Dividing up spell schools

[Eldan]

So, we all know the problem that the schools in D&D, as written, really aren't balanced against each other. Transmutation and Conjuration are vastly flexible, while other schools suffer.

So, I was thinking. How about reorganizing the schools? It seems that the traditional schools are mostly divided in how they go about things. Fluff divisions, really. I was thinking about maybe delineating what they affect instead, maybe?

Something like:
Matter, Space, Energy, Mind, Life? Perhaps a few more.

Matter: creates matter or changes it. Transmutation and some conjuration, I guess. Probably still too big.
Space: moves objects around. Telekinesis, flight, teleportation, summoning.
Energy: fire, lightning, ice and so on.
Mind: illusions and enchantments.
Life: healing, resurrecting, reanimating undead.

^How would you go about reorganizing the D&D schools?

[Falcon X]

I haven't found them unbalanced due to the way they are divided, but rather what spells have been created for those divisions. I would take the same divisions, but make sure that each school actually is best at what it sets out to be.
Ex. Conjurations shouldn't be able to do blasting as well as evocation.
Enchantments should also be stronger or more versatile.

An alternate way is to have each school do all the types of spells equally, but it's more of HOW they do it.
- Divide up between the elements. Fire enchantments and illusions look and work way differently than air enchantments and illusions.
- Divide up based on who were the pioneers of the fields. Have "beguiler magic" cover everything that has to do with burglary, slight of hand, misdirection, and charisma. Necromancer magic covers everything to do with blood, bone, and flesh spells and possibly essence/enervation. Have "practical magic" and "Summoner magic".
By doing this, it's already divided up by character archetype, so there would be very few people trained in the Summoner school who would dabble in beguiler magic.