“Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe”, so said H. G. Wells.
Is Education no longer a human right, or a visible symptom of a mature society?
In the face of impending and stringent cuts in education (as well as all public services), it is worth remembering that many people continue to believe that education is a human right, not a privilege:
“Education is a fundamental human right and essential for the exercise of all other human rights. It promotes individual freedom and empowerment and yields important development benefits. Yet millions of children and adults remain deprived of educational opportunities, many as a result of poverty... click here for more from the UNESCO website.
The UK Human Rights Act (1998) states:
Article 2
Right to education
“No person shall be denied the right to education. In the exercise of any functions which it assumes in relation to education and to teaching, the State shall respect the right of parents to ensure such education and teaching in conformity with their own religious and philosophical convictions.” For more from the Office of Public Sector Information, click here…
For the galling face of corporate of education, see the Guardian on May 18th…click here…
If you are interested in the value that great minds have placed on education, see some of these excerpts on this very accessible site, click here…
First, God created idiots. That was just for practice. Then He created school boards. Mark Twain
Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself. John Dewey
I believe that education is the fundamental method of social progress and reform. John Dewey
Education is for improving the lives of others and for leaving your community and world better than you found it. Marion Wright Edelman
There is no greater crime than to stand between a man and his development; to take any law or institution and put it around him like a collar, and fasten it there, so that as he grows and enlarges, he presses against it till he suffocates and dies. Henry Ward Beecher
Remember that our nation’s first great leaders were also our first great scholars. John F Kennedy
Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. Nelson Mandela
Whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government. Thomas Jefferson
Education: a debt due from present to future generations. George Peabody
What are your favourite quotations about education?
Simon Purcell 
Legend has it that the eighth century Arab poet Abu Nuwas once visited Khalaf al-Ahmar to seek his advice on how to write poetry and was told to begin by memorising one thousand poems. After having accomplished this task, he recited them from memory to the master, who now instructed him promptly to forget them.