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Music Classes
As far as being offered in school, I don't think it's a big necessity. I took band for a year of jr. high.
I agree that if a person wants to play an instrument, get lessons. You'd learn more too, at least that was my experience. Band was fun, but it was in my lessons where I learned s**t.

Art
Well, as far as art being offered in jr high and high school, I agree that as far as specialties go, it's not really practical. Unless if that's what you are pursuing in life.

Gym
I think gym should still be offered, but it should be voluntary. At my high school, we didn't just do physical things, there were times when we were in a class room and learning about fitness. Though, I can see how that part can be incorporated into a health class.

Media
Yes yes yes yes! With the ever growing technology available, I think it is essential that people have at least a crash coarse in the subject.

Finance class
I think this type of class should be offered. So many young people don't know how to manage money and don't have people to teach them how to. I think the class should teach you basic things about banks, how to balance a check book, how to create a reasonable budget, what CD's and IRA's are, credit cards, buying a house, etc. Things like that. And even do's and don't's about filling out job applications and presenting yourself at interviews.


Anywho, that's all I've got at the moment.

Instrumental music/Vocals
Wow are you going to grow up and be some great violinist or pianist? No, you're stuck playing the flute, which is horribly out of tune and you constantly have to change the spit thingy.

And vocals? Really? Some people just can't sing. If I wanted to hear your shitty voice I'd have a conversation with you. Most of you that do have a nice voice wont do anything with it. And those with a bad voice sign up for American/Canadin Idol. Why?! D:<

Seriously this s**t is out.

Art
Easiest grades I've ever had given. I love art. Only because I was one of the best artists in my classes all though school. Field trips were the s**t, but that's only because I'm a museum and art freak. <3 Otherwise if you can't ******** draw or at least don't really want to learn then GTFO!

I'd say in for those who want it.

Gym
LOL! Really? If I could count how many inhalers my sadistic b***h of a teacher put me through, I'd have $6 worth of them. (That's 3). Honestly, the only fun part about gym was that my friends and I would do crazy crap with our uniforms. (Putting thongs over our shorts while doing the 12 minute run. Wearing bras over our shirts. Duct tape one another together.) Honestly no one took it seriously unless they were on sports teams and s**t.

I say out.

Media
Some what useful. You get to learn programs the most businesses used. Hell there's even media arts. You can make websites which if you're good enough can make you some big money! And I like money. ^w^

I vote in.

You speak like all schools are like that. I no longer have gym (well, we have "playground" :/), but when I did, it was with our class.

In elementary school, the only class we didn't have without our homeroom was math. Even though we had looped classes (with two grades, like fifth and sixth).

Plus, sometimes, like Pawz said, it's class. Like, I remember, one time we had to write STORIES about using pride (a rule system; don't ask) in the gymnasium.

Please start thinking about other people. Most of the things you said wouldn't apply to everyone.

Instrumental music:
In. Whether you know it or not, instrumental music has been shown to have a positive effect on learning. The focus and determination it takes to properly learn an instrument is often good for kids. Furthermore, it's not fair to say that kids who want to learn an instrument will go out and buy lessons. If I want to learn piano, but my parents cannot afford a piano or a good keyboard (one that is weighted and has pedals), then it's going to be darn near impossible for me to ever learn, because playing at my teachers house once or twice a week isn't going to do much.

Art:
In. You have no idea how important art is to some kids. I have a friend who needs art class to get by. She is severly depressed, and her art class keeps her going. These kids who have problems, or simply a need to express themselves NEED an outlet. Honestly, if my friend didn't have art, she'd probably have either cracked and shot someone, or killed herself.

Gym:
I can't believe I'm saying this, but IN. As unathletic as I am ( I run like a duck, I'm asthmatic, I have no teamwork skills, and I tend to break things), I have to admit that I see the merit in gym class. For one thing, it did actually improve my physical ability. After the track unit at my school, I actually did notice that I could run farther and faster without losing my breath. For another thing, gym is a haven for some kids in the same way that english class is for bookworms, and that biology is for the nature-loving geek. Last year, I was in the girls locker room before gym class and a girl a few seats down from me was sobbing her heart out. She had just failed two tests. On her birthday. I felt terrible, and nothing that I or anyone else did could comfort her. Then the class started. After 40 minutes of volleyball, she was fine. For her, athletics was how she dealt with her problems. For kids like her, gym is a haven.

