Currently, in institutionalized education, the balance between global and local forces is skewed in favor of the global through the State (and University) monopoly on educational philosophy. We think that the local has to be prioritized over the global in the balance of these forces to create “Glocal” Education (GLE). In our view, this promotion should occur both in depth (through open pedagogical experimentation and democratization, defining local values, creating a global dialogue), AND in breadth (through providing opportunities for students and parents to join and financially afford it). The authors propose that education has to be separated from the State. In our proposal, the State should focus on providing financial access to K-12 education for all citizens through redistribution of taxes while constraining itself through pedagogical neutrality: accepting any educational philosophy for public funding. We consider some of many diverse concerns raised by our colleagues in response to our radical proposal of the State’s educational neutrality, organized in a question-answer format.

Eugene Matusov, University of Delaware, USA
Ana Marjanovic-Shane, Chestnut Hill College, USA
                    Started on October 24, 2011, Philadelphia, PA, USA