I woke up feeling somewhat better and thinking, like many people have, that schools should teach a bunch of essential skills that everyone should know.  Many of these things are normally taught by parents, which I presume is the ungiven reason for its absence in the curriculum.
However, I’d like to point out that not everyone has their parents, and even fewer people have good ones. And even the good ones can’t always know everything that belongs in this list.

I’ve been thinking for a long time how odd it is that in middle school, everyone was taught how to use a sewing machine, even though I only know one person who even owns a sewing machine.  40 years later, they’re still teaching this to my kids.

So, in this evolving post, I’m going to collect some things in one place that I think would be more valuable and better investment of time.

The first item that came to mind to commit to the list is  “When to go to the doctor.”

You should try to know where your food comes from, and how to shop for groceries, to look at expiration dates, to read labels, about cooking safety, to buy locally when you can.

How to mail things.  Most people waste so much money because they don’t know how to mail things.  Everyone should know what a letter, a large envelope, and a package is, and what options there are to mail packages (including the online-only options).  Learn how to use the post office website and the paypal Multi-order shipping tool to save money.

People do not evaluate risk well.  It’s important to try to do a better evaluation of risk based on actual facts. For example, just because you are personally in control of your car does not mean it’s safer to drive than to fly.

Don’t ever use your teeth as a tool like to strip wire.  You need them and they will crack later in your life if you do this.

Copyright law.  Everyone should have a basic understanding of copyright, and who owns what.  Unless you are paid to do it, or you relinquish your rights, when you create something, you own it.  I’ll elaborate on this later.

If you’re eating something that’s too hot, don’t inhale to cool it off.  Exhale only, or you could end up with the food stuck in your throat and choke to death.

Sometimes stores will sell things in a big package that costs more than two smaller ones.   Look for the latest expiration date on anything that you buy.

I think that sex education in schools should be augmented with dating and relationship ed.   For example, people who are inexperienced at relationships but who are rejected will typically internalize that there is something wrong with them.  Rejection is simply a fact with no message.

Learn how to protect yourself from spam and spoof emails.  Don’t click on links that say you “won” something.  They harvest your email address and then spam you forever.  Logan’s hotmail got compromised this way, and the next day he had 2000 spams and had to permanently set it to Exclusive mode.

Before cashing personal checks, call the issuing bank and ask them to confirm that the funds are in the account.  Otherwise you may end up paying a hefty bounced check fee — for a check you didn’t even write.  Ruint.