Where should schools draw the line?

I saw this video a while ago and it's recently become a hot topic on social media. Yesterday, sitting in a botany lab with my lab group, a discussion began where this video and its ideas were a main topic. Many of the students and even the teacher expressed concern about what isn't being taught in our public schools. There seems to be a consensus that young adults are leaving high school ill equipped for daily life, unprepared to face the daily challenges of being self-reliant and independent. 

While we discussed how students don't seem to understand personal finance, basic personal healthcare, job and interview skills, or even maintaining their homes and vehicles, a thought occurred to me that I felt was worth sharing: Where are the boundaries for the ideas and skills that public schools should teach? Where does public education draw the line?

I remember being taught how to balance a check book, dress professionally, operate a washing machine, and several other skills when I was young. The issue is that I was taught these skills by family and friends. I learned these social skills in my social environment. Now don't get me wrong, my school offered several courses in which the goal was to prepare students for "real life", but these were classes that students took to fill their schedule with a class that didn't cut into their Friday night. Maybe these classes are being culled from the curriculum do to low student interest or it could be because schools are struggling to cover the content and new instructional methods being passed down from state and national education departments.

This brings us to my main point. Who is responsible for teaching students basic life skills? I have no doubt that many educators would delight in providing students with skills that would help them become better individuals and citizens, but I don't know of many who can find any time in class to provide these lessons. Coming from a Biology background, there is no lack of content that I would love and actually feel I need to cover, but there just aren't enough hours in the day. Many educators already struggle finding a middle ground between what they feel they need to cover and not covering so much material that students are incapable of processing and retaining it.

So, should schools focus on trying to provide a well rounded education including life skills to all students or should they focus on just academic topics? The general idea in western education is to provide a well rounded education, one composed of several subjects and cognitive skills. Now, my ears perk up when I hear people discussing the state of education these days and I often hear people lamenting the fact that they have to learn two years of foreign language, the quadratic equation, and which acid is the final product of the Kreb's Cycle when they plan on becoming a media specialist. It makes sense from either perspective, well rounded or content focused education. I think the issue is that there isn't a consensus on what public education should include, at least a realistic one.

If schools focus on content and academics, that leaves the burden of basic life skills on the shoulders of parents and the community. If schools try to include basic life skills in every student's education, that means less content and other skills covered in class. Unfortunately, you apparently can't have your cake and eat it to. So, where do you stand in this debate or do you have a position? If you do, feel free to comment!