Mr Whittle clearly relishes the freedom private education allows him to innovate, without the regulations and hostile unions that dogged him in the public sector at Edison.

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Innovate by creating a world class education system from kindergarten to college that fosters and rewards ideas and free-thinking, and reduce costly regulation that hinders the entrepreneurial spirit.

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And he also is very clear in his call for the need to invest in new industries, to innovate, and to focus on the education of our children -- precisely in order to grow the economy and create the jobs that will enable us not just to lead in the 21st century but to seriously deal with our long-term fiscal issues.

WHITEHOUSE: Press Briefing

They want freedom from local bureaucrats, the freedom to innovate and the freedom to raise standards of education that reflect the needs of local parents.

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As the conference proceeds, other sessions look at what this internetworked reality means for cities, for the risks of war, for the future of media, for education, philanthropy, and how companies must innovate when customers are as connected as the CEO.

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Groups of teachers and administrators who wanted to innovate and try new things would band together and little laboratories of education would emerge.

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Democrats generally believe the government must do more to fund research, provide better education, subsidize targeted innovation, and provide tax incentives to innovate.

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Should we keep tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires -- or should we invest in education and technology and infrastructure, all the things that are going to help us out-innovate and out-educate and out-build other countries in the future?

WHITEHOUSE: President Obama Speaks on The American Jobs Act

The Education Secretary, Estelle Morris, said the Bill would give schools the freedom they needed to "innovate in exciting new ways".

BBC: More freedom for secondary schools

It is a scary situation that the world is in, but because there is so much access to education today, you have to enable the youth to be in a position such that they can innovate.

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