The inevitability of lifelong learning in our knowledge oriented society would seem to imply that our school system is completed after tafe or university, and has very different objectives and characteristics than an education system if it was to consider learning after this initial education stage over a life time. In practice, there does remain a tendency for education to be assessed in terms of the achievements and targets that a short-term focused system has set itself, rather than the broader success in laying the foundation to life-long learning. In today's knowledge economy, our memorization of facts and procedures simply is not enough for success. As an educated workforce we need a conceptual understanding of complex concepts, and the ability to work with them creatively to generate new ideas, new theories, new products, and new knowledge. We need to be able critically to evaluate what we read, be able to express ourselves clearly both verbally and in writing, as well as understand scientific and mathematical thinking. We need to learn integrated and usable knowledge, rather than the sets of partitioning and spotlit facts. We need to be able to take responsibility for our own continuing, life-long learning.