How much of what you learned in school did you use later in life?
The question is directed to everyone who has completed their school education in Germany.
It would be interesting to hear about your experiences with the German education system.
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Well, let's just say that my solid foundation in German, math, and English has helped me in life. Spelling, basic arithmetic, a bit of the rule of three, and English.
Everything else like history, social studies, biology, sports, religion, etc., well, I certainly retained some of it, but I never really needed it. Not in my professional life, that is. Privately, a certain amount of general knowledge never hurts. Later on, you acquire specialist knowledge from vocational school -> and even then, after the exam, you only need a maximum of 20% of it.
In short:
Let's say a good 30% of what I learned in school over the course of 10 years fell by the wayside at some point. Subjects like social studies, history, religion, etc. are general knowledge, and you develop these skills over the course of your life.
Thanks for the detailed explanation!
No, I don't have time (after I've finished school) to deal with history and whatever social studies is supposed to be.
But it wouldn't hurt, certain things are helpful!
Math, almost everything. It starts with salary adjustments and ends with negotiations with tradesmen about the flooring to be laid.
German: You have to write something every day. German, too. Whether it's dative or accusative: who cares. I don't think anyone needs to know that.
English: Worse than German. At work, I speak English 100% of the time because of my Indian colleagues. Add to that the fact that I read texts and instructions in English, and I also travel abroad for business. Nobody speaks German in Korea, but English is fine. I didn't learn English in school because of a lack of teachers. I taught myself.
Bio: During the coronavirus pandemic, we saw who wasn't paying attention. It also helps if you or a loved one is sick to understand what's going on. It's also interesting to know which animals are dangerous when you go into the forest.
History: You should know about the Nazis if you live in Germany. And not fall for a thousand fake news stories on the subject. But I hardly had any due to the teacher shortage.
Geography: relevant for traveling and watching the news. However, I find the subject to be somewhat overrepresented in class.
Chemistry: Depends on your future career. I didn't have it at all due to a teacher shortage. It would be good to know how to prevent rust and how to clean materials, but I don't know if that's in the curriculum. I just never had it. We often had German classes in the chemistry lab due to a lack of space, and that's how I know they probably work with gas there more, but I don't know.
Computer science: the same as English.
Music: same as chemistry.
Art was quite fun and didn't even teach art but rather fine motor skills.
Well, what you learn in school is, above all, learning and how to teach yourself material, even if it's difficult or very boring. You need that every day.
I can't think of anything I learned in school that was useless. Even the knowledge I learned in civics (I went to school in the GDR) is useful for understanding certain things. Apart from that: history, math of course, physics, chemistry—of course, you need these basics to understand many things. And a good general education also comes in handy in my career.
You didn't have English back then in the GDR, did you?
Yes, as a second foreign language. You had to get at least a grade of 3 in Russian and have a good average grade otherwise, then you were allowed to start the second foreign language in 7th grade. We had to choose between English and French. The French class was very small.
What I needed to be able to study engineering:
German: Writing/spelling and writing reports.
Math: Pretty much everything.
Physics: Most of it.
Electrical/Metal Engineering: It helped me a little during my studies, but not particularly much. I found it very interesting as a student, though.
English: Quite a lot, although the content of the non-fiction texts didn't really matter, practice, practice, practice.
Chemistry: Basics are never wrong, came up again when semiconductor discussions.
Bio: I didn't have that in high school, but in my first job as a software developer I had to deal with creatures that needed to be fed.
French: So-so, the French are slowly becoming more and more able to speak English reasonably well.
Geography/Civics/History: You should have a certain basic understanding of Germany, for example, so that when you ask questions about school-related topics online, you should usually include the federal state, because there are so many differences. Or you can do a plausibility check for your navigation system. Or you should have heard about the many things populism can cause.
Type: color mixing, eg, on the computer.
Music: Not really.
Sports: Not really.
Notting
I still retain the general knowledge I learned today and use it as needed (biology, geography, history, home economics). The most important subjects that provided me with the foundation for my future life – including my professional life – were English, German, technical drawing, and my knowledge of basic arithmetic, percentage calculations, and the rule of three. I never personally needed anything else again.
English, German, physics, geography, and, to a lesser extent, basic math are always needed. History, politics, chemistry, and biology may not necessarily be needed later on; I consider those to be general education.
But subjects like art, sports, and ethics are a waste of time. I didn't really get much out of school in those areas.
(Sorry, slipped in the line. This should be selected.)
"Fundamentals in 1-3 subjects up to 7th grade"
Reading, writing, basic arithmetic.
This is the part I really need.
I only need biology and chemistry sometimes when discussing and having conversations.
I sometimes need physics and crafts for my hobby.
I didn't need any more history, geography, local history, or civics.
And English or foreign languages?
I had to learn Russian, but it was too complicated for me.
Not much, more general knowledge in the areas of Catholic religion, history, civics, and music theory in high school. References to art periods, such as Albrecht Dürer, in fine arts classes weren't pointless and stuck with me. I never really needed what I learned in the "important" subjects again – apart from English and French.
On the subject of religion, what one has heard about the Dalai Lama, about the world religions and, to some extent, about ethical matters and the structure of the Bible, is classic general knowledge – and I have actually needed it occasionally in my job.
Thanks for the detailed answer!
But of course!
The German school system ensures that students learn a lot of nonsense and not things that are actually needed.
It always depends on what you do after school. So far, I've been able to use a lot of things from 8th grade, especially English, geography, and a little math. I've been able to take significantly more from 9th grade. I completed my 9th grade at the Dornbirn Technical College and Research Institute in the field of logistics, and so I've been able to use pretty much everything in my job as a freight forwarding clerk.
In general, I can say that English was the most worthwhile for me.
Physics has proven extremely helpful in my work as a PC technician.
As a software developer, mathematics is very beneficial to me
For my hobby of 3D printing, I benefit from math and sometimes also from art classes.
From a cooking perspective, chemistry was very helpful—because cooking is applied chemistry! Let me just say: Maillard reaction.
Only the subject of religion was a complete waste of time for me.
For me, physical education was a complete waste of time. All you did was jump over obstacles or run after balls. You didn't really learn anything…
Actually, I have used everything I have learned – except religion – at some point in my life!
Reading, writing, arithmetic and a little English.