Synopses of Remarks from the Fourth Annual
Global Citizen Awards Ceremony

Dr. Vito Perrone was introduced by Deborah Meier, educational innovator and author of The Power of Their Ideas.

I've known Vito Perrone for more than 25 years. I met him when I was "just" a kindergarten teacher in a Harlem school. We met at a time when the brave and bold work being done by early childhood educators across the country, led by giants such as Vito and Lillian Weber, were confronting another reform movement heading in the opposite direction. This second movement was bent on a return to precisely the bad practices that had caused us to launch the progressive reforms of the '60s. The counter-attack came to us under auspices of the need for more accountability--a very different concept of accountability than Vito and Lillian were championing.

In short, we were being challenged by proponents of standardized testing of five- and six-year-olds as the only fair measure of our work. Sound familiar? Fortunately, the attack was blunted by the outcry from parents in Headstart. But it made its mark. It didn't go away. I've just spent the day watching eleven-year-olds prepare for a test designed to fail most of them--the exam to get into the city's prestigious exam high schools. They're as bad, or perhaps worse, than ever, precisely because they make it harder, not easier, to be accountable to our own communities--the children, their families, and our fellow citizens.

Vito pioneered accountability in the best sense--giving an account of one's work to those whom one served. For the 20 years that I've been at this full-time, my friends and I have been fighting to embed a different picture of the learning human being than the narrow mechanistic picture at the heart of standardization. This different picture rests on acknowledging that our best learning takes place when it is most embedded in meaningful, satisfying, and joyous work where the extraordinary efficiency of the human mind to learn is not ignored, where ignorance is seen as a provocation to learn, not a hole to be filled.

We learn by the company we keep, including the books we read, the authors we are in conversation with. We learn from those we can imagine being with and wanting to be--and in such a setting we are remarkable learners.

It turns out then that it's far more critical to encourage youngsters to enjoy reading than the hard-nosed realists and inventors of rigor have acknowledged. They've often bullied us into shying away from the word "joy"--as though it were a fatal weakness, a romantic fallacy. Joy, they argue, isn't measurable.

We wearily accommodate to the latest fads at our peril. We can hold out only if there are heroes in our midst. Like Vito. Vito has some kind of radar for staying the course, for ignoring fads, for sticking to old-fashioned language, for remembering our common history. He reminds me that our ideas are actually based on old verities, and the ones we're so alarmed about are actually the latest version of an old game--the effort to do away with the orneriness of our fellow humans. But our orneriness is our glory. It makes us, in the end, hard to brainwash, hard to permanently subdue. It makes us ultimately human.

This current fascination with trying to make every schoolhouse like every other--replicable reform--will soon pass. Vito's generous confidence in our ability to grow, our openness to change over time, and our toughness in the face of adversity makes it easier to go the course, to dig in for the long haul when necessary. That's how one feels when one leaves his presence--ready to take on tough tasks. That's what has made him such a staunch ally, and someone that I've turned to over and over and over.

Vito was, as tonight's award reminds us, never "just" an American hero, or just a leader of educational reform. He was a leader in many other causes. He was a spokesperson on issues of justice and peace. He saw that a peaceable community could only survive if we learned to cherish each other's strengths and each other's differences. The very qualities of respect for others that make him so special as an educator make him special as a global citizen, as a man of all places and all times.

Vito leads quietly. On occasion one might not notice how firmly he sets the course and how demanding that course is. I'm told that Vito was a wrestler in his youth. At first I found it surprising and then I decided it's where he learned how to fight strategically, sometimes even sneakily; he disarms with his quiet and patience. He diverts our attention as he leads us down a better path.

While there are aspects of Vito that remain private and hidden, the friend and mentor I know is, I suspect, all of a piece, consistent in his demands on us all and on himself. Vito's life itself represents a standard of excellence, a standard by which so many of us in this room measure ourselves.

Our Continuing Imperative: Education for Peace and Social Justice

By Vito Perrone

I come before you as an educator and historian of education concerned about children and young people, their families and teachers, their communities and schools.

