Most Important High School Subject?

[PBS Poll-435]

:shrug:

[lpbk2713]

1. Foreign Languages

We live in a Global world. Knowledge of other languages and cultures is a must.

[PBS Poll-435]

4. Thanks

I missed a really important one. :dunce:

[lpbk2713]

8. Thanks for making the change where I voted.

:thumbsup: :hi: :thumbsup:

[JackRiddler]

19. Fully agreed but the notion that there is a "most important" misunderstands what education should be

[PBS Poll-435]

20. I agree.

I believe it takes a balance of areas of study to truly educate.

[csziggy]

88. That's why I'm not voting - no one subject is the single most important

A balance of knowledge is important.

Edited to add: Actually the absolutely most important thing for people to learn is HOW to learn and how to KEEP LEARNING. Far too many people, especially Americans, consider that once they have finished a class or graduated from an institution they no longer need to learn anything other than day to day necessities. They don't read, seldom watch educational programs, and simply allow their brains to stagnate.

[pintobean]

105. Excellent post

Those were pretty much my thoughts before I clicked on this thread.

[Lionel Mandrake]

71. Foreign Languages are the most important subject

for toddlers, with the possible exception of music.

Starting to learn a second language in kindergarten is already a little bit late, but still a good idea for monolingual 5 year olds. After that, every year of delay makes the instruction more difficult and the probable results less satisfactory.

It is too bad that many kids enter high school without having learned a second language. It's even worse if they graduate from high school without having learned a second language.

[AsahinaKimi]

128. I met a woman the other day from Romania

She speaks 12 languages! French, Spanish, Italian, Korean, Japanese, Mandarin, Romanian, Portuguese,
Maylasian, Cantonese, English, and German.

Tell me it doesn't take a brilliant mind to do that?

[Lionel Mandrake]

130. There are historical examples

of people with similarly brilliant minds.

William Rowan Hamilton (4 August 1805 – 2 September 1865) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Rowan_Hamilton

"At a young age, Hamilton displayed an uncanny ability to acquire languages ... At the age of seven he had already made very considerable progress in Hebrew, and before he was thirteen he had acquired, under the care of his uncle (a linguist), almost as many languages as he had years of age. These included the classical and modern European languages, as well as Persian, Arabic, Hindustani, Sanskrit, and even Marathi and Malay. He retained much of his knowledge of languages to the end of his life, often reading Persian and Arabic in his spare time, although he had long stopped studying languages, and used them just for relaxation."

Read more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Rowan_Hamilton

Heinrich Schliemann (January 6, 1822 – December 26, 1890)

"Schliemann claimed that it took him six weeks to learn a language and wrote his diary in the language of whatever country he happened to be in.
By the end of his life, he could converse in English, French, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, Swedish, Italian, Greek, Latin, Russian, Arabic, and Turkish as well as German."

read more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_Schliemann

[Lucian]

2. Most important in what regard?

They're all important.

[Hello_Kitty]

3. This should be interesting. nt

[midnight]

5. I'm thinking History/Herstory......

[a la izquierda]

113. Yeah, that'd be nice...

considering by the time they get to college most students are woefully unaware of it. And you know what "they" say about history repeating itself.

[annabanana]

6. God, I would LOVE to see Civics be a requirement in HS

Actually, I'd like to see it taught every year k - 12

[HillbillyBob]

39. Yes and a few goodly portions on how religion in govt is a really bad idea

and several portions on critical thinking/ how to spot spin and propaganda..we had those in my schooling in WV in the 60s/70s.

All are important, foreign languages in my school were accompanied by culture and history/herstory too. I think languages open up thinking. Music is very important and as some studies (i forget where i read it) show helps with maths.

[The Straight Story]

7. Sex Ed

;)

[ZombieHorde]

10. I teach a class on that subject at my local truck stop. nt

[ZombieHorde]

9. Critical thinking/argumentation. nt

[handmade34]

36. critical thinking... absolutely

http://www.criticalthinking.org/

[Donald Ian Rankin]

107. I'd have thought that can't be taught, pretty much be definition.

Especially not with one teacher teaching lots of students, so that they can't provide one-to-one attention.

