Also take orienteering class if you want to be an outdoorsy person. I took it and it was a blast. Now looking to join a local club and get into orienteering competitions.
It's similar to orienteering but team-based, everyone leaves en masse, and control points can be reached in any order within a fixed amount of time. This means you can be competitive by walking and relying on compass smarts rather than having to be able to run for hours on end.
This looks like a calendar of US rogaining events: http://www.us.orienteering.org/orienteers/rogaines/events
I got into it a year or two ago here in Australia and have now competed in a state and national event plus others. Entered into the world champs in July, though we will be aiming mostly to not come last!
Along with basic financials, I inclined to agree that'd be a very good add for required classes.
If I remember right, it was a one- or two-day field trip we took during middle school. Everyone was excited when it was their class's turn to go. (But who doesn't get excited for a field trip?)
Not as comprehensive as what you'd learn in scouts or taking a professional survival class, but it was a good overview. I still remember a lot of it and find the material useful.
This was in South Lake Tahoe CA, so we were already in the mountains. :) Cost wouldn't have been any worse than any other field trip.
I should go do some more, I'm fairly confident in my map skills but I bet there are some assumptions of mine to knock down.