School Stuff You Still Use

 

Tonight, I had to log onto a career resource and resume template website. I made an account my freshman year of high school; the teacher warned us to create a username and password we could remember because we would be using this website for a long time. The student teacher mentioned he was using it.

I was skeptical. There are many things teachers will tell you will be long-term things that you will use later in your education, or perhaps into your career. As it turned out, a few of these predictions were right, and many were wrong. Not that I think the teachers were universally wrong: Some students probably did go on to use those things, but not me.

I now have three mental lists.

  1. Things teachers told me I would use that I have yet to use
    1.  My trigonometry reference table. I understand that anybody who went on into calculus classes used this. I went into statistics classes and did not.
    2. My “prime after prime” prime number reference sheet from seventh or eighth grade. I was told to hang onto it but lost it within a year. I never needed a prime number reference sheet after eighth grade.
    3. The “Hand over hand” steering technique that they tried to teach me in driver’s ed. (Maybe I do use this sometimes, but I never think about the way I steer…I just drive!)
    4. MLA stuff. This one isn’t exactly true, because I did continue to use it during my first few semesters of college. However, upon getting into my major, I switched to APA, which I like better. When you are writing quickly, it’s so much easier to remember that Allen (2013) said something, rather than remember that this thing was said by Allen on page 11. I thought it was odd that they did not endeavor to teach us both systems in high school. English class focused on MLA, which made sense, but so did all the other teachers, with the exception of one science teacher my freshman year who requested APA formatting.
    5. Factoring and the quadratic equation. Again, people who had to take more than two math courses in college probably use this. I do not.
    6. Strategies to say “no” to drugs. I do not believe I have ever been offered drugs. Where are all these people that were supposed to be offering kids drugs all the time?

2. Things teachers told me I would use that I did use

  1. The aforementioned resume formatting site
  2. Library research skills, especially the online databases
  3. Typing (Although I didn’t learn it when I took the class, I just kind of picked up on it later, and my form is terrible.)
  4. Writing a business letter. (And a resume!)
  5. The metric system. I don’t remember if I was explicitly told “You will use this” or not, but every science class uses it, and it’s just good to be familiar with the system. I know I have needed to convert metric units a lot more than I have needed to convert customary units.
  6. A number of writing strategies. Tenth and eleventh grade were especially productive years because I was required to write a rough draft in 40 minutes.

3. Things nobody expected me to use that I used anyway

  1. Chemistry splash goggles. I bought a pair for a class and keep them around now in case I need to deal with cleaning chemicals that sting my eyes or such things.
  2.  Standardized test skills. Dealing with computer screens or bubble sheets for a long time is a skill, as is the particular style of question that shows up on the tests.
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  1. Dill Inactive
    Dill
    @Dill

    JoelB (View Comment):

    One thing I wish I still had from my college years is my notes from Transportation Science class with professor Richard Rice. He had a chart worked out where he plotted speed, capacity, and fuel usage of different transportation systems from pipelines to supersonic aircraft. He used a logarithmic chart and claimed any system that did not fall within the banana-shaped curves it produced was likely to be uneconomical for practical use. He predicted correctly that the supersonic transport was not economically practical and that pipelines, barges, and various other systems were. His charts were based on the technology of the day, but I suspect they would still hold up now for most things. They were a good way to take a first look at any ballyhooed transportation system that might have been proposed, especially those that were seeking government money. I don’t know if he ever officially published what he gave us in class. I have found bits of it but never the whole thing. I don’t really need it now, but it would be fun to have it available to see how it looks for maglev and other things that the government has spent money on over the years. If anybody on Ricochet has run across this, I would appreciate it if you let me know about it.

    Whoa! That is super interesting!

    I wonder what he would think about the electric busses that are starting to show up in some cities. I think they are pretty cool because it feels space-agey, but I wonder how economical they truly are…

    • #31
  2. Randy Webster Inactive
    Randy Webster
    @RandyWebster

    kedavis (View Comment):
    I don’t remember ever learning about centers of triangles

    I don’t remember that one either.

    • #32
  3. Randy Webster Inactive
    Randy Webster
    @RandyWebster

    Dill (View Comment):
    I wonder what he would think about the electric busses that are starting to show up in some cities. I think they are pretty cool because it feels space-agey, but I wonder how economical they truly are…

    Electric kisses?

    • #33
  4. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    Dill (View Comment):
    I wonder what he would think about the electric busses that are starting to show up in some cities. I think they are pretty cool because it feels space-agey, but I wonder how economical they truly are…

    Electric kisses?

    Well the buses still have to be charged, but the left doesn’t want any power plants, so I guess they have to be charged by solar panels.  At night, when the buses aren’t being used.

    • #34
  5. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    Dill (View Comment):
    I wonder what he would think about the electric busses that are starting to show up in some cities. I think they are pretty cool because it feels space-agey, but I wonder how economical they truly are…

    Electric kisses?

    Now, I definitely remember the difference between “buss” and “bus” from my school days.

