I have had this topic come up three times recently. First it came up with an older man at church, then with a homeschool mom visiting my home, and another time in a Facebook advertisement for math curriculum. It seems that there are many people asking if school children are being required to learn unnecessary things -things that they will never use in their lives in any practical way.

A man at church asked me about my week and I told him how excited my children were to be finishing up their schoolwork for the year. I told him how my middle daughter, in particular, was very happy to be done with math. That’s when he mentioned talking to his wife about all the unnecessary things kids learn in school. I admitted that I wasn’t sure if or how my daughter would ever use certain math skills she was being required to learn even as a fifth grader. Admittedly I myself never ever used many of the specific math skills she was learning. I actually had to relearn some of them in order to help her with her work!

Then in a conversation with the homeschool mom, the mom confessed not making her one child finish his writing assignments. He was interested in driving machinery someday, and she didn’t think he would ever be a great writer or need the skill in his future job. I was saddened to hear her say that about her child.

Finally, I watched a reel on Facebook advertising a new math curriculum that teaches highschoolers practical skills that will actually help them succeed in real life situations. I showed it to my husband and asked him what he thought. He asked me why the kids couldn’t learn both kinds of math.

I have struggled with the question myself both when choosing curriculum and trying to answer my own children’s wonderings. “Mom, why do we need to know this?” or, “When will I ever use this in my life?” they ask. As my children approach high school, I am wondering myself if they really need to learn certain school subjects. I’m wondering if I need to figure out how to teach them!

Is the pain and misery worth it? Especially if the subjects are not ever going to be applied to their real lives. Is it all just a big waste of time and energy?

Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how you view things, learning difficult subjects is worth the hard work. Even if your child never uses the specific information being taught, both you and they will learn much more valuable lessons like discipline, perseverance, and endurance.

God created work before the fall. This means that work is not part of the curse. Work is good. It is very good. Everything God made was “very good.” (Genesis 1:31) Yes, when sin entered the world, it made work much harder. Hard work isn’t bad either. What better work than battling the sin in our hearts!

Learning certain aspects about God’s creation may not appeal to us, but we can learn even more valuable lessons be being steadfast. Just some things to think about.