I have been reflecting on various things I had to learn throughout my life which I never have use for today. The first skill was cursive writing as it was taught in 1958. I am not sure why my grade school decided to invest in new cursive alphabets to hang up in the classrooms. What I do remember most clearly was the new iteration of the capital letter Q. It made no sense at all, as it looked like the number 2, nothing like the reasonable way we had been taught to write it. When I did a search this afternoon, I saw that this odd Q is no longer taught as part of the cursive curriculum. Which is great because I was never able to reproduce it to conform to the chart. (By the way, note that the chart has, for some reason, two capital letter E’s.)
I was taught how to write a business letter, which is still useful information, though Microsoft has a template I can use for a format. However, I also had to practice folding the business letter to fit into a business envelope. It was critical to have it placed so that the recipient could grasp the folded edge and then open the letter right side up. I have never used this skill, nor have I ever stopped to notice the arrangement of any business letter I have received.
I learned how to fish with a weight, bait a hook, catch a fish, remove the hook, kill the fish, clean the fish and cook the fish. I learned that if you accidentally lock your car trunk with living catfish inside they will still be alive when the mechanic gets your trunk open the next day. I no longer go fishing, preferring to buy my fish already caught, cleaned and filleted at the fish market.
What skills do you no longer use?
Saved By Words 
I write my own version of cursive, although we learned something very similar to the samples above. I personally am SUPREME at folding business letters in perfect thirds and always put them in the right way so they can be opened easily and are ready to read, right side up, and I actually used it five days a week when working for that lawyer for 17+ years.
I must have learned other things that may come in handy, but am unsure what they are right now…
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It’s great that you actually got to use this letter technique. I thought it was cool, but never needed it.
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It seems the fastest and most efficient way to do it and still have it fit the envelope with a little dignity, instead of just being folded a whole lot. Since the letters were all legal-related, and most were us giving checks to local nonprofits, it looked more official and special, I thought.
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I hope that people appreciated the art when they opened the envelopes.
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They probably appreciated the checks more!
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😂🤣😂
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I don’t use anything I learned in math. Frankly I’m disappointed because I had to try very hard to get Bs and Cs in math and I feel like that much effort should have given me a more useful skill.
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I mostly use math in cooking.
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That’s a good use for math. Maybe if I was better at math, I’d be better at cooking. Lol😄
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I think some of my cooking skills have now gone, bread making, yogurt making & preserving fruits & jams that I used to do on the farm I no longer do now.
Jennifer
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I still bake bread. However, now that I have to pay an arm and a leg for ingredients, I no longer make jam or preserve fruit and vegetables either. I did a great deal of that when produce was shared with us from friends who had too much.
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Lovely to hear you still make your own bread!
At the time I was living on the farm, so all the ingredients for preserving & jam making were home grown.
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Otherwise it is too costly, I think.
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Definitely!
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Fishing must have been so much fun. At least, you know your fish is pure organic. Moreover, it’s an outdoor activity.
I think back then, people were more productive; more like hands on.
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I think you are right about being more hands on. I certainly learned many skills that were. I loved fishing.
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I’m rather ashamed to admit that i haven’t memorized anyone’s telephone number in a few years….
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I was horrified to realize the same thing.
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I think that a lot of what I learned at school I don’t use today, Elizabeth, but I think it is useful to have that knowledge as it expands your mind and gives you opportunities in life.
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Plus you never know when on a quiz show you are asked how many pecks in a bushel.
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Ha ha, that is so true.
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