At the end of the last century, the newspapers and journals were full of accounts of progress, especially in relation to industry, technology, and commerce. The twentieth century was previewed as a time of peace and social justice. The new century obviously brought accelerated growth in various technologies and industrial output, but in so many of the things that truly mattered, issues of life and death and matters of the human spirit, the twentieth century has been on the other side of what was predicted. The ravages of war and human displacement, of great hunger and human suffering, have been of overwhelmingly unimagined proportions.

While the large and powerful nations have avoided in the past half-century a full-scale military encounter, the surrogate conflagrations and struggles with new nationalisms have been every bit as devastating as the earlier wars and a peaceful world seems far removed from the peoples of Kosovo, Afghanistan, Rwanda, Liberia, the Congo, Losotho, and the Middle East, and I have hardly covered the globe.

Additionally, the social and economic gaps are enlarging: hunger and inadequate medical resources remain a genuine threat for many millions of people, educational opportunity is far away for large numbers, and religious and political freedom and human dignity are not sufficiently the rule. Even in countries like ours, the economic disparities are growing, poverty is a way of life for too many, educational opportunities are far from equal, homelessness is all around us, and hatreds remain potent.

Our need in the years ahead, certainly in the coming century, is to make a break with those habits of mind, beliefs, and actions that have permitted such conditions to exist, that have left us as individuals and societies so impoverished morally, lacking the will and capacity it seems to imagine other, more equitable, more powerful, more generous possibilities.

Nobel Prize recipient and last year's Global Citizen honoree, Oscar Arias, made clear in this particular venue, as well as an earlier Harvard commencement address, that a willingness to take risks is always a prerequisite for change because the conventions, the constancies, are so deeply ingrained.

How might those of us who care about education, who still believe that we can educate for a more democratic and humane future, think about this? Let's put ourselves in the 1840s in the United States and hear again the evangelizers of the common schools describe these emerging institutions as settings in which "all of America's children could meet, democratic life could be nurtured, strong character built and economic and cultural growth guaranteed."

Listen to Horace Mann: "If we do not prepare children to become good citizens . . . imbue their hearts with the love of truth and duty, and a reverence for all things sacred and holy, then our republic must go down to destruction." We would do well to recapture some of that language, to consider our schools as democratic centers, with students and teachers aiming to make their communities and the world better places in which to live.

I believe with Carlos Fuentes, a Mexican writer and diplomat, when "we say justice, we say development, we say democracy. Words won't bring them, but without the words, they will never exist." We need the words more than ever.

Unlike so many of his contemporaries at the turn of the century, John Dewey understood that the Industrial Age was producing changes that demanded an education of greater power, that had embedded in it a stronger moral tone, a more extended sense of citizenship, and greater community consciousness.

In Dewey's terms, we need to see education as a critical path to imagination--that distinctively human capacity to envision a world of greater potential. Because the world has been so violent doesn't mean that we can't imagine a world that is at peace, in which nations, like individual families, find ways to reach out to others in need, who see their well-being resting more fully on the well-being of others.

I wish also to acknowledge Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, who has provided considerable intellectual inspiration for the work of the Boston Research Center. As a contemporary of John Dewey, he expressed similarly provocative ideas. As he understood it, schools need to be places that nurture creativity, happiness, cooperation, a oneness of spirit, connected more fully to the world, to "real life activities." Makiguchi noted in relation to these aims: "I have to admit to myself that the results of this line of thinking may not be realized in my lifetime. Nonetheless, I have come to burn more and more with a fever to do something and the sooner the better." That sense of burning for the better should be within all of us.

The United States is often described as a "microcosm of the world." Mr. Ikeda, by the way, speaks of the U.S. as the "miniature of the world." Early in the next century, the majority of school-age students will come from Hispanic, Asian, African, and African American families. We should be celebrating the rich possibilities of this diversity, relishing our place as the crossroad of the world, where people of many nations are converging.

There are pressures to separate students by perceptions of ability, talent, or gift. Such separations, often called tracking , are a means of perpetuating inequities, pitting students against each other, mostly by race and class--which are the primary determinants of academic groupings in the schools. They also lead us to accept the message of test scores rather than to go beyond them.

What if our children and young people learn to read and write but don't like to and don't? What if they don't read the newspapers and magazines, or can't find beauty in a poem or love story? What if they don't go as adults to artistic events, don't listen to a broad range of music, aren't optimistic about the world and their place in it, don't notice the trees and the sunset, are indifferent to older citizens, don't participate in politics or community life, and are physically and psychologically abusive to themselves?

