He told me his biggest challenge in education wasn't budget holes, it wasn't crumbling schools -- it was that the parents were too demanding. (Laughter.) He's had to import thousands of foreign teachers because parents insisted on English language training in elementary school.

WHITEHOUSE: Honoring Educators in Math and Science

In February, PeaceEarth will host another training program in, of all places, an elementary school in Des Moines, Iowa: a relocation spot for young refugees from war-stricken countries like Uganda, Sudan, Bosnia, and Iraq.

FORBES: Oscar Winner Forest Whitaker's New Role: Fighting For Africa's Child Soldiers