Thank you. I am delighted to speak in this historic setting, from a podium shared by so many world leaders. And I am pleased to speak in this city. This is "The City"-the one by which all others are measured. And why not? Since the time it was called "New Amsterdam," New York City has been a global meeting place. This is where cultures cross in powerful currents, and where ideas are as rapidly exchanged as stocks and bonds.

As a young boy my attention was drawn here because Ralph Bunche was the undersecretary-general of the United Nations. In 1950, he deservedly won the Nobel Peace Prize, becoming the first African American Nobel Laureate. He often spoke of the link between education and a peaceful world. For him, education was an obligation owed by all to all. You see, he felt that education was the road to freedom. That's right. An outstanding education is liberating. It frees the mind and the soul. It opens up new opportunities. Education reveals worlds within worlds, showing us unique cultures, different values and new ways of understanding. A quality education may be the most defining childhood experience outside the family. It is the source of intellectual growth, personality development and socialization into the community. It is the foundation for a lifelong career or multiple careers, for economic security and for opportunities throughout life.

I've come here today to talk about education and freedom. There are many efforts under way to address the many challenges facing our world. But none is more important than national and global education programs. Educational efforts are among the most valuable and lasting means to overcome hatred, violence, discrimination and fanaticism.

In my view, education is the most important governmental service, one from which all others flow. I know that this country's greatest strength is its education system. And millions of students receive a quality education. It is our most powerful export, with hundreds of thousands of foreign students coming to our schools to learn everything from literature to computer technology. Education will determine the future of our families, our economy and our nation. Education will help secure our economic, political and cultural contributions to the world.

But not everyone benefits. The education system is far from inclusive, just or fair. Despite the tireless work of our teachers, and despite an investment per student that is the second highest in the world, after Switzerland, the K-12 education system is far from perfect. Many schools are broken. Millions of students do not receive their full share of our educational promise. They learn rejection, loneliness and disregard. Most of the students left behind are African Americans, Hispanic, English-learning, special-needs, or economically disadvantaged. These students have been passed on and passed out, and then they enter the workforce with little education, no skills and few opportunities.

And you and I pay for their difficulties in higher taxes, more social programs, higher welfare costs, more unemployment benefits, poor health and many other costs. If they do find a job, the employer pays for their flawed education in training expenses, remedial education, lower productivity, higher health insurance and workplace accidents.

Even if there were no economic repercussions, these students simply deserve a better education. It is unacceptable to waste a child's life, to treat a child as unimportant or marginal, or to simply pretend the child is invisible. Each year, millions of children silently suffer, mark time, grow frustrated and eventually give up. We can do better for them. We must do better for them.

I give the president great credit for recognizing this problem and making it a centerpiece of his administration. Within a week of taking office he sent the blueprint for education reform to the Congress. Bipartisan passage of No Child Left Behind marked a milestone. For the first time, our country had a national commitment to every child.

And the president has provided federal support for education-in fact, historic levels of support. For example, in the president's 2005 budget, funding for education would be $57.3 billion, an increase of 36 percent since the president took office in 2001.

This law is a solid, visionary and workable step into the future. If we stay true to ourselves and to our children, within a generation we will see the benefits. In fact, we are already seeing improvement according to a recent Council of the Great City Schools' study. In New York City there has been progress. In the time since No Child Left Behind was implemented, and Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Klein's reforms have taken root, we have seen some changes. Now, fourth-grade reading scores have increased six percentage points and math scores have gone up 15 percentage points. And the achievement gap between whites and minorities is decreasing.

I expect to see success stories. Although it is the children who benefit directly from No Child Left Behind, society as a whole has a direct stake in a strong public education system. Under No Child Left Behind, our country will be more inclusive. Education levels will soar while poverty will decline. Greater educational achievement is a direct answer to broken homes, crime, poor health and unemployment. I believe that as schools become more inclusive, racism will diminish and multicultural respect will become more prevalent. This is our choice. This is a future we can seize, if we have the will, the vision and the courage

And this choice is important for the business community. It is not fair to make our nation's corporations the educators of last resort. If we want higher productivity, then we must have a better-educated workforce. If we want a growing, thriving, strong, and vibrant economy, then we need fully employed, economically secure consumers. That means consumers who are well-educated and have a wealth of opportunities. Education generates employment, a larger tax base, greater consumer spending and more capital investment. Education is the future in a service- and research-oriented economy.

We all have a stake in the success of No Child Left Behind-every single one of us.

We are not the only nation to undertake a historic reform of our education system. In fact, we are part of a global trend. Last fall, I was pleased to participate with Mrs. Bush as the United States rejoined UNESCO after a 19-year absence. We rejoined because we have much to learn and much to share. We want to advance fundamental freedoms and counter those who would steal freedom from others through ignorance and hatred in lessons and textbooks. UNESCO coordinates the Education for All initiative, an effort to dramatically improve literacy across the globe by 2015. This effort closely parallels our No Child Left Behind initiative.

The global situation is desperate. According to UNESCO, in the year 2000, more than 862 million people were illiterate. Let me put that into perspective: one out of every five people on our planet can't read. The problem is particularly acute in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Education is one answer to violence. It is certainly one of the most effective ways to fight terrorism, addressing both the root causes and the fanaticism that fuel hatred.

Therefore, our national efforts to educate all children are part of a worldwide effort, which I believe will further unite people everywhere in greater peace, prosperity and well-being.

Again, I ask you to envision a future without literacy. In the absence of education, we let others sow the seeds of violence, hatred and fanaticism. We let narrow-mindedness, division and radicalism replace global unity, common ground, and shared purpose. Let me put it bluntly: the uneducated will see economically successful, politically democratic parts of the world as the enemy. In fact, they already see us this way. They work to end our way of life because they do not understand or appreciate it and see no way of becoming a part of it. They see us as less than human, culturally decadent, religiously depraved and economically degenerate.

But education can unite the world. It can replace ignorance and blind loyalty with thoughtful awareness and cultural tolerance. We all have a stake in the welfare of each other and must recognize the vast importance of building a peaceful, just and inclusive world. Education is our best way to accomplish that enduring, necessary task.

We can choose a better future now ... one child at a time. We must have the will to make education more fair, inclusive, successful and just. Every child is important, in this country and abroad. We can forge a profound alliance to extend education to all. We can make certain no child is left behind. Together, we can transform the world.

We face profound challenges. But education is a powerful, positive and lasting response-the best way to heal the wounds and bridge the divisions that mark our time.

Thank you.

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