Media: I think that this sort of class is pretty good, so long as it's done right. In my school, our "media" class was called Introduction to Engineering Design, and all we learned was how to make 3-D models of objects on the computer.

Finance: I can see how this class would be usefull, but my school doesn't have anything like it, so I'll stay quiet for this one.

I wish that my college had a play ground because I'd so play on it.

Amen, Aria. Some people just don't have artistic or musical talents, and one class is enough. People who like it should be able to take more, but it shouldn't be required.

While I'm not exactly sure what you mean by "centres" (we do not have that term relating to school where I live) I would like to throw in my two cents.

I think that cultivating all of these programs in High Schools is vastly important. There need to be strong arts programs, strong music programs, strong physical education programs. Besides which, there should be much more. Having lived life beyond education institutions, I will look back and talk about what I think all High Schools need beyond the math, social studies, english and sciences.

Comprehensive Sexual Education

It needs to be gender separate, and it needs to be mandatory.

And by this I do mean truly comprehensive. They need to cover more than safe heterosexual sex in the missionary position (which is what I got. Sadly, a lot of people don't even get that much.)

People in High School need to learn about the vastness of human sexuality, and they need to learn about how to do it safely. Schools should teach about safe gay and lesbian sex, safe fetish practices, and so on and so forth.

Not only does this keep people from doing stupid things through ignorance, but it normalizes behaviors that have been kept on the periphery. It shows people who are at the age to question their own sexuality that it is ok to have fantasies that aren't strictly "normal." It makes those who are already questioning realize that they aren't the only ones like this on the planet. It also helps open the minds of their classmates. This can go a long way to creating a tolerant society.

This is also a good class to address the idea of rape, especially the definition. One in four girls is a victim of a sexual crime before she is twenty, and one in six boys is the same by the same point. Most of these are not reported and many of the victims deny that they were raped. This, in my mind, is a safe sex issue. Our youth need to recognize what is and is not consensual sex.

Personal Finances

Needs to be mandatory.

This is the class that I really wish I had been able to take. Before going out into the world, people need to learn how to budget. They need to learn how to budget with many different levels of income, and to have a sense of the cost of living. What do they need to budget for?

They need to learn how to deal with debt, how to go through the steps to get loans, how to get a mortgage. They also need to learn the different ways that can be used to keep their debt to manageable levels.

Most importantly, they need to learn how their purchasing choices can impact their lives. When it's a choice between a new TV and food, which do you chose? When grocery shopping, how do you balance price with health? If your job is high-paying but potentially temporary, what is the best thing to do?

Lifelong Wellness

Needs to be mandatory

Nutrition, emotional and mental health, and fitness. In my perfect world, this would replace gym. I do not need to learn to play basketball or any of those other team sports that are so extremely hard on the unathletic and unpopular. Schools need to continue to offer voluntary team sport programs for those who wish to partake in them, but that is not what should be taught in gym.

Instead, teach us the discipline and activities that we can use in the real world to keep ourselves healthy. Take us for walks or leisurely runs. Take us to a gym and teach us to use the equipment. Maybe once in a while we can do a hike.

Also teach us how to make healthy dietary choices that aren't going to contradict what we are learning in finance class. Get us excited about real food. Talk to us about alternate diets, such as gluten free, vegetarian, vegan, sugar-free, locavor. Teach us how to get adequate nutrition in all of these diets.

We also need to be taught what we can do to improve our mental and emotional health, and recognize when we need to do something. This would probably be a good place for a body confidence class. Teach us how every person's body is different, and how we don't need to be ashamed of our bodies. The difference between unhealthy fat and someone who is just a bit bigger. The difference between suffering from an eating disorder and being skinny.

Media

Yes, you are probably right about that being necessary, and you are probably right about why.

