Because it is not disposable and we treat it like it is.

I’m curious as to what others wished they had learnt in school and what they think our young people need to learn to cope/thrive in the future. I work as an educator and constantly question the relevance of what I’m teaching. What do we assume (most, some, all?) kids will naturally learn, but in fact they’d all benefit from explicitly being taught?

The state’s involvement in economics, our system of interventionism, breed further and further control over individual lives, liberty and freedom. It matters to me as I’m a producer constantly paying higher and higher taxes, and losing more and more of my freedoms. It should matter to anyone who values freedom and liberty.

It is important to me because the search for truth has been limited by this process that says we must rely upon outdated theories of others. This process limits creative thought and tells us how to view the world. It is nothing less than boundaries upon subjective experience of the world. People should question this because it limits the perception of truth.

My country has been developing fast these years, but there remains a big gap between rich and poor. I think this gap is one of the reasons of social unrest, which is closely related to everyone.

Knowing ourselves seems to be the foundation for everything. It is important to question, and be critical of the thoughts, actions and beliefs that resonate with us. Such contemplation is crucial to continual self-development and sanity. Thus, madness can be partly seen as obliviousness, or in history it was highlighted as forgetting. If we forgot what had made us happy, are we mad?

Modern democracy has evolved over many decades, and continues to evolve today. Early settlement of Australia has had a devastating effect on native Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islanders. While the West’s attempt to democratise the Middle East appears to be doing no good. Is it that the attempt to change a society too quickly can only lead to failure?

I teach, research and write in this area. Children’s illustrations are often people’s first encounter with art.

I’m a journalism student, and I’m sick of being asked to respond to the notion of a ‘brand’. I even had Fairfax present a curriculum as part of my course which spent a week on “brand building”. I find this insufferable, and I’d like to see how other current practitioners and other students feel about this notion. Obviously, change is inevitable, but to what extent are journalists performers, too?

The horrors of war are making the planet unliveable. Every decent human being wants it to end.

We largely ignore the thoughts and ideas of children, when they are active participants in their cities and towns. Children have their own culture, and histories. They have more time to observe, make lateral connections, and have a heightened sensory perception. They have such valuable input and are shamefully undervalued in conversations, which have a direct impact on their environment. I fear that the absence of their voices in the planning and analysis of our social infrastructure is to our detriment as a society.

I wonder if throwing Enlightenment-style reason at every (and everyone’s) problem – climate change to genocide – isn’t arrogant, possibly delusional. It matters to me because of the helpless engendered by constant exhortations to help save the world. Maybe others feel the same?

Every day the world grows smaller. Slowly but steadily, it’s becoming easier to exchange opinions, ideas, and culture. Sure, there’s a strong argument for identity, economic growth, and security, but perhaps it is equally as important to recognise that we are all humans on the same team. Especially in light of the recent refugee crisis, are borders becoming redundant, and is the idea of a country really necessary?