romance languages, especially Spanish. There is nothing so fundamentally different about Spanish grammar and syntax that you can't learn it just by doing, as long as you're willing to take your lumps along the way.
 
Wherefore art thy a live wire?
Thou? Whatever
Ironically, "thou" is a vestige of Romance language influence on English. It's the familiar form of "you," just like the "tu" form (add or remove accent according to linguistic preference) in Spanish and French. If we still used "thou" in English, Spanish would be even easier to pick up.
 

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