Exercises like "write an essay arguing the case for or against position X" don't work as well as they might, I think, because either the teacher marks them as "yes, this looks like an argument" or the teacher actually has to evaluate the validity of the argument, which takes ages to mark and depends heavily on the teachers personal opinions.

The nearest one can come to teaching children to "think critically" is to teach them English and the more interesting parts of maths, I think.

[ZombieHorde]

126. Critical thinking can be taught by learning about logical fallacies, examining arguments, and then

having classroom debates where each person must debate both sides of the same argument.

Examining cultural critics can also help, such as Nom Chomsky's critique of media, Martin Luther King's critique of the white moderate, and Neitzsche's Genealogy of Morals.

There are some excellent books on way language shapes perception, such as Language in Thought and Action by Hayakawa.

That is just a start.

[the redcoat]

11. I chose math

Understanding mathematics also encourages critical thinking. This comes with the understanding that school is only the basis for learning in life. Critical thinking and problem solving goes far beyond the classroom math.

I don't doubt English is important, but I'd never say it's the MOST important.

[bluestate10]

134. Mastery of one's language is important.

A brilliant person that can't convey his or her ideas to others in a coherent manner is a brilliant idiot.

[leftstreet]

12. Civil Disobedience n/t

[TBF]

18. +1 nt

[pipi_k]

30. Hah that would be interesting...

Actually, I could have done with learning how to be disobedient under any circumstances...

I was always one of those kids who made the teacher's life easier because I was so NICE and QUIET and WELL-BEHAVED.

I don't know how teachers are today, but when I was a kid, the more "invisible" we were, the better they liked us. More praise for being "good" (invisible)...more motivation for being "good" (invisible).


sigh...

[DrDan]

13. whatever emphasizes reading - followed by mathematical skills

I guess English would be the choice - although I benefitted most from my math courses

[EFerrari]

14. English because there's where you learn how to be tested

in most other subjects. And maybe read Romeo & Juliet. :)

[dimbear]

100. I voted for English because that's how people judge you. And that's in spite

of the fact that I used to be a math teacher.

[cbdo2007]

15. I chose English but I think they should separate that from Literature in many cases.

Being able to write well has gotten me MUCH, MUCH farther in life than having to read Oliver Twist. That was a major waste of time.

Nowadays kids don't know basic grammar, spelling, writing, punctuation skills - which all together are the most important subject in school. Not reading Oliver Twist, and Of mice and Men and whatever other crappy books they tried to get us ADHD kids to read.

[cherokeeprogressive]

25. No argument with that whatsoever. Good Post. n/t

[WinkyDink]

31. Except reading great works shows great writing in ways I, as a teacher of same, could not.

BTW: To read a Democrat's insult of "Of Mice and Men" is extremely disheartening. I feel this book, along with "The Pardoner's Tale", was the most important work I ever taught, values-wise.

Those skills you listed are learned in Middle School.

[cbdo2007]

58. haha, I never read Of Mice and Men. I have no idea what it's about.

In fact I failed our test over Of Mice And Men because I couldn't get past the first 5 pages or so. Luckily with my good writing skills I was still able to get through a few of the essay questions on the test though.

"Those skills you listed are learned in Middle School."

No - those skills are taught in middle school, but go talk to some random college kids and listen to how they talk. They didn't learn them. They still haven't learned them. I deal with people in business all the time with bad verbal skills, horrible grammar. They probably read "Of Mice And Men" but couldn't compose an email I would send on to the CEO in a million years without cleaning it up quite a bit.

I don't think I've read a single fiction book since probably 4th grade when I read Bunnicula. I just couldn't get in to them. Still can't get into them really.

[WinkyDink]

87. I guess all I can reply is: I wish you had been in my class. Literature is HUMANIZING.

And you wouldn't have been able to B.S. me on the tests, either.

[cbdo2007]

93. I appreciate Literature...

just never got anything out of it.

All students are different and learn in different ways. I don't respond to actually *reading* something but still get the humanizing part through hearing the words and through the movie. I need a face to put to the story. That's why Literature shouldn't be forced on kids in school. It was miserable to me because I couldn't do it like they wanted me to. I couldn't concentrate for more than a couple of paragraphs before I lost interest. If they had let us use audiobook or just watched the movies, things would have been different.

