1. Eliminate graduation requirements in abstract math
Currently in the United States, people are required to pass algebra II. There's extremely little practical application to algebra II. Students would be better served with a years worth of accounting or even more time spent with basic math skills of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. I taught math at a high school level and many students give up in middle school because they are overwhelmed with the complexity of abstract math. 2. Require courses where you create as an individual
This can run the gamut from cooking to woodworking to other job skills. It would be vocational training specific to be able to complete a task and create something useful.3. Require courses where you create as a team
These can be shorter courses like egg, drop competitions or publishing, a website or running a snack stand in the school.4. Required courses that have a research outcome.
This can be age-appopriate, such as finding leaves and making a presentation of what they are in like a PowerPoint. Later you can research business.5. Health and wellness focused courses
Physical activity as coursework. This can mean yoga classes, or outdoor hiking. Nutrition.6. Courses on the stages of life
. Talk to students about babies, teenagers, middle-age, people, and the elderly. Depending on peoples family situation some kids may not experience an elderly family member. It is useful to study, and understand what other cultures do.
7. Courses on health care
This can range, but information from personal care to studying the current healthcare system, and how the sick or elderly or cared for in your country.8. Virtual School
My daughter did virtual school for six years and graduated high school 10 years ago. With the current state of the Internet, virtual education is available to almost everybody on the planet. However, it is challenging and does need a lot of parental support to make it work. You can't just hand somebody a computer and say go learn things. However, for the right student, it allows a lot of flexibility. My daughter spent a lot of time on sports that she couldn't have at a traditional school. 9. Apprenticeships
Many years ago, this was a common way to learn a trade. It could be brought back and with a structured program in the high school ages and possibly even younger.
10. Eliminate graduation requirements for foreign language
For many students this is a waste of time. They are not motivated to learn the language and at the end of three years they don't know any more than they did on the first day..
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