This is a really interesting question.

Personally, I think that schools should teach literacy and numeracy plus a bit of general life skills and ideas, e.g. basic economics, history, health, etc. I think most schools do this okay, but what I think is missing from the current curriculum are creative subjects such as art and music, which I think are a lot more important and beneficial than people give them credit for. Oh and physical education is also important.

The main problem with today's schools IMO is the focus on passing tests and exams rather than learning for the joy or learning, or the practical applications to what children have learnt. This may be the reason for the lack of focus on creative subjects - because how do you assess creativity?