It isn't that I don't like to write or don't have an imagination either. I could write circles around my classmates in short stories or original works we had to write. Just never got anything out of reading other people's work. Same thing in college. I was praised and even had a few stories published, but the worst mistake I ever did was take a Multi-cultural Literature class.

Of all of the learning that is not "one size fits all" in high school, probably Literature is at the top of the list.

[LooseWilly]

98. If you don't like Literature, try writing essays on quarterly fiduciary reports...

Try to write an essay examining the spin effects of the word choices of Blue Cross in its quarterly reports to investors and perhaps contrasting those spin-created "images" with those created by the diction of the advertisements mailed to prospective customers over the same time-frame.

Or, maybe you should be thankful that those teaching writing and composition give you literature, even if it's gods-awful literature like Herman fucking Melville, rather than making you exercise the same language deconstructive critical-thinking skills on something as potentially God-Awful as Aetna's quarterly finance reports and Moody's evaluations of their relative position in the marketplace viz. a viz. HealthNet... let alone asking high school students to evaluate the foreshadowing of the IRS 2009 instruction booklet for the 1040 with regard to the Making Work Pay tax credit, taken in comparison from the 2010 1040 instruction book...

Literature is a kindness bestowed upon students by teachers of the intricacies of the English language... and I invite you to pick up a copy of the IRS tax code to read whenever you start to think otherwise.

[Taitertots]

108. You are creating a false dichotomy.

One specific subset of complex non-fictional literature or fictional works whose complexity is appropriate for students. The is no shortage of non-fictional material that is age appropriate.

I would rather read the documents that you suggested. At least after I finished reading it I would have gained actionable knowledge about important issues.

[cbdo2007]

115. I did use to have a job with a BCBS subsidiary....

interpreting BCBS mental health and substance abuse benefits, and they thought I was great at it because of my attention to detail. I would MUCH PREFER to read that than any work of fiction you would present to me. I understand details and instruction and rules. My family comes to me to help them interpret their health benefits and tax instruction booklets because that is what I *get*. I don't *get* fiction.

When everyone here at DU and in my real life didn't know the details of the recent Health Care Bill, the first thing I did was look up a copy of the actual bill and I read most of it myself so that I could correct people on what the bill actually said rather what they heard it said on Fox news.

[pacalo]

59. I agree. Reading the classics is a treat for those who love words &

appreciate famous authors' various ways of expressing them. Reading builds the vocabulary, teaches beautiful sentence construction, & inspires imagination.

[XemaSab]

78. I agree completely

n/t

[WinkyDink]

94. Writing is not a skill learned in a vacuum. It is learned from READING others' writing.

Similes and metaphors, even lame ones, are best grasped in context. Allusions, turns of phrase, nuance...NOT gleaned from composition books alone (although such books are good for micro-lessons).

[XemaSab]

111. Basic grammar and punctuation are not taught any more

It's easier for a teacher to talk about "Catcher in the Rye" than to explain what a dependent clause is.

[Auggie]

16. Difficult to pick just one

[Sherman A1]

17. English

Giving one the ability to write in complete sentences is a huge advantage.

[JackRiddler]

21. I'd have to say music and arts and gym, because these are the ones most under attack.

All of them. All of them. Good schools offer quality education in all of these subjects, and work it into a coherent program for mastering how to learn and how to live well as an awake, sovereign human being.

[CTyankee]

22. 1) Latin, 2) English, 3) Math, 4) Civics

Knowledge of Latin unlocked a lot of English for me. My English courses exposed me to literature, helped me develop my writing skills, and improved my vocabulary. Math is essential to living. Civics enlightened me politically.

[Arkana]

23. I don't see Wood Shop on there, sonny.

[pacalo]

60. That's a good one! I greatly admire those who can build things.

:thumbsup:

[Lionel Mandrake]

74. I took woodworking to get out of study hall.

Study hall was BORING. Wood shop was FUN.

One kid made a slingshot, and the instructor sawed into pieces.

When the instructor explained male and female connectors, the kids thought that was the funniest thing they they had heard in a long time.

After turning something on a lathe, I would be impatient for it to stop rotating. I used my hands as a brake. This usually worked okay, but one day the work grabbed my hands and slammed them into the tool rest. Damn, that hurt. A lesson in patience, that was.

