Adults must be offered a compelling opportunity through partnerships with business and univesities to acquire the intellectual, political and economic tools with which to develop and manage their communities. The whole assistance enterprise has to be run from the inside, on users' terms , as a managed resource, rather than from the outside, on givers' terms , as an entrenched poverty industry that institutionalizes dependency. Assuring parental self-determination through adult education is the first end most essential step in assuring children's education. In spite of racism and despair, and regardless of welfare policies, the bare truth remains that the only way people can reduce their dependency is by learning to manage life. I believe, therefore, that of all the kinds of assistance being offered, it is comprehensive adult education based on the EBCD model that can attack most directly and powerfully the fundamental causes of poverty and socioeconomic dysfunction.
Children follow their parents' example.
I propose that this example be one of lifelong learning in the service of community. In the first part of this paper I explained what Education-Based Community Development is, and in the second part, how it works. That approach misses the point. The problem is systemic. Adults need academic skills and children, life skills.