The schools system most definitely has its issues as far as curriculum is concerned. However I think the problem is more in the way schools are structured than what they teach. Salman Khan has a great book about it.

Curriculum organization is one of his main points. An alternative to periods and subjects is a sort of freeform classroom with unpaced curriculum with several teachers circulating to help. This is supposed to avoid classes moving too quickly or too slowly and continually engage students.