[pipi_k]

24. Didn't see "Lunch" listed, so...

I chose English instead.


Seriously, though...being literate is, IMO, one of the most important things in life.

[JackRiddler]

48. Lunch should be the first priority, obviously. (I'm serious.)

Schools should offer two good hot meals and healthy snacks for every student, without means testing, and physical activity and play (opportunities for music, arts, sports and games, and picking up manual skills) every day.

That would effect a radical improvement in all of the academic subjects.

Until that is widely understood, you can't say the society has learned much anything about learning.

[Journeyman]

26. Reading & Writing. . .

[JVS]

27. Other: Obfuscation and bullshitting about the causes of the US Civil War

Or would that fall under some kind of civics?

[madamesilverspurs]

28. History.

Good history lessons explain why civics is an important study.

Unless the course is taught by the off-season coaches (as it was in my high school); they knew diddly about the subject. Given that scenario, I'd go with English.

-

[WinkyDink]

29. And "lunch" is where?

[apocalypsehow]

32. Wrestling. n/t.

[ZombieHorde]

42. Awesome, I should change mine to ninja skills. nt

[lumberjack_jeff]

55. Practice makes a-perfect. n/t

[gratuitous]

33. Geometry, no doubt

And not just because I was sitting behind this scrumptious redhead that I had a mad crush on, so stop saying that.

[NYCGirl]

34. Drama, Music, Art

The subjects dearest to my heart, good for the soul, and the ones that get cut first when money is short.

[PBS Poll-435]

35. So true

(I purposely left the Arts out)


I play(ed) an instrument in JH/HS for 6 years and it taught me more about patience and teamwork than any other class.

[NYCGirl]

82. I was a Drama Club geek and first soprano in Glee. Which instrument did

you play?

[PBS Poll-435]

83. Violin, Viola, & Cello

And could tune a Bass. :)

[NYCGirl]

95. Fantastic! The violin is so beautiful. My dad wanted me to play violin, but I

studied piano and guitar instead. I was never a great musician, but I'm glad I can read music.

[PassingFair]

37. Math and science.

The others can be self-taught.

[LooseWilly]

97. Funny, those are self-taught in a lot of cases too...

I'm thinking of my undergraduate classes at UC Berkeley though, more than high school. All the Math and science I know was self-taught... because I can read English so well (unlike most of the graduate student instructors who were being paid to teach me the math and science)...

[PassingFair]

129. You're smarter than I am....

Numbers just confuse me unless someone
can explain them to me.

Science requires places to experiment....

Abraham Lincoln taught himself math,
and my little brother did, too.

Not me.

[Motown_Johnny]

38. Phys. Ed ?

kidding

[Raine]

40. Typing

was the most useful thing I got out of high school.

[Ron Green]

49. I think that's true for me as well.

The IBM Selectric was pretty new; we had a bunch of them with blank keys.

[delightfulstar]

41. Lots of English/Comp has served me well.

I consider myself pretty well-read and well-spoken, and enjoy writing. It's fun to blow people away with a good-sized vocabulary. ;) I was in CP/AP English all the way through high school, and tested out of the 100 level classes in college, but I chose to take some higher-level courses because I enjoyed the subject matter I studied.

Foreign language has also been very beneficial, too. I took 3 years of Spanish in high school, and it comes in very well, considering that the metropolitan area I live in has a fairly large Spanish-speaking population - I find myself communicating in Spanish quite a bit at my day job. I also took two years of French, some German, and some Modern Greek as well. Languages and linguistics have always fascinated me a great deal.

[H2O Man]

43. Study Hall

[Luminous Animal]

85. I learned a quite a lot in Study Hall. I was an odd geeky teenager and Study Hall was

an opportunity to listen.

[Warpy]

44. Health and History were both jokes and a total waste of my precious time

but the rest of it came in very handy, even the typing class I flunked because I had undiagnosed rheumatoid arthritis, not a bad case of carelessness.

I've even done office temp jobs making my living at a keyboard.

In fact, every stupid and pretty much useless thing I've ever bothered to learn has come in handy at one time or another.

Except high school history and health & hygiene classes.

