Jun 11, 2008 11:06:06 PM cite

Talk to "uneducated" people. Ask them questions. Listen to their answers. Talk to the low-wage laborers where you work about their ideas for making things run more smoothly for the company while making life easier for them. Also, homeschool your children so that they are educated rather than "socialised". Educate yourself, for your sake as well as theirs. Make friends with people who are different than you. Lots, who are different than you in different ways. Talk with them. Give them the opportunity to contribute to *you* and the parts of the world you are a part of. Share only kind or helpful information with other people. Don't contribute to miseducation by spreading disheartening information. Know how to make the most of your own opportunities so that you are equipped to be an example for another who might be wondering how to contribute themselves.

by katlinruff

Jan 1, 2008 8:38:02 PM cite

Obviously i believe anybody who wants to have an education should have an education. In certain places where social or economic constraints don't allow this basic right we need stringent development in place to make sure that it is allowed. It's shocking how much talent and growth is being wasted through the failure of government and also society. For people who have access to education i feel we need a much greater emphasis on the development of independent and creative learning and installing self-motivation and curiosity amongst children. I also feel a big problem with regard to education, at least in the western world, is mass media, which can be incredibly stifling to creative thought and an open mindset. We must overcome these problems as they are completely unacceptable in a modern developed society. If governments continue to act apathetic toward the issue, in the final analysis, it is we who will be losing out.

by Hugundous

Feb 5, 2007 11:27:57 PM cite

I have this crazy notion, that even I undesirable, have a right to a proper profession after years of taking orders from domineering men abusing me and my kids, and being stupid enough, to tell everybody else in the alcoholic circus around them that I am crazy, and never let her speak or be happy. Not letting me out of the house for nearly 7 years did not help him. He died 2004 and here I am dreaming, dreaming dreaming. The idea I have, is to let al schools in a town city or wherever, use their talents for media projects, All the World Loves Combine for instance music/drama/theater... focus on history, and of course language and social behavior... John de Mol is probably the first person to agree, that society needs an insentive like this, creating a platform, where kids all ages can learn about,express themselves in a creative product, for TV or Theater... A competition makes it all the more exciting.... and sponsored the proper way., can be a big contribution... The families of students not in the production, could al perhaps enter a Global education exchange... It requires business having jobs ready for the parents, for as long they're in the programme, but I feel it is important, specially since gangs make everybody miserable and that's not open to any comment from law enforcement, because. 2003 -2006 been nearly killed twice and the Police doesn't even find a victim (me), not because I 'm a criminal, dear no... My dad knew too much about the the way Arnhem's police and political force, had collaborated with the Germans, and later blackmailed the Americans to leave them in charge of the town. Why ??? When they'd been caught steeling property of people who'd been chased out of town, the year before with nothing more, than the clothes they had on, The city council members al good Nazi's had a valid reason to chase the people out. They'd collaborated in full with the Germans and were affraid of the liberation, and the punishment for treason and such... Nazi's stayed in charge, and use the stamp down and lock em up technique... America's Bush must love this next, still in 2007. I'm only happy my dad never could see the extent.. H5N1 is a virus, combined from spanish flu and ordinary flu... It is Biological Warfare and is forbidden on theological reasons.... The Pope???? The Religion is the War... You must know, because I thought the word if.... I find it tedious to have any comment on Religious Education in this day and age, I feel, that people should be free to worship, that's the Natural Way... After all Precicely my Spiritual Life brought me to this place on the Web.... I'm convinced this outbreak of Birdflu in UK is an act of revenge by someone, because the virus has been made to kill Asians mainly. Spanish flu and H5N1 are no coincidence Let me know how you're getting on with the Education project, I'd love to have something to do, besides internet.

