We assume that the curriculum we have at school is the most obviuous and natural way to break down learning: you have reading, math, science (later divided into biology, physics, chemistry), history, geography, language arts. The details may change from school to school or between districts, but essentially kids are taught the same thing at schools all over the world.

J.K. Rowling did something pretty incredible in the Harry Potter books: she re-invented the school curriculum. She added subjects like «care of magical creatures» and «defense against the dark arts» that we muggles could learn from. Imagine a school subject where you learn to care for animals, or you learn to defend yourself against bigotry, chauvenism and intolrance.

That got me thinking. If I could invent a whole different curriculum, what would it look like? Here’s what I came up with:

Global citizenship
More than simply a superficial study of the history and geography of different nations, this subject would open students’ eyes to different ways of thinking, doing and being.  They would learn both tolerance and critical thinking as they consider how each society has come to develop and rank its values. (Fernando Reimers and his team have created an actual curriculum to teach this called «Empowering Global Citizens: A World Course»)
Media literacy
Students would read and watch all kinds of things, fiction and non-fiction, comics, social media, news, textbooks, documentaries and all kinds of other materials.  The discussions that follow would help them consider the differences between such concepts as fact, truth and opinion, as well as between bias, willful distortions and outright lies. (Various curricula already exist for this)
Social-emotional intelligence
Respect and empathy for oneself and for others is the cornerstone of any society. Great literature and profound discussion are the essential ingredients in any well-founded study of the humanities (This exists too: https://empoweringeducation.org/what-is-sel/).
Art creation and appreciation
Dance, poetry, film, literature, music painting, sculpting, theatre: the performance arts and the fine arts represent not only the pinnacles of human achievement, but, some might even argue, the very purpose of human existence.
Environmental awareness
We are all connected and interdependent on this small blue marble.  This is a value that must be instilled in the young before it is too late.
Logical-mathematical thinking
Patterns, sequences, causality, these and other ways of thinking are the foundation of any rational argument
Scientific inquiry and innovation
The question «what would happen if…?» is hard wired into every human baby.  As they grow, this line of inquiry must be tempered with a coherent code of ethics if our society is to progress.