Public Speaking

I would add this as a mandatory component of all classes, rather than have it a class on its own. Teach students how to talk in front of others about a variety of topics in a variety of settings. How to debate, how to present findings, how to answer questions about what you have presented, how to ask questions to the presenter. This is very useful later in life.

Research Methodology

Again, I would probably add this as a component to other classes rather than have a specific class on it. High School is quite old enough to learn how to research and how to cite sources in at least one format. It is old enough to be told what plagiarism is, and how to avoid it.

The Arts

Aside: Considering what profession it was that financed my formative years, I might be biased. Then again, I may just have a unique perspective.

Absolutely necessary, but should be voluntary to an extent. In order to graduate, you need x number credits in the arts, you decide how you get those.

It has more bearing in the "real world" than most neo-liberals are willing to recognize or admit. It might not be an entirely practical subject. It is a human subject. Society needs art, and so society needs people to realize that they can do art. Society needs people to chose to do art. If people are not taught that doing art is acceptable when they are young, who will be left to do it?

"Could we ever know each other in the slightest without the arts?"--Gabrielle Roy, as seen the Canadian twenty dollar bill. I would add "Could we ever know ourselves?" As humans, we communicate through arts, be it drama or visual art or music. These things teach us how to look, how to see and how to think. Art is much more than pretty pictures, pretty sounds, or amusing stories.

Each type of art teaches us about ourselves, teaches us about others, and teaches us something about how to act in society. Be it teamwork or dedication or passion or courage or how to challenge ourselves or how to express emotion or loyalty or trust or competition or pride, the arts teach us more than the technical aspects of themselves

Art reflects on the state of society. It comments on the good and on the bad. It shows our collective soul. Yes, it can, has, and will be used as propaganda. But it also can, has, and will be used as dissent. Sometimes it can be used in both ways at the same time. How a society treats the arts reflects on a society's state of health. When a society devalues art the way ours has been doing, what does that say about us as a people?

And consider this. Our art; our architecture, our music, our plays, our literature our pictures will be what is left of us when we are gone. It is what we create and it is what we will leave behind. It is what we study when we learn about our, and others', cultural history. We need it, and we need it to be taught.

Art is also a lot more versatile than people are lead to believe. Think about it next time you see an advertisement, listen to the radio, see a fictional book, watch a movie, see a magazine, look at a building, see a park.

Studio Art

Painting, drawing, graphic design, sculpture.

Drama

Music

Instrumental, vocal in both classical and jazz.

As an aside, extra curricular lessons are bloody expensive. Why would you deny a child of a low-income household the opportunity to learn that they love music just because, in essence, you don't want to? The high school music program also saved the lives of at least four of my very close friends. No exaggeration.

Creative Writing

Photography

Stained Glass

Automotives

Should be elective.

I'd love to have learned how to fix my own car if it breaks down.

Plus, some people in High School are going to end up being mechanics. Why not start teaching the trade?

Shop

Should be elective, although I might also want to make at least one semester mandatory so people can get the basics.

Same thing as above. Let people learn something about the trades. There is no shame in having a career in carpentry or electrical work or welding and so on.

Plus, knowing what tool goes to what job and some of the basics of home repair is helpful in any case. ("This is a screw driver, this is a hammer. Don't get them confused.")

Home Ec

Cooking and sewing. I'm tempted to say that at least one semester should be mandatory and then have it elective after that. Who doesn't need to know how to replace a button, fix a split seam, read a laundry label, get rid of stains on clothing, iron, or follow a recipe?

Second Language

Should be encouraged, but elective

Languages help us become more precise in what we want to say. Having a second language makes us more poetic in the one we know. I didn't know English grammar until I learned German. It helps expand our minds. Plus, if you want to travel, having at least the rudiments of any second language makes it easier to pick up on survival phrases and conversation in a third.

EDIT:Others

My high school also offered cosmetology as an option. I like the idea for the same reason as automotives and shop. Some people are going to go into the field, so why shouldn't they have the option of starting early?

Work experience was another thing people could do. Work at a job, but for credit.

Psychology, philosophy, geology, business management, and others should also be introduced to students as possible fields they can go into. I found that High School was much too limiting, and I fell into my field almost entirely by chance.