The U.S. public high school should return to a core curriculum which is defined as a broad consensus on the basic information and skills to which most young students should have been exposed by the time they graduate from high school. The duty of educators is to teach the skills and general information that enable educated persons to continue learning: In a high technology society these skills would include: knowledge of science; reading and language skill; interpreting maps, charts, graphs and diagrams; locating information, and analytic or evaluative skills. These abilities and skills are acquired over the years through core courses carefully planned to ensure sequence, necessary repetition, and steady expansion of knowledge. History and literature must be included as they are the exemplars for common values and standards of behavior. The social studies curriculum should emphasize history (national and world), geography, and U.S. government. The return to a core curriculum would eliminate the proliferation of short courses which may be more concerned with influencing students' attitudes and behavior than with conveying knowledge and skills. Educators teaching core courses will be able to incorporate the problem-oriented short courses into their subjects while giving the students a broader understanding of the issues. (SM)