Man this question is hard to answer for me coz I'm living in a country that even history studies from high school has been altered for political gains. A whole generation is learning history that's fabricated or kept in the dark.
Talking about this alone, it seems most public education systems are being pushed for some selfish gains instead of the pure purpose of educating someone and seeing them become wholesome and powerful people.
How can we solve this? I think that by reiterating and defining again what "education" is would be a place to start and if collectively people in this line of work are humble to admit failure themselves and relearn and reeducate themselves on methods and the sort, I think that that is already solving the problem and the beginning of great things ahead.
I would agree with you on the history bit. Just remember that the true purpose of education is to learn how to learn. We have forgotten that.
Yes! Skills like learning how to learn, managing your finances, being creative, following your passions, etc. are the skills we need to be teaching in schools.. Things like history should be written in an immutable and public way (a.k.a. on a blockchain-like system). Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experience!