by Lady Alma of Avalon Grailguard

Feb 5, 2007 8:09:34 AM cite

There was an educational system trial in Turkey in 40's. It was called village institutes(koy enstituleri). In that time Turkey was very poor and state can not afford to established complete educational systems for all country. Instead they allocated land for school, and send a teacher for each one. Schools aimed to created education to be useful in local environment. Students taken as boarding students learned how to make their buildings, they grow their own foods, meanwhile learned scientific agriculture methods. They also learned several workmanships such as carpentery, blacksimiths etc. Graduates of these schools arealso send as teacher of these schools and created more similar schools. System was very successful, without much financial input an excellenteducational system is created. Some of the best authours of Turkish literature are graduates of this school system. Village institutes shut down in 50's claiming that graduates from this school is mostly comminists. If this schools system continiue,educational, technical and intellectual level of Turkey would be further away right now, specially if we can add up computer system open knowledge and voluntary teachers to start up the systems. Open knowledge, idealist volunters, self creating schools and allocating graduates to enlarge the system can achive a lot. Best Regards, Dr. Turhan COBAN, Teacher

by Turhan

Sep 17, 2006 8:10:17 PM cite

We need to hold education in the esteem that is deserves; it is one of the most important aspects of being on this Earth. Money needs to be extracted from the billions spent on defense, especially in the United States. The richest country in the world CAN do this; unfortunatly, the richest in power are not interested enough in educating the masses. Keeping people ignorant keeps them more likely to be controlled. Education is the key to peace, to eradicating hunger, and to seeing that we are all the same.

by Deannahawk

Sep 9, 2006 5:45:00 PM cite

Antoschka - Ekaterina Moshaeva: We should try to manage our resources in the way that every person has the right to education and every person has the right to exist - not only to exist but to live and to develop. Every person, every citizen in the world must have the right to development and we must give every person opportunity to develop itself and it requires our joint efforts. First of all we should think whether we need to continue developing military potential becuse it’s absurd. It’s a nonsense. If we don’t change our awareness and don’t reach the new level in our development we could never protect ourselves even having the best weapons in the world. The humankind could be saved by raising people’s consciousness and this means to develop, to develop intellectually and spiritually. We must give people a chance to develop and to be more perfect.

by Antoschka - Ekaterina Moshaeva

Sep 9, 2006 5:45:00 PM cite

Abbas Beydoun: Please let me say that this question is useless, because such an education does not exist which is supposed to make people able to contribute to better world, even such a better world does not exist too, so we can not depend on it. This kind of education is equivocal and not acceptable. It is also similar to the way how the parties and some groups were dreaming of rebuilding human being, which is absolutely a false and an oppressive dream. We should not think of a way so that human being can be rebuilt, otherwise we will suffer from oppression.

by Abbas Beydoun

Sep 9, 2006 5:45:00 PM cite

Alvaro Restrepo: I think that the societies have their governments and they should understand that they will in many ways profit from investments for education. But not for any sort of education. It is not a problem of covering or quantity but of quality. For me a correct education is an education that is really interested in people and in individuals in order to discover their personnality. A correct education wants to discover the personnality and it wants to help people and help human beings to find out who they are and why they were born. It is only possible to contribute to society and to the world if the human beings are happy with their work. The writer Gabriel García Márquez talks in one of his articles and in one of his texts which is called “the country reaching for the kids” (“el país al alcance de los niños) about the secret of a long and happy life which lies in the work for what you like most. And I think that we have to teach our children to discover what they can do best and what makes them happy. This may be the only way...

by Alvaro Restrepo

Sep 9, 2006 5:45:00 PM cite

Ana Lucy Bengochea:

by Ana Lucy Bengochea

Sep 9, 2006 5:45:00 PM cite

Angaangaq Lyberth: Answertext will be available soon.

by Angaangaq Lyberth

Sep 9, 2006 5:45:00 PM cite

Anthony Arnove: I think the starting point of discussing this question is to assert that education needs to be a universal free public right. And that the starting point has to be that education is the priority and is a universal right that we will not accept any restriction on. And unfortunately, today, we are far from living in a world that has provided universal education. Increasingly, we see not only the fact that many people are denied access to basic education, but more and more education is determined on the basis of whether or not one can afford an education, that is education is determined by class, education is determined by existing privileges, power, and inequality, and that education is reinforcing those injustices in those inequalities. So, if we want to fight for education to be a mechanism for creating the possibility of everyone contributing to the world, everyone participating in the world, we have to challenge the economic basis of education today. Education in the United States is based on property, taxes, which means that rich communities have schools with far greater resources than poor communities. That inequality, which Jonathan Kozol has described in his books with such eloquence is fundamentally unacceptable, and so we will have to adjust those property and economic relationships first.

by Anthony Arnove

Sep 9, 2006 5:45:00 PM cite

Anuradha Koirala: Compulsory and free education should be provided for a decent life.