[harun]

73. Most of mine did nothing, but I had some crazy good History teachers in High School.

They were fresh off of what happened in Viet Nam and really drilled home what went on there, and with our gov't. Brought in real vet's to speak as well, some of the teachers were vet's too.

One of the teachers when asked about Capitalism being the "best" system replied saying how it is a system that works well with lots of resources, like in the U.S.A. but without that not so much. That the wealth of the society and the resources of the society should be kept in mind when looking at how a society functions. How a country full of poor self subsistence farmers obviously has different gov't needs than industrialized zones.

[msongs]

45. texting nt

[Are_grits_groceries]

46. There is one class that should be mandatory that rarely is.

It may not be offered in a lot of places.
"Child Care"

I taught physics and earth science. I asked my kids at some point during the year how many of them thought they would use these subjects a lot. I always pointed out where they might use them, but most said that they wouldn't use them as a practice probably. It would be here and there.

I then asked them how many of them wanted to be have children. 95% of them would raise their hands.
I asked them if they had any experience in raising kids such as younger siblings or whomever. Most hadn't.

I then poked my nose in and asked them how they were going to have a clue about what to do. Would they have their parents or somebody else on call 24\7? Did they think the 'Childcare Fairy' was going to show up? Would they google wikiparenting or some other site with gawd knows what listed? Would they know what sites might offer some real help?

I pointed out that there was a half semester class in child care that offered hands on experience. There was a daycare there half of the day that a lot of teachers used. (I would go watch some former pupils who did take the class trying to deal with the kids during my free period. There was a 2-way mirror. It was enlightening.)

I said there was also a half semester class about raising babies. If they were going to be parents, why weren't they trying to get a clue now? They would still have an awful lot to learn, but at least they would be one step ahead. All of the honors classes and grades wouldn't amount to squat if they had kids that they couldn't really take care of. They might be able to get good jobs, but remain clueless about the most important one.

[pipi_k]

123. Very close to what I'd like to see...

mandatory programs where kids have to care for lifelike "babies".

Feeding, diapering, bathing, having to find sitters, being woken up in the middle of the night for whatever reasons the "baby" has.

Too many teenagers think having a baby is "fun".

Let 'em get a real taste of what it would be like to be teen parents. I think that, combined with sex education, would cut way down on teen pregnancy.

[bengalherder]

47. Art.

I wouldn't have stayed around for the other classes if I couldn't breathe the free air of an art studio once a day.

I don't understand these people who think only mathmatics and people who comprehend them are valuable. Art and culture go a long way in civilizing humans, not to mention putting across 'radical' and 'progressive' ideas. Sorry if it doesn't contribute to the MIC or make some asshole a million dollars (like I know any rich programmers either...) it contributes to society and that's all that matters.

[B Calm]

104. One must have art to have a rounded education! You will

enjoy this Lafayette, Indiana newspaper article: www.jconline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=201012190343

[elias7]

50. none

The best things I ever learned were not knowledge based but thinking/feeling based. It was the totality of the experiences within the arts, humanities, science, math, music, and sports that was THE subject of learning.

The poll itself indicates a concrete, analytic (i.e. science/math) bias in the "researcher-OP", but is silly enough perhaps to have an art or humanities person behind it.

"Importance" is too difficult to define and to generalize about. Better poll questions would be "favorite" hs subject, favorite class subject, favorite teacher's subject, most/least perceivedly valuable subject, skill sets you have best retained outside of your field of study/career.............

[PBS Poll-435]

52. The very point of my question

:thumbsup:

[elias7]

61. Ahhhhh...a trick question

Fell right into that one. Always underestimating...

[MH1]

51. Economics. Most important topic? Advertising.

That was the most valuable week of my entire high school experience. How people manipulate others for profit and why we fall for it so often, and a little of how to avoid being so gullible.

[GoCubsGo]

53. Whichever ones are on your current schedule.

In other words, all of them.

[lumberjack_jeff]

54. Personal finance and home ec should be the same thing, at #1.

At age 18, every "grownup" gets a credit card, generally without the slightest clue of how to responsibly use it.

Personally, I think the absence of shop class has had a huge detriment to US society.

http://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/shop-class-as-soulcraft

[DutchLiberal]

56. "Those who don't learn from history, are doomed to repeat it"

I can't believe History got so little votes!

