30 Things Taught In School That Raise The Question “What Was The Point?” As Shared By People In This Online Group

THIS

For reasons, this should be higher.

haha yes (again)

And the only "correct" interpretation of a classical work is the one the teacher has the most interest in. Regardless of whether the author has anything to say on the matter (modern classics here obviously).

Ok…unpopular opinion, sometimes this one is needed. Like if you are good at X, but freeze during tests but need to pass a certification test for X, sometimes test taking skills are necessary, briefly.

Or, sadly, promoted. We'd like karma to put bullies in their place in the real world, and we celebrate the rare times that happens, but they're the exception, not the rule.

So totally true. The book that turned me on to history was William Manchester’s brilliant *The Glory and the Dream* which came out in 1974 and covered American history from 1932 to 1972. Those years encompassed the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, the rise of the industrial state, and was written as a series of events presented in chronological order, showing how one inexorably led to the other. And here and there a person, place, or thing would be highlighted in a small portrait...the Studebaker sticks in my brain as one of these portraits. I think the rise of unions might be in there. I think I’ve read everything he’s written. A World Lit Only By Fire is another great one. If you want to learn history as a series of stories, William Manchester is your go-to author.

Isn't the point of the bell to dismiss you?

Square dancing is so much fun!

Depends on the state you're in.

Well I did a course when I was 15-16 to learn Word Processing, Spreadsheets and simple Databases, simply to play with the computers. Don't laugh, but I got an 'F'! Mainly because it was assessed on typing accuracy and not my understanding of what I was using. I also didn't take the 3rd module, so the highest I could get was a 'D'. From 17-18 I did a Computing qualification which did actually involve programming, but sadly back in the 1980s, it was a case of teach-the-teacher - my programming skills were already way above what the course was teaching - but at least I got a piece of paper to say that I could do it. I then went on to do a degree in Computer Science. So much better for kids now, learning to program with Raspberry Pi's and the like.

Everyone in my class just straight up refuses to do it, we just keep doing the warm up.

It’s very hitler youth.

America is weird - it's the only place where people say "we're the freest country EVER! Now you'd better say the damn pledge of ALLEGIANCE or else there will be consequences!"

I was in high school during the years of the Vietnam War and I refused to do the pledge as a protest.

The US infatuation about the flag is just bizarre. We've made the symbol a point of worship over the thing its supposed to symbolize. Our three biggest religions (Christianity, Islam, and Judaism) all consider idolatry a crime but we make our children swear allegiance to an object. Our national anthem is 12 lines describing a piece of cloth we have not used in over 200 years and 1 line about what we think our country stands. Its federal crime to burn a flag while its perfectly fine to burn the constitution or Obama in effigy. I've personally seen so much evil forgiven (we call it flag waving) just because its sitting there behind the person speaking. People honestly say and believe my grandfather lost his leg defending the flag instead of saying he lost his leg to stop Hitler. I got detention for saying it in 2nd grade when I refused the pledge and I believe it even more as an adult whose seen the evil its used for. Our flag is NOT our country.

I'm not so keen on the idea of forcing kids to mindlessly recite a loyalty oath before they even know what it means.

brainwashing in progress...

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands... *bald eagle noises*

I don’t know why certain people give such a crap about the Pledge. A bunch of tired children mumbling unenthusiastically for a minute? We don’t need that to happen every day. It was great to have teachers who didn’t give a poop about it and didn’t care if anyone even stood for it.

oh… my… goodness

It’s a lot more optional to stand up and recite it at my school, only like half the class stands up, and nobody actually says it, but in elementary school it’s more practiced

Oh Canada in English and French all in the same song. Every time I start it in English I end up going into French as I can't remember all the English words.

And if you join JROTC( junior reserves officers training corps) you have to do it twice a day.

It's abused by conservatives to politicize freedom of speech.

it's brainwashing. pure and simple

It used to be part of the opening of the school day. Pledge, prayer, and then attendance. In other countries they add in/take out things. I know in some Asian countries they put in a guided exercise warm up. It is not a bad thing. It sets a routine for children. Also, in the U.S., its a pledge to a flag, not a person, not an idea, not a theory. They also used to teach a thing called "citizenship" which included being a good member of the community. In the classroom, that meant teaching civil behaviors. And children understood their role in the classrooms and that bullying is shunned and not tolerated one bit. But yeah, sit down and dont do the pledge. That helps.

In my country, we will say our national pledge, sing the national anthem, the school anthem, and in catholic school, we have to say 'Our father' every day.

That's called indoctrination

I didnt do it in 7th grade up

Yes exactly- but they never taught us the meaning behind it! It was just a “do this because you’re told to and don’t ask questions” sort of thing.

A total waste of time, brainwashing. No other civilized country does this so does that mean the USA is not civilized?

Die Hard 4 said it best, it is not a system, it is a country. My flag looks like a leprechaun s**t it out but it is still a system, a country I would not trade.

f we must pledge allegiance to something we should have a pledge of allegiance to the Constitution, which after all founded and is the bedrock of our Republic.

As a european, the pledge of allegiance simply baffles me. When I first heard about it my immediate thought was: isn’t this something you do in a dictatorship?

"I pledge to always agree with the authority and to always consider the US government is right about everything. PS : f**k individual freedom and all the foreigners."

haha yes

I graduated HS in 1996, and even then, most of us never stood or said it when we were supposed to. By HS, the teachers don't usually care.

That's too much time thinking about it. You have spent far more time wasted on irrelevant things. This at least kept in your mind American loyalty and honor

the funny thing is that you all complain about it as if we're the only country that does this. LOL. not by a long shot my friends.

Yes you will. People don't calculate the trajectories of rockets on paper lol.

But thanks for the Blep photo!

It needs to start young and be more intensive.

All countries teach their own history. This is not an American problem. At least in US we were also taught world history.

And..Raise your hand to speak.

That's not useless, it's just a lie.

OMG yes. In Canada it’s unending. But no Jane Austen when I went.

Yes, always duck and cover when being overtaken by fast flowing lava.

I was graded on "friendliness." I got " unsatisfactory" for several years. Well excuse me for being bullied every day and having major trust issues and social anxiety because of it. Damn positivity project.

Maybe the subject matter (a wedding) is a bit skewed, especially if it's repeated, but event planning such as this is a hugely important skill. We did a cookie business - come up with a recipe, work out prices, including overheads and advertising, put forward a business case for a loan (even though in reality it was our parents providing the materials). Then bake and sell and report back how successful we were. To be honest, I would have preferred the wedding planning as I was partnered with someone who could burn water!