by Anuradha Koirala

Sep 9, 2006 5:45:00 PM cite

Anuradha Mittal: Bill, actually I would ask you how you would define decent education. What is decent education? And, Bill, I would ask you to define what does contribution really look like? Is it something that is just something relevant when you can put a dollar value to it? It is something which goes into the public offering, or how do we define that because I can think of a lot of people who might not have gone to the school but they have made a contribution. Again, I am thinking of the people of Plachimada in Kerala, who might not have had some Ivy League university education, but they have stood up and taught the rest of the world how you fight a corporation that’s trying to take away your water. So for me, the question is really I need to understand what you mean by contribution and a decent education.

by Anuradha Mittal

Sep 9, 2006 5:45:00 PM cite

Ashok Gangadean: I think this is a great question and just one that our World Wisdom Council is deeply concerned with. And what’s important is to see that the great disparities on the planet today that we experience of the haves and the have nots. Of the wealthy and the extreme poverty of people and the unjust distribution of available technologies for example, and opportunities for education. All of these are symptoms of a girl’s distortion which comes from an ego based culture, that objectifies ourselves in each other and objectify other cultures and other worlds and has led to this gross disparity. And if you want to have a world that’s truly equal opportunity, in which every human being has a chance as a sacred human in this interconnected field of humanity as one human family, to have the opportunity and the reality of having a proper human upbringing with the full sacred rights of being a human being, as a sacred human being. What kind of culture would it take to have that happen? An awakened culture based upon global consciousness and global spirituality in which we care for one another and take care of our human family. In that setting, every child will then have the opportunity to be raised as a sacred being. To realize her full potential. To have the opportunities of eduction and parenting and to become a human being. And our parenting and our school systems, our school systems will be responsive to holding space for sacred beings to be educated in integral whole ways to become whole human beings. That’s the kind of world we look for and the new kind of education and the new kind of culture.

by Ashok Gangadean

Sep 9, 2006 5:45:00 PM cite

Audrey Kitagawa: First of all, I think we need to make education a priority and to ensure that we commit our funds towards education and to be able to understand that education is a way for children to be able to grow beyond their own worlds, to embrace other worlds, to develop those skills that will help them to be able to move in the world in ways that their lives can be enhanced with better information, better knowledge, to understand math, science, reading, and to be able to utilize modern technologies. These are all opportunities that children must be provided so that they would be able to also understand what it means to have the value of information and education. It is really an avenue for children to be able to grow. And I remember when I went to college, my mother said to me that education is the one thing that no one can ever take away from you, so having received an education is yours, but education is not something that ever stops. We learn and grow every day that we live, but there is a level at which we ought to [audio ends].

by Audrey Kitagawa

Sep 9, 2006 5:45:00 PM cite

Avi Primor: I believe the answer to this question is obvious and I do not want to repeat what probably most of the people here will say. I would like to chose a certain perspective. I believe that the children all over the world should be taught history from the same or at least compareable history books. Even though we live in a modern world, the problem nowadays still is that children in different countries and different societies are taught history in different ways. We do learn the same facts, but with different interpretations. And this creates prejudices. I give you a very simple example. In Germany you learn a lot about history, and one chapter in the books is about emigration of nations. In France, you learn about this topic as well, but under the title invasion of the barbarians. The same history. But here it is emigration of nations, and there it is invasion of the barbarians. The facts are the same, the interpretation is completely different. There are thousands of examples for this. And those differences are responsible for us still having stereotypes, having prejudices. I believe that we all should stick to our ways of learning history, our respective national histories, but as well the history of other countries, to be able to see it propotionally...

by Avi Primor

Sep 9, 2006 5:45:00 PM cite

Benjamin Fahrer: We can channel the resources available to educational systems. We can begin to honor teachers as valuable contributors to our society. Once we channel the right resources and give knowledge and value to the people that are the actual promoters of education and teachers of this education. We’ll start to see some change. There probably is many steps to take, as far as the concrete steps to take, I hope that these steps are -- actually come out of this discussion because really to give a greater opportunity and search out to realize that they have something to contribute to the world then as it go on, that happens. Make the education accessible to all, the resources available, accessibility, and value to the teachers. People want to be teachers, they want to be students; students are teachers, teachers are students.

by Benjamin Fahrer