In regards to education, thinking/acting/preaching outside the box is still considered radical. It still will never be the core of education, although it should be. A high school history course taught about peaceful resolutions to conflicts and honourable leaders of the past is considered "alternative". World History 3201 focuses on the wars of the world, and in order to achieve a passing grade you are forced to learn about these wars. I agree, they are important, but why aren't peaceful resolutions and those heroes from our history in the books we require to graduate? In English 3201 you study Shakespeare who, though I admire him, is not the best we could be studying. Although I am not overly familiar with names of authors and poets, I know there is better out there because I've read/seen/heard it. Novels are picked for us and we have to study and interpret them. There are so many fabulous pieces of literature out there and many diverse interests amongst people.

What it boils down to, is that education needs to be more individualized. It is so vital and life-giving that it needs to accommodate each and every individual. I agree with thinking "outside the box" and see myself as somewhat a radical. However, I have also learned and strongly believe that we should also be working "inside the box" with the resources we already have. Each individual within the regular system has the opportunity to do "radical" things. A history teacher could propose an alternative history course that does focus on the peaceful resolutions of our history. Perhaps maybe at first it could be offered as an alternative course, but over time if the Board of Education witnessed that these students were doing better in their alternative course than in the regular course, then they may consider changing things. As long as there is an openness to change (it's not like we're saying NO RULES or NO WORK) than I can't see why the "higher powers" wouldn't want us to be more successful. These are just examples, it's like this with anything. People can create change from within the system, there just has to be a will, a want and an openness.