Most people will agree that an education is extremely important. It will help you gain knowledge that will be useful for the rest of your life while at the same time open new doors for you to one day become independent and have a reputable standing in society. That’s why school has been a fundamental element of people’s lives in developed countries, and it’s there that kids learn from a very young age to socialize, work in groups, be disciplined, and respect others. Going to school helps you learn necessary skills and develop talents through exposure to different fields of study; from literature to science, art to sports, foreign languages to history, in a healthy environment where you learn (or should learn anyway) how to compete in a fair and cooperative manner. These are all good things we learn at school.
Of course, some might claim that an education is not the key to happiness and they are probably right, but it definitely is the key to a lot of other things that will help you to be happy. However, we must admit that we learned a lot of useless things at school as well. For example, have any of you found any real use in your professional career for cursive writing or for making paper snowflakes? Probably not! And we are afraid these are only two of the 25 Useless Things We Learn At School.
How to make paper snowflakes
Image: Wikipedia And that’s not even the worst part. We had to call this “art” too.
How to jump out of the back of the bus
Image: Wikipedia Okay, I will admit that for those who will one day serve, and have served, in the armed forces this is kind of useful to learn when young, but for the rest of us, what was the point?
How to build a Styrofoam solar system
Image: Wikipedia Hey, all of you who made one of these and kept it somewhere in your basement or attic, make sure you remove Pluto. It’s not even defined as a planet by NASA anymore.
How to differentiate between different types of dinosaurs
Image: Wikipedia Because how else are you going to prosper in life if you don’t know the differences among these big old fossils every time you watch Jurassic Park and its sequels?
How to navigate the Encyclopaedia Britannica
Image: Wikipedia Since it’s almost certain that 99.9 percent of people today and in the future are going to use the Internet (call me Wikipedia) for any research needs, this was a total waste of time.
Memorizing all the presidents in order
Image: Wikipedia Well, it’s not a bad thing knowing the American presidents—especially their contributions—but to memorize just their names in chronological order is kind of silly, no?
How to line up by height
Image: Wikipedia Such a useful skill to know in today’s world…
How to care for an egg like it’s a baby
Image: commons.wikimedia.org A baby is nothing like an egg…end of discussion.
How to do the Macarena
Image: commons.wikimedia.org Okay, if you weren’t of school age during the nineties you’re probably not familiar with the epidemic called the Macarena. If, however, you were in grade school or high school back then like myself, you know exactly what I’m talking about . . . Dale a tu cuerpo alegria, Macarena, Heeeeey Macarena . . . Ahhha!
How to make a potato battery
Image: Wikipedia Because see, if you don’t have energy to fry your potatoes you can use them for energy to fry the potatoes you won’t have anymore. Awesome logic, no?
Reciting the state capitals
Image: Wikipedia Only so your parents could brag about you being the smartest kid in the class every time they had a family reunion. They still talk about it occasionally. Crazy, I know.
How to do long division
Image: commons.wikimedia.org You know, the division in which the divisor has two or more figures, and a series of workings is made as successive groups of digits of the dividend are divided by the divisor, to avoid excessive mental calculation. What? You still don’t care or remember what I’m talking about? Neither do I!
How to make the most impressive erupting volcano
Image: Wikipedia Hmm . . . well that’s chemistry class for you, I guess.
How to climb a rope
Image: commons.wikimedia.org To be fair, this could somewhat be a useful skill…if you’re in the military…or maybe a crossfit class. But not that many people have a consistent need to climb ropes…
How to drop an egg from a five-story building without breaking it
Image: Wikipedia What’s the point? I like my eggs scrambled anyway.
Don’t speak unless you raise your hand
Image: Wikipedia I am so happy the real world doesn’t work like this. Imagine if you had to raise your hand every time you went out on a date or went out to eat with friends?
What a prime number is
Image: Wikipedia A prime number is a natural number greater than one that has no positive divisors other than one and itself. A natural number greater than one . . . You get the point. Cure against insomnia maybe?
Cooking classes
Image: commons.wikimedia.org Come on now, especially the guys. Be honest: How many of you learned how to cook from cooking classes at school? It was always biscuits or cakes, anyway. What’s the purpose of learning how to cook two things?
How to eat a meal within a few minutes while usually studying
Image: Wikipedia Only to find out from professional experts later in life that eating fast not only makes you fatter and adds stress to your life but can also have catastrophic consequences on your heart, stomach, and digestive system. Thanks school!
To only read books you’re told to
Image: flickr.com, Photo by wohnai Thank God public libraries let you pick your own books as an adult. It’s cool being over eighteen after all!
To go to your next class when the bell rings
Image: Wikipedia I still wonder if the bell was meant to wake us up from a boring teacher’s lesson, or because those “know it all” adults thought students were unable to tell time on their own.
How to write in cursive
Image: Wikipedia Does anybody even write anymore?
Latin
Image: Not CC I fully understand the utility of learning a language people speak today like French, Spanish, or Chinese but Latin?
How to (only) color inside the lines
Image: Wikipedia What for? Even if you were to become a painter you don’t need to color only inside the lines. I just wonder if any of our art teachers ever saw a Pollock painting during their lifetime.
How to spell
Image: flickr.com, Photo by Michael Mandiberg I fully realize that I will probably get fired for this one, but if you think about it, we pretty much rely on spell check now (or our editors if you’re a writer).
