This group is dedicated to an exploration of the ideas informing educational philosophy, policy-making and planning - including investigation, analysis and critique of educational design at the local, state, national and international levels. I hope to open an erudite and broad-minded conversation about the underlying purpose(s) of public education from an eclectic, multi-angled perspective (i.e., classical Western, Eastern, post-modern, traditionalist, etc.). I am interested in what are the main ideas informing our attitudes and values toward education and how we as a society make decisions about how to allocate collective resources for education. As well, I am interested in how closely the implementation of public education matches our goals and ideals. The group will examine culture, economics, psychology and how multiple factors influence the decision-making process. It is hoped that valuable insights might be gleaned from this investigative process.