And what if they leave us intolerant, lacking in respect for others who come from different racial and social backgrounds, speak another language, have different ideas or aspirations? Should any of this worry us? If we focused attention here, much might change. Schools might become places that ensure that children and young people possess the skills, knowledge, and dispositions that will enable them to change the world, to construct on their terms new paths.

I ask often: Are our children being provided a basis for active participation in the life of their communities? Are they learning the meaning of social responsibility, of citizenship in the broadest sense? Are they gaining ongoing experience in helping make their communities better places to live?

When I think of schools and citizenship, I often go back to the work of Leonard Covello and his Benjamin Franklin Community School in the early part of this century. This New York City public school committed itself to preparing students to be in the world, seeing themselves as genuine stewards, as real citizens. It is not surprising that students at Benjamin Franklin were involved in citizenship training programs, established community libraries, designed and constructed neighborhood parks, worked on housing drives and land use studies, and conducted health surveys. Why isn't that the norm in our current schools?

As we move toward the twenty-first century, I wish we were in a better place socially and educationally. The democratic society we need and desire is not yet with us. Education is not the whole of our future and the many imperatives that face us, but it is a central element.

What is the likelihood of schools actually serving students, families, and communities at more powerful levels? It is hard not to have a genuine sense of possibility kept alive when faced each day by the students that I am privileged to work with, whose intellectual and moral commitments are so large.

When I add to that the many thoughtful teachers I see in our schools, and the parents I meet everywhere who are so devoted to an education filled with power and decency, and the young people I observe in the schools who are so caring and so responsible and crave a genuine education, even as they receive little support from adult society, my optimism soars.

Dr. Young Seek Choue was introduced by Hazel Henderson, futurist, economist, and author of Building a Win-Win World.

I am deeply honored by this opportunity to reflect on the work of Young Seek Choue, global citizen par excellence. His life has been difficult, fraught with many dangers and imprisonment. Yet, Dr. Choue has always been an activist for world peace.

I was fortunate to visit Korea last month and to give a paper at a conference at Kyung Hee University, an impressive institute of higher learning founded in 1949 by Dr. Choue, who serves as its chancellor. Kyung Hee University offers a truly humanistic curriculum, focused on the whole person so as to develop the highest moral standards and skills of global citizenship as well as sound academic scholarship. I wish I had been able to attend such a university and its Graduate Institute of Peace Studies.

The conference, opened by former U.N. Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar, and guided by Dr. Choue, focused on "New Visions for the Next Millennium." There was an array of papers that set the stage for three days of intense debate and dialogue on the current state of humanity, the global economy, the relationships between governments and markets, the need for new global agreements and governance structures, reform of existing institutions, and revitalizing the United Nations.

I saw that South Korea was addressing the current hardships imposed by the daily waves of unregulated $1.5 trillions of "hot money," which have de-stabilized their economy and others in Asia, Latin America, and worldwide. Korea's economic pain has been exacerbated by the economic contraction imposed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

What I found in Seoul and at Kyung Hee University was the strength and cohesiveness of Koreans, their pride in their evolving democracy and President Kim Dae-jung. I relished the very open debates about how to restructure their major corporations and break their links with entrenched politicians. All this bodes well for Korea's future and is a testament to Dr. Choue's tireless work and inspiration, which has set a national example to all Koreans of personal development, civic involvement, and thinking globally while acting locally.

I met with a group of Kyung Hee students, all of whom were committed to careers in the voluntary, civic sector. Many were already active in voluntary organizations to assist recently unemployed workers, to send food packages to hungry children in North Korea, and many other international peace activities. All had their own websites to reach out to others.

These students reflect Dr. Choue's teaching, his deep spiritual qualities, and his pragmatism and sense of balance between the material and spiritual; between the individual and the community; between human rights and responsibilities; between love of country and international cooperation. Dr. Choue's message for the future is that we humans can develop, as individuals and as societies, toward a spiritually beautiful, materially-affluent, and humanly rewarding way of life for all.

Indeed, as Dr. Choue teaches, we are all one human family and we can develop ourselves and our countries toward a Global Common Society and pursue global peace through a revitalized United Nations.

