ISM: a force for educational and social change

Before someone challenges the implications of the above title, let me ask two questions. One: has it not always been the case that education, whether consciously or not, has been an agent of social change? Two: is it not true to say that there never was a time when education was being used so consciously as a means to change society than is the case today? Let me also say, before I outline the origins and the aspirations of the Institute, that the social aspects of the Institute, while they do not outweigh its educational aspects, are very important to its members. Now to our history.