to be honest. i don't agree with hardly any of this stuff.

education is a right.

when i did my open university degree - it was because i was ambitious. brum education authority that i worked for paid all the fees. i studied stuff directly related to my job.

however when i went to summer school, i met intelligent pensioners who grew up in an era when university entrance was all but denied to working class people.

they were wonderful people and they are the happiest memory of my years of study. they were so motivated.
one guy was an ex miner. Welsh bloke 78 years old. plaid cymru supporter. Gwynn Philips. an extraordinary intellect with much to add to any conversation.

we need to educate our population. we need to produce a population that values education and enlightenment and aspires to it.
not for material advantage.

but , its like kennedy said, we should choose to go the moon because its hard.

the alternatives are clear enough to everyone - -you can see them every day on the jeremy kyle show. a deadbeat lumpenproletariat, addicted to drugs, alcoholics, unfit for work, totally aimless..