I would like to see graduates who are aware of the impacts their actions have on other people and on the natural environment, who are aware of the compromises that all action and inaction entails but who are not paralyzed by these compromises, who can gain from the benefits of modern society (computers, medicine, television...) but who choose how these things will be a part of their lives, who choose on their own to eat vegetables and to exercise, who are capable of action as well as analysis, who are aware of the cultural and emotional environment in which they personally have grown, and of the similarities and differences to other people's cultural and emotional experience, who are capable of figuring out what they want or need, and what they need to do at the present in order to achieve it as best as possible, who are excited about ideas and learning, as well as excited about the real work they will be doing in their lives, who are able to observe subtle relationships in people and environments so that they can recognize when is the right time for patience or letting go, and when is the right time for lending a helping hand, who are able to live with other people, have healthy relationships where they are learning and accepting, who understand that the intellectual, emotional, and physical parts of the human condition are complementary and intertwined with each other, rather than distinct or inimical, who feel that they are valueable individuals, as well as that there is something to live for. Many of the goals I have for graduates are very much helped by the development of what are often called "basic skills" -- mathematics, history, writing, reading, art -- and these skills will be learned in the context of the goals. Because these goals and skills must not necessarily be learned in a particular order, but are learned much more fully when they are relevant to a child at a particular time, the curriculum will be flexible enough to accomodate learning these skills and working towards these goals at different rates or stages, dependent on the particular individual.
Greg Prince says the goals of a liberal arts education are to develop the capacities to think clearly, critically, and creatively; to judge wisely and act humanely, responsibly, and collaboratively; and to communicate effectively. It seems to me that what I have been describing is the actual embodiments of these capacities. One cannot judge these capacities by someone's academic work alone, although that may be a part of it. Rather, these things are viewed in the more holistic context of a relationship of a person to existence.
Principally, I believe these things are learned in two ways: by example, and by the experiences of the child. The roles of the staff will thus be working towards these goals in their own lives, as well as with regard to their contact with the students, and on the other hand, to help structure the child's experience so that these lessons can be learned by the child in a way that is meaningful and relevant.
What do I mean by staff helping to structure a child's experience? First of all, I should say that I do not mean that the structure is decided without the participation or knowledge of the individual child -- it is highly individualized; and second, I should say that because of the nature of these things we are cultivating in the child, the way we help develop these structures is at least as important as the structures themselves. (ie the skills we are teaching are about participation, and the way to learn this kind of thing is through particular experiences)
First of all, I think it is a task of the staff to have a whole store-load of learning activities they are prepared to offer to students. This includes at the simplest, books and problems sheets. Then, lab equipment of several kinds (including paints, cooking stuff, greenhouse stuff) with activities to go along with them. Then, there are the possible field trips they could take. These are all available so that as individual staff members discover with individual students what the students are curious about and what they believe the students should learn, the staff can immediately provide concrete activities to explain the ideas and to learn. There's more than this.
Is this really necessary? Don't public schools do this? I don't think they do... It is tempting to think that whenever an expert, certified by someone who is probably even more expert, has a plan that will really work. But write down your own versions of what you would like to have happen in education. Then go visit a public school, and look at the activities the children are engaging in. In what ways are the children engaging in activities that work towards these goals? I have done this, and that is why I think it can't be done without a highly individualized program -- even the most gifted teachers with the most gifted students can rarely meet the needs of sizeable portion of the class, because these individuals are rarely at a place in their life when they are all working on the same goals at once -- and most goals must be worked on individually anyway. But don't take my word about it. Write down your goals for education, then go to a public school or pretty much any school and see whether the students are working towards these goals, or whether they are not able to because of the circumstances.