    • #35
  6. Dill Inactive
    Dill
    @Dill

    Charlotte (View Comment):

    Typing properly (I learned sophomore year on an IBM Selectric!) is the most useful “hard” skill I learned in high school, by far.

    I’m 46 years old and I have still never been offered drugs of any kind, not even pot. I am a notorious goody-two-shoes, but you would think it would have happened at least once.

    I know, right? 

    Where were these red ribbon week people getting all their information, anyway? It seemed like a mix of scare tactics and blatant exaggerations. I think drugs are (usually) bad and for the most part people shouldn’t do them, but an entire week of “Say no to drugs!” seems a little excessive.

    And then I would get on the bus to go home, and the country song “Drink A Little Drink, Smoke a Little Smoke” would come on over the radio. Don’t mix Red Ribbon Week and the country top 40 station, kids!

    • #36
  7. Randy Webster Inactive
    Randy Webster
    @RandyWebster

    Arahant (View Comment):

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    Dill (View Comment):
    I wonder what he would think about the electric busses that are starting to show up in some cities. I think they are pretty cool because it feels space-agey, but I wonder how economical they truly are…

    Electric kisses?

    Now, I definitely remember the difference between “buss” and “bus” from my school days.

    I never have figured out the proper plural for “bus.”

    • #37
  8. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Randy Webster (View Comment):
    I never have figured out the proper plural for “bus.”

    Omnibuses.

    • #38
  9. Stina Inactive
    Stina
    @CM

    I’ve used geometry and some trig in pattern drafting. We learned how to conduct searches in search engines. I think that will be useful again in short order. Most of my high school knowledge I reuse came from choir and music. 

    Saying no to alcohol was more important than saying no to drugs. And three- point turns and parallel parking. 

    • #39
  10. Dill Inactive
    Dill
    @Dill

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    Dill (View Comment):
    I wonder what he would think about the electric busses that are starting to show up in some cities. I think they are pretty cool because it feels space-agey, but I wonder how economical they truly are…

    Electric kisses?

    Misspelling buses reminds me that I no longer use my spelling skills from school, either. If spellcheck doesn’t catch it, I don’t either.

    • #40
  11. Flicker Coolidge
    Flicker
    @Flicker

    Dill (View Comment):

    Arahant (View Comment):

    Randy Webster (View Comment):
    I still have my T-square.

    I still have a cheap plastic one that is also a foot-long ruler. Comes in handy.

    I had to google T-square. What math were you guys doing with it?

    I love my slide rules.

    • #41
  12. Dill Inactive
    Dill
    @Dill

    Stina (View Comment):

    I’ve used geometry and some trig in pattern drafting. We learned how to conduct searches in search engines. I think that will be useful again in short order. Most of my high school knowledge I reuse came from choir and music.

    Saying no to alcohol was more important than saying no to drugs. And three- point turns and parallel parking.

    That’s one thing I do hear people talk about: In a situation where nearly everybody’s drinking, it’s hard not to. (To be fair, the anti-drug campaigning going on at my school mixed tobacco and alcohol right in there with hard drugs, so I guess the “saying no” does count as something I might use?)

    I do three-point turns, but avoid needing to parallel park as much as possible.

    • #42
  13. Flicker Coolidge
    Flicker
    @Flicker

    Arahant (View Comment):

    Randy Webster (View Comment):
    I never have figured out the proper plural for “bus.”

    Omnibuses.

    Isn’t this the infinite for all buses?

    • #43
  14. Flicker Coolidge
    Flicker
    @Flicker

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    Dill (View Comment):
    I wonder what he would think about the electric busses that are starting to show up in some cities. I think they are pretty cool because it feels space-agey, but I wonder how economical they truly are…

    Electric kisses?

    Please!  No more robot talk.

    • #44
  15. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Arahant (View Comment):

    Randy Webster (View Comment):
    I never have figured out the proper plural for “bus.”

    Omnibuses.

     

    • #45
  16. Randy Webster Inactive
    Randy Webster
    @RandyWebster

    kedavis (View Comment):

    Arahant (View Comment):

    Randy Webster (View Comment):
    I never have figured out the proper plural for “bus.”

    Omnibuses.

     

    Now me and the mate were back at the shack

    We had Spike Jones on the box.

    She said “I can’t take the way he sings,

    But I love to hear him talk.”

    • #46
  17. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Flicker (View Comment):
    I love my slide rules.

    Way back in college, before Dill was born, but long after slide rules had been replaced, I was joking about my slide rule collection with my math professor. He said, “I still have mine somewhere.”

    Next class he comes in with it and I bought it off him. It was a very high-end engineering model. The best part was he still had the sales receipt. He had bought it on the day I was born and in the county in Southern Illinois my family had spent a few generations in after the war.

    • #47
  18. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Arahant (View Comment):

    Randy Webster (View Comment):
    I never have figured out the proper plural for “bus.”

    Omnibuses.

    Isn’t this the infinite for all buses?

    There is a very interesting story behind the word we use, “bus.” Omnibus is Latin and literally means “for all.” The first guy to use the term was a Frenchman in Nantes. It originated in horsedrawn cars that were much like the later electric trolleys or the small motor omnibuses that replaced them.

