I appreciate your post but with all due respect I see a lot of flaws.
Limiting K thru 8 students to addition, subtraction, multiplication and division seems draconian in my view. I know many people who mastered these skills by 6th grade if not 2nd grade or earlier. I have a daughter in 8th grade taking advanced placement algebra; that's a much better use of her talents than still doing simple arithmetic. I also believe the study of languages other than English is in order from early on. I learned more about English from studying German than from studying English because the second language gave me a point of comparison.
Your prescription for high school studies neglects geography, history and languages. I believe "consumer" courses are in order as well. Home Economics should be expanded and required for both genders and should include personal financial management skills. I also believe in courses in First Aid (see this post at WebLoggers.Org
http://webloggers.org/showthread.php?p=21#post21)
While cardio excersize should not be neglected, neither should an emphasis in learning life-long sports - a "teach a man to fish" rather than a "give a man a fish" approach to physical education.
Music and art are also strikingly absent from your list. Both are well known to increase brain cell stimulation and have an incredibly high positive correlation to higher math and cognitive thinking abilities.
While I admire your concern for education and championing of a better way, I respectfully disagree with the limitations.
Regards,
Keith
