In 1970 while working at CIDOC(Centre For Intercultural Documentation) in Quernavaca Mexico, Ivan Illich put together a collection of lectures and published them as a small book entitled, "Deschooling Society". It raised the hackles of those in the mainstream educational community who deigned to take the time to read it.You see, Illich had the audacity to take serious issue with education as an institution. He did not just question the practise and processes that were inherent within it. He questioned the shape and form of school itself. In addition, he challenged the notions: of continuing to institutionalize values and of the apparent need to funnel all aspects of human conduct through institutions. In reference to schools he observed: "The pupil is thereby 'schooled' to confuse teaching with learning, grade advancement with education, a diploma with competence and fluency with the ability to say something new." Thirty-two years later, in 2002, school remains much the same. Foremost among the reasons for this is the understanding that educational institutions are most often reflections of society's apparent needs rather than places of creative leadership. Society will not tolerate its schools moving too far from widely perceived norms. Perhaps, this is why Illich all those years ago contended that the institutionalization of values would inevitably lead to physical pollution, social polarization, and psychological impotence. As a reflection of society, education has always been a vehicle for passing on the values of race, religion, and nation states. One primary function has always been to indoctrinate. Once a population has been educated(indoctrinated) it is then possible to rouse that population to action because dissent is seen as traitorous. Such coalescence is evident within families, peer groups, interest groups. political parties, villages, towns, nations, religions and cultures. The worst fear of members of such groups is being excluded. In fulfilling the need to be included, humans are capable of being party to both the most noble and the most despicable of acts. Illich, in arguing the issue that schools were both the breeding grounds of enlightenment and prejudice, suggested that instead of funnelling everything through school, we should attempt to develop educational webs. Stated simply these were a means for developing connectivity for learning beyond the institution itself. The major impediment for the development of learning in this manner, at that time, was the lack of the technology to support it. Today though, the technology does exist and its power to assist learning grows exponentially every day. The time has come for global education. The time has come for development of learning webs that can compliment the work done within school rather than simply replace it. Through the use of today's powerful communication technologies children can reach out to people anywhere on the globe. Children can not only strive to understand their own culture but may have the opportunity of learning first hand about other cultures throughout the world. In this manner children throughout the world can learn first hand about one another. They can all embark on a journey of enlightenment together. Moreover, this is a journey that is not necessarily reserved for the young. All people might have the opportunity to join in. If children throughout the world are given the opportunity and the means to learn directly from one another, it will be more difficult to build the national and cultural prejudices that eventually lead to unnecessary human conflict. Perhaps reason from a global rather than a parochial standpoint may be able to flourish. In the pursuit of global education the traditional skills developed within schools become means to ends rather than ends in themselves. The building of new knowledge is crucial. Such knowledge is arrived at by accessing information from a miriad of sources and by free discussion and contemplation of its meaning. Possibly, then reasonable actions can be taken collectively to address issues as they arise. Education from this standpoint can be more liberating and empowering than its ever been. With the current political climate regarding children's use of the internet, we are in danger of trivializing its use as a vehicle for learning. Already, there is an abundance of harmless and banal activities that at best amuse children rather than educate them. In order for children to venture forth on a journey of global understanding it will be necessary to provide them with a vehicle that provides them with a reasonably safe environment that also allows them to make contact with those that might form a new global learning community. This must be a vehicle that supports the development of learning webs, and learning groups much like the guilds of old. Such a vehicle is SchoolNet Global. Within this community many learning webs can developed to provide the sources and resources for young learners. These webs will most often be associated with learning projects that address the global issues articulated by organizations like the United Nations. Supported by governments and corporations, SchoolNet Global has the means at hand; the means to develop groups of schools that rather than being local in nature are global. Such schools will be provided with the toolware to truly make them Millennium Schools and the students within them Millennium students. The traditional skills taught within schools will remain valuable to children. Still, the global curriculum they address will arise from their growing awareness that they and their mentors develop of emergent issues that confront the world. SchoolNet Global provides the ideal vehicle for children to embark on a journey of global understanding.