Young Seek Choue is a stellar example of the new scientific view: that each human being is a potential "fluctuation" able to effect change in our complex, dynamic socio-economic-cultural systems--now interlinked globally and nested among all other species in a living planetary biosphere.

Magna Carta of Global Common Society: A Grand Vision of Human Society Toward the New Millennium

Real human-like life began only 10,000 years ago, and studies show that our cultural life started only about 5,000-6,000 years ago. Thenceforth, the division of labor, social stratification, graphic symbols for writing, open markets, and primitive religions began to appear. Temple-building for gods stimulated the development of architectural skills. In due course, humans gradually established theocratic political systems, which laid an incipient foundation for the modern civilized society of today.

What should we ponder when we reflect on the long course of human history? We come to this world empty-handed, live briefly, and leave this world empty-handed again. Should we not continue cultivating a brighter cultural legacy for our neighbors, fellow countrymen, the entire humanity, and its posterity?

What are the characteristics of modern human society? It is a human society where people are spiritually poor in the midst of affluence. First, there is the omnipotence of materialism. It prefers pragmatic values such as profitability, efficiency, utility, and pleasure to ethical and moral values such as benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, decency, wisdom, and faithfulness.

Second, there are the abuses of the information science society and the supremacy of science-technology. Science and technology are today controlling man who is increasingly alienated and losing his humanity.

Third, there is the possibility of the degeneration of democracy.

I welcome the emergence of a genuine civil society as well as of a participatory democracy. But in light of the worrisome trend of mass society today, we must guard against the possibility of democracy and the rule of law degenerating into a dictatorial society governed by public opinion.

Dr. Young Seek Choue
(Photo by Jonathan Wilson)

Clearly, the spirit of our time has changed. It is no longer the era of monarchs or kings nor of exclusive nationalism; it is the era of universal democracy founded on the principle of people's rule. That is why it is time for us to come together as a single human family under the banner of "Pax U.N." and to construct what I call global common society (GCS) as we live in the era of humanization and globalization. Only when we are rational and able to discern right from wrong and good from evil, live a cooperative life, construct a human community, and create cultural values can we be true human beings.

Economic globalization led by the development of the multinational corporations, the growth of trade volume, the opening of labor markets, and the increase of cultural exchange is making the world a truly cross-cultural society which will make all the people of the world global citizens with one single unified culture and sentiment. We can easily sense that a borderless world society, no longer requiring national boundaries, is changing the world into a place where there is no longer a need for an arms race or for hegemonic struggles.

We must establish ethical values and norms suitable to the new era. Man has aspired for peace ever since ancient times. Nonetheless, human history has constantly been stained with blood in the name of national interests and justice. And nations caught in the endless cycle of rise and fall have eventually ended up incurring only self-injury.

How do we achieve our long-desired permanent world peace and attain a civilized society that will enable us to live a life that is worthy?

The EU is the outcome of a successful economic cooperation among West European countries within the framework of the EEC and the EC. With the deepening of mutual economic relationships, the political picture of Europe has changed radically. Eventually reorganized into the expanded EU, the solidarity of European states is stronger than ever before. The emergence of the EU is an example of the sort of regional cooperation I have been advocating for a long time.

The nations of the world have crossed their own borders to organize, first, regional cooperation organizations such as EC, OAS, OAU, ASEAN, NAFTA, MERCOSUR, and the Arab Community. They are now undertaking reorganization of the existing regional organizations into larger organizations. For example, the EC has already expanded into the EU; NAFTA and ASEAN are expanding into APEC; and the EU and ASEAN are cooperating as the members of ASEM.

I see this phenomenon not as a simple expansion of regions, but as a progressive integration of regional organizations into a cooperative global society.

We must pay serious attention to the problems of arms control and collective security. We must reduce the stockpiles of chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons, forbid the development, transfer, and sale of new weapons and related technologies, and develop a viable U.N. collective security system with a strong standing U.N. force under the leadership of the major powers in order to deter or punish aggression. These security measures should be transitional measures until we have achieved "Pax U.N." We may then be able to stop the immense waste on military expenditures and to use those expenditures for human and national development.

We have a saying, "Where there is heart, there is action." If we are to be reborn and reconstruct our human society as a worthy one, we must reform our hearts and minds first.