[etherealtruth]

57. They are all important in different ways for different people

Its all in what the kid does with what she has learned ... people can and do do amazing things.

[Blue_In_AK]

62. They need to spend more time on civics/political science

in my opinion. People are so stupid in this area.

[WinkyDink]

67. Imagine Glenn Beck as the teacher.

[Blue_In_AK]

68. Now, THAT'S a scary thought.

But you know what? With so many people watching Fox, and with so little civics education being taught in high school, people are going to believe that shit because they don't know any better. They need to be armed with knowledge so they'll recognize what a fraud and liar he is.

[WinkyDink]

90. Oh, ITA! Except school politics are not conducive to Liberal truth-telling, shall we say.

[rucky]

63. Learning the scientific method is the basis for critical thinking.

and can be applied to any subject in school or in life.

[Odin2005]

64. Foreign Languages.

IMO Spanish should be mandatory, starting in elementary.

[Duer 157099]

65. Looking back, there were very few classes that impacted me

The only ones that actually provided me with life-long value were: Spanish, English (literature), Art and Medical Terminology.

Granted, I went on to college so clearly my math and other basic skills had to be used for further education. But had I stopped at high school, those 4 mentioned above would have still played a valuable role in my life.

Not what I would have thought at the time.

[Blue_In_AK]

69. I'm 64 and retired now,

but, honestly, the class that earned me the most money over my lifetime was the one year of typing I took in high school. I swore I would never work in an office -- but that's what I ended up doing my whole life.

[Duer 157099]

70. Agree, typing was also a valuable class.

Except that I took it in Jr. High so didn't include it in this. But totally agree.

[defendandprotect]

66. Other: Art & Humanities

That should also include the art of self-government, democracy --

and, of course, education re normal human sexuality and relationships --

birth control -- natural medicines/plants --

Pollution of environment -- air, water, oceans, skies -- Global Warming --

[Liberal_in_LA]

72. wood shop

I remember my brother bringing home bird feeders and such

[XemaSab]

75. I voted for history

Without a basic understanding of things like the founding, the civil war, and WWII, you can't be a functioning citizen.

Not everyone is a worker or a consumer, but everyone is a citizen.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

76. I'd hardly call high school level math "advanced", but that's just me. EDITED:

In Brazil, high school math stopped going anywhere near calculus in the 70's. Apparently, USA HS students can take that as an elective. Ah, there's this thing called "Advanced Placement": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Placement -- neat.

But other than that, no calculus in HS, right?

[WinkyDink]

86. I had calculus in 1967.

[Recursion]

89. Many schools have a pre-calc

It goes over the concepts of limits without actually getting to the Calculus as such.

(This is backwards to me. You can teach differentiation and integration of algebraic forms as skills; the theory behind it can come in college if they're interested.)

[HEyHEY]

77. I don't think there is one most important subject. But......

Languages, math and history are the most important ones. After that I'd say anything engineering related or life skill related.

[Mudoria]

79. Common sense would be a good start

[hayu_lol]

80. Mine are not listed in the poll...

Instrumental music, music appreciation, harmony, theory, music history.

(retired symphony/opera musician)

[unkachuck]

81. beyond a shadow of a doubt....

....it's Home Room....if you can't find your Home Room, you're in trouble....

[jmowreader]

84. I went with Home Economics

And I will explain why.

It is possible to find a job that doesn't require math. Or English. Or even reading.

But if you do not eat, you are going to die.

And if you don't eat the right things, you'll die more slowly--but you'll eventually get dead thanks to your diet.

Notice the rise of the American fatass class coincides pretty closely with the decline of Home Ec. It used to be, every high school girl took that class. Now? A lot of schools don't even offer it.

[Iggo]

91. Band.

[GoneOffShore]

92. Art, Music and Math

[Ex Lurker]

96. the most useful HS class I took was typing. I've used it nearly every day since.

I can't say that about anything else I took.

[Taitertots]

99. That depends on what you want to do with your life

I picked math and science because they were the most important to me.

[eridani]

101. I voted for biology and chemistry

That wouldn't have anything to do with being a biochemist, now, would it? Of course not!

Shockingly, just about veryone thinks their own subject is the most important.

