7 subjects our parents studied at school that today's generation gets to skip

Shorthand was one of the most dominant subjects throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, with schools teaching either the Pitman or Gregg system. Shorthand is a quicker version of handwriting using strokes or symbols for the letters instead of having to write out the whole amount, and most journalists were required to be able to write 100 words per minute using shorthand.

The skill was also useful for aspiring secretaries, typists or clerks who would be required to take down speedy notes during their workday. However, as computers and personal recording devices took off in popularity, the need for shorthand plummeted, and it was taken off the curriculum.

If you think of one subject from the past, the most obvious one is Latin. The language was studied all throughout the Middle Ages and right up to the 20th century, with it being vital for careers in sciences or law. If you had aspirations of making it to Oxford or Cambridge, then a Latin qualification was mandatory.

However, in today's modern world, you rarely come across Latin, and schools shifted focus onto languages more equipped for the modern world, such as French, German or Spanish.

Another subject that our parents and grandparents may have faced was secretarial studies, which was mainly aimed at the young women of the time. These studies would have included tasks such as touch typing and office practice, while specialised finishing schools might have even educated people on office culture from dress codes to proper posture.

Many of the parts of the course are now obsolete due to modern technology, and as feminism took off, women were given more career options in the world of business instead of being just a secretary.

Another classic subject that used to be taught was home economics, which combined the likes of needlework, cooking and nutrition and even managing an entire household budget.

The subject has now mostly been phased out, although textiles and food preparation can still form part of the curriculum in Design and Technology modules. Part of the reasoning was the expansion of gender roles, but the subject also required expensive and specialist technology that would often stretch a school's budget.

While today's generation still has some practical modules in Design and Technology, they faced nothing like auto shop like our parents and grandparents did. This subject taught pupils basic car maintenance, including machines you'd normally find at a mechanic's.

However, the subject was eventually phased out due to difficulties in sourcing qualified teachers and the extraordinary costs associated with it.

Now this subject had nothing to do with actual books and everything to do with balancing the sheets, recording transactions and working out profits for businesses. Anyone wanting to enter the business world would typically have this subject on every day they were in the classroom.

While the skills might still seem necessary, these are now automated processes in the world of business, and if anyone desperately wants to study the lesson, it can be found in modern economics classes.

While many of these subjects were on the curriculum for centuries before being phased out, rural studies were only introduced during the 1940s. The wartime spirit encouraged schools to grow their own produce. Pupils would learn about livestock husbandry and plant cultivation, being able to pursue a degree in the subject.

Specialised teachers were required for the lesson, and it eventually dropped off the curriculum when schools started to pay more attention to the core subjects.