What Would Your Alternative Education Curriculum Consist Of?

I think a lot of us would agree that public school educations can be a little lacking. If they're not telling us lies or glossing over our history, they're making us read books that turn us off from reading or not giving us a wide enough spectrum of topics to learn about.

So, I'm curious as to what you folks would have taught in schools either alongside or instead of the usual education. The list could include anything on any topic, even movies and music, even topics that are prohibited from schools for whatever reasons and can be geared for any age.

For history, I'd have Howard Zinn's "People's History of the United States" and James W. Loewen's "Lies My Teacher Told Me" on the reading list. I'd mandate lessons that stress how great the deeds of humans, stretching far back in history and noting accomplishments all over the world, can be tempered with the atrocities we've committed. Mostly, I'd try to counter-act the glossy, sugar coated American history we're pimped.

For social studies, I'd want students to learn as much about other cultures and religions as possible to try to fight against the xenophobia I think a lot of people have.

For english, works by Vonnegut, Borges, Phillip K. Dick and other authors who might get kids to read better than some other writers.

For drug education, the movie "Requiem For a Dream" will be shown twice.

What kinds of things would you want to teach to the students of the world?

Oh, and also, philosophy would be represented by the works of Bill Hicks.

[edit on 7/22/2010 by SaulGoodman]