[Coda]

The value of English and math classes are self-evident; it's important to be able to communicate well and to be able to reason about values and abstract concepts.

Science classes are useful to understand why things are the way they are, but even more valuable is the experience in relating academic things to real-world things -- learning how to apply critical thinking, statistics, methodology, etc. in a controlled environment.

Literature classes may seem pointless on the surface. The goal there is learning how to understand meanings beyond just the superficial. Taught properly, it's basically applied philosophy. Even taught improperly, it teaches how to synthesize information.

History is a difficult subject to teach well. A poor history teacher or a poor history curriculum will end up missing the point. Memorizing trivia about the past is pointless. Understanding the driving forces behind past events and how they led to the present state of the world, on the other hand, is extremely valuable. I will say that I would have a much worse understanding of modern politics if I hadn't taken history classes.