Creative teaching and learning

I am reminded of Dennis Litky's 'Big Picture' concept in education after reading this article which describes a radical shift from traditional approach that lays stress on the teaching of all or every subject to one which focuses on the 'topical approach'! This shift in focus is bound to have  a far-reaching impact on the very fabric of the society. I am forced to wonder why we are saddling our students with unnecessary bagage by forcing them to learn subjects which don't mean a thing to them. Does the teaching of three different languages at the grade eight or grade nine level in India have any benefit for a student who is going to be an Engineer? Isn't one language enough? Why are you forcing a student to learn Maths when he or she is not interested in Engineering or vectors? Is our priority breadth or depth? The new policy of Education for India will have to address these issues if it is to be effective at all!