I now realize this is a generic problem. It is a bit harder for me for a number of reasons including the fact that I am not a native here but, after a bit of thought, I realized the impasse is not with the students. It is with the parents. Let me further assert that this becomes more of a problem if the parents are themselves less educated.

As James mentioned in his ZM Radio talk today, kids are more likely to be receptive to new ideas. A specific example was a girl who didn't understand why people were starving when there was sufficient food. Her father said it was because they didn't have money to buy the food and her response was that "money sucks". (I hope I didn't significantly butcher the example.)

The point is that the girl saw that the people needed food—not money—and the food was available but this abstract item called money got in the way. As she continues to live in a money-based society, she will be brainwashed into seeing money as a necessity. But, for now, she is free of that problem.

Clearly, converting the brainwashed is more difficult. Yes, it needs to be done but getting new people to grow up into a new environment is what is crucial to sustaining any movement. That is, the children become the ambassadors of the movement if they are allowed to think on their own.

Here is one example from my life. My History teacher in high school was Tazuko Takasago.

While she and her parents were US citizens, she spent WWII in a detention camp for Japanese-Americans. Her history teaching followed the book until that time and then was filled with personal experiences. I learned many things from her—the most important being that what's in the book will be slanted to represent the views of the victor.

She managed to get away with talking about the detention camps because it fit into the time period being covered and she had more knowledge than the book. But, if our parents had been asked to sign off on her teaching about this black time in US history, I expect many would have said no.

I am not a professional teacher. While I have taught classes, never in Nicaragua and never at a level below college. Thus, to offer my view I am going to need to at least convince a professional educator and, more likely, a group of parents that what I have to say has value.

The only time when I was offered such an opportunity (and the only time I addressed a high school class) was when a teacher in a Energy class at Yelm High School (near Olympia, Washington) felt that GE had had enough time promoting nuclear power to the class and wanted someone to address the concerns. Thus, it was the teacher, with an interest in fairness to all sides of an issue, that made this possible.

But, a resource based economy? That seems like trying to convince parents who have their children attending a Catholic school that Buddhism deserves equal time. Or worse. Is there a viable game plan?