As promised...

How to reform education

First of all, what I hope will be (but probably won't be) a succint statement of the problems with the educational system as it stands, teetering, today.

1) There has been a redefinition of 'education' since about 1990 that leaves little room for anything not strictly academic. I'm speaking here of music programs, visual arts programs, drama programs, even (in some schools) sports, all of which have been deemed expendable.
2) While some students, naturally, excel academically, others (also quite naturally) struggle. There is no longer any difference between the two: the struggling student advances through the system (and may graduate) every bit as easily.
3) In many respects, school fails to grab the imagination of its students. They are given no reason to learn material other than its purported intrinsic value, which is not readily apparent.
4) There is not enough value placed on the student and his/her opinions. School, in many cases, is where the teacher dictates the lesson to be learned and the conclusions to be drawn; the student sits quietly and digests it all, to be spewed back later on exams.
5) Far too high an emphasis on knowledge; very little on 'wisdom'.

There are other issues, but correcting these would probably correct those, as well.

1) "What's wrong with that? I didn't send my kid to school so she could tootle her flute or fingerpaint!"

Your child is a being with three parts: a body, a mind, and a soul (or spirit, if you like that word better). What price teaching only the mind? Surely one of the objectives of the educational system is (or should be) a well-rounded individual, wise in mind, body, and spirit?
Arts programs nourish the spirit. They develop creative thinking, encourage innermost expression, and promote self-confidence. They are also a place for the less-academically-gifted student to shine.
Speaking specifically of music programs, which I have some experience with and which always seem to be the first things on the chopping block:

An extracurricular school band--which, to be successful, requires its members to have spent some time learning their instruments in a class setting--is every bit as much a team as the school football squad. From playing together as a group, students learn essential life skills like co-operation, teamwork, fair play, and responsibility--all of which will serve them long after they've forgotten about the square of the hypotenuse. Through the language of music (or of athleticism), pupils connect with each other, join together, and overcome individuality even while expressing themselves individually. This is a powerful and positive experience.
Finally, music, art, and physical education programs may all be related to many academic fields. From analyzing trends in historical music and visual art, one may learn a great deal about a given period. Also, much great art has mathematical underpinings.
Physical education grants an understanding of the body, of its needs and requirements and how best to meet them, with, hopefully, a healthy lifespan as its end result.

2) "But if Johnny stays back a year, his self-esteem will suffer and...well, it's humiliating!"

For whom? Johnny...or his parents?

Johnny is (or should be) required to master the curriculum for each grade level before advancing. His failure to do so has (or should have) consequences, namely, that he be held back. Humiliation is a state of mind. Failure, in and of itself, is not humiliating unless Johnny chooses for it to be. And Johnny's self-esteem need not suffer one bit: in fact, success after failure is probably much more of an ego-boost than success alone.
In a truly sane educational system, it is true, there would be no grades and no grade levels. Students would progress to mastery and 'graduate' when it is achieved, be that at ten years of age or at thirty. But we are a LONG way and many paradigm shifts away from such as that. For now, grades and grade levels serve as an easy reference point for students, teachers, and parents.

3) Back in grade ten geography, we were split into teams of two or three and presented with a huge map. We were asked to devise a proposal for the laying of a power transmission line from point A at the northwest corner of the map, to point B near the southeast. A scale of costs was laid out: it would cost X dollars to build on flat ground, 2x over hilly ground, 3x through marsh, 4x underground, and so on. The map was such that there was no easy way to get from A to B. We were also given environmental impact information and instructed to bear it in mind. After spending a couple of periods forming our proposal, we then presented it and our justification for it. The students sat down and judged each proposed route, with the teacher playing devil's advocate.
What did I learn from that experience? Not much in the way of concrete fact, I'll admit. But the exercise engaged my imagination in a way that few scholastic things had or would. It was truly my first exposure to critical thinking, to juggling a myriad of factors to arrive at what you hoped was the optimum (not the correct) set.
This is the way the world works, outside of pure mathematics. There are no right or wrong answers. There is only what's beneficial and what is not--and the difference between the two may not be immediately discernable. That's an important lesson to learn.
As I recall, our proposal was not approved. It was rejected in favour of one that was slightly more expensive but which had less of an environmental downside. But we were told, afterwards, that everyone's effort had merit and that on a different day, another proposal might well have been chosen. With our ever-important self-esteem thus assuaged, we each felt proud of our work.
4) In my view, the object of education is not to blindly perpetuate the belief systems of one's elders. My opinion is that those belief systems--"survival of the fittest", "might makes right", "God is on our side", and so on--have contributed greatly to the mess our world is in today.
But that is, of course, just my opinion. What's yours? What is your child's? School doesn't even tend to touch on things like this--when the entire curriculum ought to be grounded in them. By all means, get the facts, and learn to separate fact from fiction. But go further. Use the facts to form opinions. Allow for divergent views. Present all sides of the story, not just one. Students must examine their own beliefs. They must learn to accept that others may have different beliefs, and that this does not make them "wrong".
In the grand scheme of things, who cares what the teacher thinks? What's much more important is what the students think.
5) What is wisdom? Each philosophy and spiritual tradition has formed an answer. Oddly enough, when you boil them down, many of them look pretty similar. One piece of wisdom that trancends many wildly different creeds is known as the Golden Rule: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you". This credo is almost universal: it has variants in Islam, Hinduism, Wicca, Shintoism, Native American belief, and so on and so on. Yet aside from perhaps mentioning it, our educational system doesn't explore it at all. What would be the effect on history if the Golden Rule was used at various critical points? How could one use the Golden Rule to solve some of the world's problems? What leads a person to violate such a widely held precept? Are there any exceptions to it?

This is the sort of educational system that would change the world in a positive and profound way. I believe it's the school of the future. And I do hope the future comes soon.