[timtom]

102. I rec'd this, but cannot make one single choice.

Too many of those are of paramount importance. My bias would lean toward English, Foreign Languages, History first. But, that only reflects my own predilection.

[quaker bill]

103. Spelling

probably would not be a bad choice looking at the TEA party signs.

[Donald Ian Rankin]

106. Maths and English; definately not civics - school exists to educate people.

Most of the facts one learns at school are of very limited value; the valuable thing one learns is *skills*. The most important skills to learn are how to read and write well and how to do maths and think mathematically. After that, I'd put foreign languages and science, those being the branches where the facts that are most likely to be valuable (as well as having a "skill" component.

Teaching children enough about physics, history, art etc is mostly valuable because a) it equips them to go on and study the things in one of those areas that actually *will* be useful if they choose, and b) it's valuable practice in the skill of learning facts and putting them together to answer questions, but which subjects you use to learn that skill isn't so important.

I am midly horrified that so many people ranked variations on "civics" so highly. The goal of school should be education, not social engineering. Teaching children civics will not even make them better citizens; better equipping them to get a decent job will.

[TBF]

109. Math & Algebra. I loved English but surprised to see it as a top pick.nt

[xor]

110. Well, you typically have to be able to read and write in order to learn other subjects...

So I'll put English as the being key. If you can't read and write you're pretty screwed in the real world, but many people manage to get by with horrible skills in other areas. Just be clear, I'm not saying math and science isn't needed or anything. It totally is, but you can't make it very far if you're unable to read or write. It removes the opportunity for many jobs and it makes learning new skills much more difficult.

[hobbit709]

112. What? No Driver's Ed?

That's most important to a teenager, getting their license.

[Arkansas Granny]

114. I chose English because I assume that is where reading is most likely to

be taught. I am continually amazed at the number of adults that I come in contact with on a daily basis who have low level reading and comprehension skills. It's almost scary. Without reading, it's hard to succeed in any subject.

[TransitJohn]

116. Financial literacy.

n/t

[NYC_SKP]

117. Great OP, but no subject is ever really taught in isolation of others, is it?

My years as a classroom teacher were spent almost exclusively with integrated thematic instruction projects with breaks for focused skill building (long division or roles of grammar, for example).

I think it's a shame and one of the single greatest problems with US high school education that material is divided among "subjects" and the school day into 50-minute "periods". I can't think of a less natural learning model.

So I couldn't select just one subject, but I did recommend!

:hi:

[treestar]

118. None. They likely developed as a set of things that would

round a person out.

[MattBaggins]

119. And the hands down most important of all fields; science, is in last place

Alas I cry for our country.

[JPZenger]

120. Typing

The important course I took in high school was typing.

The most useless course I took was calculus.

[GeorgeGist]

121. English?

:shrug:

When I was young, most kids had English mastered in Grade School.

[EstimatedProphet]

122. The sciences

Although I would tie them with mathematics. As a country we're science illiterate. If we focused more on sciences maybe we wouldn't have nutballs trying to fit 10 million species on a remade Ark by making them really small.

[LanternWaste]

124. I think there is no one fundamental class any less...

I think there is no one fundamental class any less or any more important than another fundamental class, much as I do not think that any one of the four legs of the chair I am sitting on has a greater importance than the other three.

[mwooldri]

125. I suppose my most "important" subject would have been Business Information Studies.

Needs English, Maths, Science, Computer Literacy, Keyboarding skills, and other skills to do well in. If you are doing badly in one of these major areas then you would have failed the course.

[Renew Deal]

127. Where is Phys Ed?

All core subjects are most important in HS. They teach you how to live your life. Algebra is important for not getting ripped off as an adult. English is important for communication and knowledge. Science is important for understanding how the planet works. Social Studies is important for understanding the worlds people. Etc....

[felix_numinous]

131. I don't think any one subject

can be the most important, it has to be a combination. English and Liberal Arts, Civics and History, Math and Science, Physical Education and Health.

[Number23]

132. Now THIS is a great topic. Thanks for this island in the endless sea of Vick foolishness

I voted history. Everything that has happened explains what is happening now and quite possibly what will happen.

[bluestate10]

133. I am split.

I voted for advanced math. But would have liked to have given a shout-out for english and advanced science.

[upi402]

135. Labor History

taboo in the USA