You learnt only what your state or federal government deemed it necessary for you to learn . As a worker what are your rights ? What are the rights of workers in other countries . What is a fair wage ? What are fair conditions ? In a city with an expanding population , where is the best location to buy a house in order to maximum capital growth of your primary investment ? What section of your local Crimes Act is your citizen ' s and police ' s arrest power and use of force provisions ? What are your exact requirements when a police officer stops you ? How much weight do you give Primary sources with anecdotal evidence compared to scientific analysis ? Do surveys work ? Do polls work ? Are polls accurate ? What does reasonable doubt mean ? If you can rattle off those answers that ' s good , but I doubt you learnt any of that in a school classroom . They are just some key things that every Citizen OUGHT to know about their society to best place them to be independent and productive members . I ' m sure we could brainstorm dozens more . I went to one of the top three schools in my state , that taught from the National education guidelines . In the last two years you only get 6 subjects of study . Only History really teaches critical source evaluation . The other topics are given a broad brush in MiddleHigh school when students are 1415 at best .