    • #48
  19. Percival Thatcher
    Percival
    @Percival

    If you can get your hands on your copy of the CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, you have everything.

    • #49
  20. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Percival (View Comment):
    If you can get your hands on your copy of the CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, you have everything.

    I still have mine. Bought new. I won’t say what edition it is, but it is nowhere near three digits.

    • #50
  21. Flicker Coolidge
    Flicker
    @Flicker

    Arahant (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):
    I love my slide rules.

    Way back in college, before Dill was born, but long after slide rules had been replaced, I was joking about my slide rule collection with my math professor. He said, “I still have mine somewhere.”

    Next class he comes in with it and I bought it off him. It was a very high-end engineering model. The best part was he still had the sales receipt. He had bought it on the day I was born and in the county in Southern Illinois my family had spent a few generations in after the war.

    Too cool.

    • #51
  22. Percival Thatcher
    Percival
    @Percival

    Arahant (View Comment):

    Percival (View Comment):
    If you can get your hands on your copy of the CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, you have everything.

    I still have mine. Bought new. I won’t say what edition it is, but it is nowhere near three digits.

    Avogandro’s number hasn’t changed, has it? Any updates to the logarithm tables? They add new stuff, though.

    • #52
  23. philo Member
    philo
    @philo

    kedavis (View Comment):

    It’s actually been some time ago now that I last used it, but I still remember a technique for finding the center of a circle that I used to help my younger brother when he was making a flag for school.

    Just trying to find the center by measuring across and dividing by 2, is imprecise. The way to do it “exactly” is to put two arcs along the edge of the circle, bisect each, and where the bisect lines cross is the center. This can be done with just a straight-edge (no measuring scale needed) and a simple compass (the drawing type, not the north-south-east-west type).

    As seen here: (this drawing was done roughly.)

     

    Cool. Now square a circle for us.

    • #53
  24. EB Thatcher
    EB
    @EB

    I use touch typing every day and I use algebra a lot.  

    And once during a structures exam in college, my knowing how to use scientific notation saved me when my calculator battery ran down.

     

    • #54
  25. drlorentz Member
    drlorentz
    @drlorentz

    My German teacher taught us a couple of song to remember which cases go with which prepositions. Entirely useless in my life but still memorable: a testament to the power of mnemonic devices. 

    To Mary Had a Little Lamb, the prepositions that take the accusative case:
    durch, für, gegen, ohne, um

    To The Blue Danube, the prepositions that take the dative case:
    aus, außer, bei, mit, nach, seit, von, zu

    The second one is still alive and well.

     

    • #55
  26. Instugator Thatcher
    Instugator
    @Instugator

    Dill: The metric system. I don’t remember if I was explicitly told “You will use this” or not, but every science class uses it, and it’s just good to be familiar with the system. I know I have needed to convert metric units a lot more than I have needed to convert customary units.

    There are two types of countries in the world.

    Those that use the metric system and those that have landed a man on the moon.

    • #56
  27. Instugator Thatcher
    Instugator
    @Instugator

    Percival (View Comment):

    If you can get your hands on your copy of the CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, you have everything.

     

    I prefer Eshbach

    The handbook of engineering fundamentals.

    • #57
  28. Dill Inactive
    Dill
    @Dill

    drlorentz (View Comment):

    My German teacher taught us a couple of song to remember which cases go with which prepositions. Entirely useless in my life but still memorable: a testament to the power of mnemonic devices.

    To Mary Had a Little Lamb, the prepositions that take the accusative case:
    durch, für, gegen, ohne, um

    To The Blue Danube, the prepositions that take the dative case:
    aus, außer, bei, mit, nach, seit, von, zu

    The second one is still alive and well.

    Oh, I forgot I remember a song from Spanish (which I only took two years of, and has yet to come in handy, but I would like to improve those skills, because I think it really could be useful to my career)

    It’s Que Tiempo Hace Hoy? The weather song. I can remember many spanish words for weather, as well as some fun phrases like “No yo se…estoy in la escuela todo al dia!” (I don’t know, I’m in school all day!)

    • #58
  29. Percival Thatcher
    Percival
    @Percival

    Instugator (View Comment):

    Dill: The metric system. I don’t remember if I was explicitly told “You will use this” or not, but every science class uses it, and it’s just good to be familiar with the system. I know I have needed to convert metric units a lot more than I have needed to convert customary units.

    There are two types of countries in the world.

    Those that use the metric system and those that have landed a man on the moon.

    • #59
  30. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Instugator (View Comment):

    Dill: The metric system. I don’t remember if I was explicitly told “You will use this” or not, but every science class uses it, and it’s just good to be familiar with the system. I know I have needed to convert metric units a lot more than I have needed to convert customary units.

    There are two types of countries in the world.

    Those that use the metric system and those that have landed a man on the moon.

    That’s a good one.  But my all-time favorite is probably still:

    There are 10 kinds of people in the world.

    Those who understand binary, and those who don’t.

    • #60
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