Basic life skills that every middle class adult is expected to know in the 21st century in the United States:
1. How to type well and reasonably quickly.
2. Moderate proficiency with Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Outlook, and Microsoft Windows.
3. How to drive an automobile (unless physically impaired from doing so) and how to refuel it and what routine maintenance is necessary.
4. Knowing what to do in a car accident.
5. How to use a web browser.
6. How to call and text message and use other basic features (including the app store) of a smart phone.
7. How to tie a necktie (men only, although there are probably parallel female garments that women have to understand how to wear such as earrings and bras).
8. How to tie your shoes.
9. How to use Google maps and do Google searches.
10. Understanding of basic emojis and internet acronyms.
11. Understanding the organizational chart at a basic level, of all levels of government in the U.S.
12. Understanding of time zones and daylight savings time and leap days.
13. An ability to book a commercial airline ticket for yourself and to rent a car and book a hotel/motel.
14. An understanding of how credit cards and debit cards work.
15. A basic understanding of residential leases and mortgages.
16. A basic understanding of the financial markets.
17. An understanding of the main taxes applicable to you (retail sales, federal income, state income, property taxes) that aren't "invisible" (like gasoline taxes).
18. An understanding of basic accounting and finance concepts.
19. How to videoconference in one of several possible tools (Face time, Zoom, MS Teams, Webex, etc.).
20. A rudimentary understanding of the legal process in civil and criminal cases.
21. Knowing how to cross the street as a pedestrian.
22. Knowing how to handle weather conditions and natural disasters in your area.
23. Knowing the threats posed by wildlife and plants in your area.
24. How to read and speak in English.
25. How to use elevators and escalators.
3 comments:
"How to type well and reasonably quickly."
Nope.
I cannot and my life has been successful. I have to look at the keyboard. Am too lazy to learn how to touch type.
Earlier in my career that might have been possible. But at this point, the infrastructure that used to be in place to support poor typists, like secretarial and administrative support, is gone. And, the last time that I worked at a firm that actually had genuine secretaries and typing pools was in 1993, although one firm that I worked at in the aughts had one secretary who assisted to semi-retired lawyers in their 70s who had both served in WWII and established a law firm shortly after the war ended.
The post above is me, BTW. Commented from a computer other than my usual one.
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