I’m not sure if there needs to be fewer subjects, but I feel like there should be much more focus on why what students are learning matters. Passing a standardized test is not a goal kids care about. This invariably has to be at the expense of rote information since there is only so much time, though I think that is a worthwhile trade.

Nobody cares about the exact year that Mehmet II conquered Constantinople. But the impact of that on world history is both interesting and significant. I only had one history teacher before college who told students he didn’t care about exact years; if you could give the general period that was sufficient.

I don’t go to McDonald’s very often, but the location near me has remarkably good service. I never use the drive thru, so maybe that’s it. The one time I thought my order got messed up I had actually ordered the wrong thing, and they offered to replace it for free when I came back in to order the correct thing.