OP you were pretty neglected, forget about learning anything! So you are most definitely not U at all.
I think what you are really saying is in addition to getting an education (with no help whatsoever with home work, and very little if any interest in your attainment) that you started out defenceless, having to gather life skills very quickly and haphazardly before the lack of them could ruin your life. It is a setback we can do without. We are already it feels, at a massive disadvantage to those that were raised carefully and properly with all the life skills they needed. Those children tend to be able to avoid what should be obvious mistakes too....
I intend to do the following before my dds are 18, and have started on a good many of them already, because I hope I can give them the best chance possible to eat well, know how to dress and self care and look after themselves. After all I have got this far in caring for them, I see it as finishing the job of motherhood. Equipping them with the best toolkit possible:
Teach them to care for their bodies, and the meaning of a loving relationship (and more to the point what isn't) To know what first dates are best done during the day at lunch/coffee/etc in public places. Wait for a good long while before committing in any way.
To drive
Cook healthy food and know how to follow a basic recipe (I still can't!)
Sew buttons and repair clothes (I am hopeless, I need to rope in DH on this)
First Aid - advanced.
To ask for second opinions, if needed, especially with doctors if something does not feel right
Be assertive
Self defence and managing city life, and not to smile sweetly at everyone on the tube :) (we live in the country)
Budget and financial responsibility
Good organisation skills for time keeping, appointments, health checks and lists.
A routine for food shopping, housekeeping, house maintenance and bill paying - it truly works wonders. It took me ten years to master this!
How to dress properly for different events and occasions such as weddings, parties, garden parties, office wear and nights out. Make up variations if they want to wear it, neither do currently. Importance of good hair conditioners, skin care routine, clean razors, hair cuts and dental apps.
How to do the laundry, what to iron and what does not need to be. How to iron properly.
Health checks. Smears can never be missed. How to do a breast check in the shower every day.
Good mental health using meditation and relaxation. Know when to ask for help, and how.
Ability to say no, and mean it.
How to apologise (and when not to)
Men, the good, the bad and the bloody downright psychos and how to spot them!
If you really consider the volume of information needed, it is mind boggling, but over a few years certainly not impossible. Breaking it down from age ten upwards.
My grandmother taught my mother everything from cooking to housekeeping, for some reason only known to herself, my mother didn't teach me a thing. She simply left me to it.
I don't hold a grudge, at all, but I do wish she had considered helping me. She seemed to take quiet delight in my failings when I was fledgling, which in itself is not that kind in hindsight. I think she still wanted to feel needed, but really a good parent gives her dc every chance to succeed in life, without falling flat on their faces jumping the smallest of hurdles (using a washing machine with the interview shirt for the following day for instance) If we can just do some of those things we will have helped our dc no end when the time comes for them to leave us.