by April J.

Created on: August 01, 2008   Last Updated: August 04, 2008

The ideal high school curriculum has often been a topic of much debate and discussion, and many have weighed in over the years on this important topic. In this article, I will present my version of the perfect curriculum for preparing teens to take their place as adult members of our societies.

1) Grounding in The Basics

Mostly everyone agrees that schools should cover, at the very least, the basics. I will get this out of the way early on, because I believe that there is much, much more that should be addressed in addition (although of course the basics are very important in preparation for future jobs and college or university).

So just what are the basics? To me, the basics should include basic mathematics, up to and even including some calculus, intermediate/advanced algebra, applied math, and even some proofs for those advanced enough. Math should be challenging, and up to the levels of students in other parts of the world, and it should be tied into practical applications.

Next, students need a very strong grounding in English including spelling, grammar, literature, comprehension, reading and writing. English skills are important because reading and writing are such a huge part of life, and because we are judged daily on our communication skills. Have you ever received an email from someone whose spelling was of the text message/Blackberry variety and pondered how unprofessional it looked? It seems that excellent grammar and written communication is a dying art, and it should be emphasized more. Students should be docked marks for poor spelling and grammar in any class, but especially in English class!

Science is the next basic skill, and by this I mean a rigorous, thorough grounding in the scientific method, what it is, how it works, and just what words like "theory" actually mean. An understanding of the scientific method enables students to figure things out for themselves and fosters critical-thinking skills, a curiosity about the world, and skills needed for those who want to pursue science or engineering in the future. The more branches of science taught the better - chemistry, biology, physics of course, and any others if possible such as psychology/neuroscience, genetics, etc.

"Social Studies" made up the final part of our basic education when I was in school, and this should include not only the study of the student's own culture but also of others including different types of government, how they work, and how they come about. It should also include

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