When we are younger at school we do not necessarily think about it but not all of the subjects will prove useful in later life. That is not the point, though, it is to give us a little bit of knowledge about everything. So, all good so far. It is later in education that we have to start to make choices about which direction to head in to steer ourselves towards the career we hope to go into in the end. It is while holding this thought then that we shall think about just what some of our early subjects are going to help us with later on.
English
English is a core subject in the UK, and necessary for entry to lots of educational routes and jobs. It is a qualification that provides evidence of good communication skills, both written and verbal. The presentations that you give to the class may well become those that you give as part of a job interview process or as a pitch to business people, fellow scientists, or potential investors.
Moreover, English also happens to be a worldwide language of communication. Therefore, teaching the language to a people from other cultures is yet another career choice worth exploring, irrespective of whether you choose to do so in your own country or venture into teaching abroad. When you teach in china or another foreign country for that matter, you’ll have the chance to engage with learners from diverse background. This, in turn will challenge you to cultivate flexible teaching strategies and adapt to a variety of learning styles.
Forming arguments in essays at university, if not before, will allow us to think more about everything that we say having substance. The evidence that we need to provide to prove our arguments will have had us using analytical and research skills.
Mathematics
It was not every branch of mathematics that became relevant later in life but it was still important to focus on all the areas of the subject to pass the final examination. Otherwise, the numbers would simply have not added up to achieve the final grade.
Mathematics provides the foundation for many of the everyday things that are required. For instance, handling money, navigating maps, and statistics all require an understanding of basic math. Nowadays, there are also ways to easily access arithmetic and conversion lesson plans online, which can make things easier for students.
Additionally, Mathematics, like English literature and language, is a core subject that helps candidates to gain entrance to further education and to many jobs. Geometry and angles are important in building construction and to snooker players. Percentages are used in many business and financial calculations. Scientists and statisticians will plot on graphs the results of experiments and data about human health.
Similarly, algebra and arithmetic can be used in daily activities like measuring ingredients for cooking, figuring out distance and cost of travel, budgeting, and more. However, keep in mind that algebra and arithmetic arent the same, the difference being, arithmetics consists of known variables and numbers whereas algebra has unknown values represented as X, Y, A, B, etc. When studying mathematics, these topics might seem to have no importance in real life, but we unknowingly use them in most of our activities. Moreover, you never know as a student which direction your maths might take you in the future.
Science
Those better at science are likely to take the different subjects separately. If you are looking to go into medicine then it is necessary to obtain these with good grades at a lower and higher level. So, think Biology, Chemistry, and Physics.
Science helps us to develop an inquiring mind and to question things where there is no proof. It is not unlike the law in that respect. There has to be evidence in court to prove a case. Then, very often, science will end up as part of the court case when forensics come into play and scientists provide statements in court to help either the prosecution or defending lawyers.
History
It is not everyone who will want to be a historian, but the subject does prompt a more depth study into the past. So, rather than look for information in books only, we start to look towards the documents that the factual books were written from that are contained within archives.
Languages
Studying languages such as French or German is invaluable if you are looking to travel or become an interpreter. However, most people will get away with just a few key phrases if it is just a holiday or a short trip abroad. If you plan to live abroad, then you ought to know about writing in the language too. That is what school subjects teach compared to the adult language courses holidaymakers can benefit from in terms of embracing the full experience and culture a holiday can provide by being able to communicate verbally with locals on their terms.
So, the core subjects of English and Maths, above all other subjects, are important to grasp to progress in education. They also provide some useful skills for later in life and employment. Many students go on to study medicine, and this is likely to increase post-pandemic. So, science becomes a more important subject than ever it was. History, in theory, allows us to learn from the past, but this rarely seems to happen. Instead, historians will preserve and write about the past for future generations to delve into in terms of the evidence that will prove their written arguments. If we are looking to travel, as long as we are allowed, then it does not hurt to know the language of the country that we are visiting. Except there is a difference between just knowing a few key phrases and being able to write words down in a different language. Formal education will extend our understanding of languages early on and already be a step beyond simply attending a language class as an adult that will merely provide a quick solution to the language barrier we might be faced with abroad.