Everyone knows that Life Orientation in school is the biggest waste of time. While you’re supposed to learn about ‘life’ you end up discussing one topic for a term, and don’t even get any value out of it.

It’s also the easy way for everyone to get an ‘A’. Or at least, that’s how it used to be.

While I would say we need to learn how to write a CV, do our taxes and even grow a veggie garden, an ex-dean of Standford listed her eight invaluable life skills that one should learn by the time they’re 18. Read them in more detail HERE.

1. Be able to talk to strangers
2. Find their way around town, campuses, etc
3. Manage assignments, workloads, and deadlines
4. Contribute to the running of a household
5. Handle interpersonal problems
6. Cope with ups and downs
7. Be able to earn and manage money
8. Be able to take risks

Who teaches someone to take risks? That would be an awesome skill to learn at school, because adults go their whole life without learning the finer techniques of doing so – and these skills are invaluable.

But you know, as South Africans we need a little more skills to get by with life:

1. Know the difference between a flat white and a cappuccino (hint: there is no difference)
2. Listen to a political opinon without providing a sarcastic, racist comment
3. How to get by without any electricity

[source: lifehacker]