What should kids be learning about at school? We ask 5 prominent women about their favourite subject.
Jane Caro – Author, social commentator and speaker.
Answer: Lunchtime and recess
That is when I learnt the most about mucking in with other people, who I liked, who I didn’t and who didn’t like me. I learnt how to deal with difficulty and how to survive rejection. I learnt how to have fun, how to organise, how to delegate and - eventually - how to share. I learnt how to gossip, flirt, joke and how to co-operate so that everyone had fun. I learnt how to subvert authority, bond with my peers and test my mettle. I learnt what I was good at and what I was hopeless at. I learnt what was hurtful to me and why I also should not hurt others. I learnt about power, heirachy, cliques, shifting allegiances, diplomacy, warfare and celebration. I learnt about loss when good friends moved schools. I learnt about making friends, keeping friends and relationships in general.
I have never learnt more before or since.
Julia Baird - Journalist, broadcaster and author (currently writing a book about Queen Victoria).
Answer: History
I am deeply biased on this, but indulge me for a moment.
I believe the most important subject is history; it stokes the imagination, encourages empathy, makes us understand the folly - and glory - of our own and past times - it teaches us that enlightenment and progress are possible but tortuously difficult and often centuries in the making.
That the human brain is pliable, unpredictable and magnificent. That we are as capable of unfathomable horrors as we are of astonishing sacrifice. History is not just what happens in parliament and on battlefields, but also in pantries, in bedrooms and bathrooms, in the minds of people who pass you on the street... it's everywhere, everything all at once.
In this way history encompasses all the other subjects - it teaches you about great literature and where it springs from, about the great discoveries in mathematics and science, the centuries of boom and bust that have informed economic theory ..... History is infinite. I love it.
Jamila Rizvi - Writer and presenter
Answer: Connect the dots
Jane Lu - Entrepreneur, CEO of Showpo
Answer: Self-belief
I don't think there's any subjects at school that you REALLY need for life.
I think the one of the most important things that you learn is to not give up at the subjects you hate, and that if you work hard enough, you could excel at it. The thing I don't like is that sometimes at school you get labelled (by peers, teachers, and yourself) as something and that perpetuates as the person you are during your adolescence - a massive time of change - and it's hard to believe you can be different, be better.
I thought I was bad at sports and English because I was in year 7, and dreaded both throughout school, now that I'm in the outside world, turns out I'm pretty good at both, better than the average. But only because I've had a chance to reinvent myself and test my boundaries.
My favourite subject was legal studies, and of course it's not something you NEED for life, but because it was the first time during those important years that I started to think that I could be better than what I was. Up until then, I was an above average student, never topped anything, until I studied legal studies in senior year. I started getting full marks and topped the grade. I was shocked that I was capable of this as I had always drifted around the "just above average" band at school. This led me to question maybe I'm not just above average, maybe I can top other things. The result was that by final year I came top 10 in all my subjects at a selective academic school.
Sometimes the most important lesson is to believe in yourself.
Mia Freedman - Founder of Mamamia
Answer: English and General studies
It's a tie between English and general studies which was like current affairs. English, and particularly my English teacher Mrs Anne Parker, gave me a love of words and taught me how to express myself. General studies was about looking at society and the world. What I've done since I left school, by working in the media as a journalist and editor has utilised those subjects every minute of my day.
h/t The Economist.
Watch Mia Freedman and Leigh Sales discuss what their most important lesson from school was.
What do you think is the most important subject at school?
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Top Comments
Human Anatomy and Physiology, there are really uneducated people around with strange ideas about how our bodies work.
I feel like if science was compulsory at year 11 and 12, we would have a lot less anti vaxxers and people consulting doctor google. Being able to critically analyse a scientific paper is so useful.
I agree 100% with you! I'm 32 weeks pregnant and part of an online birth club, and it amazes me some of the questions women post asking if completely normal bodily functions are normal! I think wow are you really that out of touch with your body that you don't know what is happening? Even non-pregnancy related issues e.g. one woman asked if it was ok during sex or if she should speak to her doctor about it...I can only imagine how that conversation would have gone down!!
My pick are maths and science. How can we progress as a nation when the most basic of subjects such as maths and science are not considered important as English? These subjects challenge you mentally and to think critically. I am so glad I took biology, chemistry and physics. I feel like I would have been so disadvantaged without them.
Well I suppose the question is a bit flawed, because no one subject on its own is more important than the rest, because really English is equally as important as maths and science, not much point in being a scientific genius if you can't communicate any of your ideas to anyone! On the other hand I guess good English isn't going to cure the plague, though a few poets have got lucky with the ladies through their good use of English! So I'm voting for English! Otherwise we would all have to rely merely on good looks rather than charm to propagate the human race!