In this keynote address, the speaker draws upon his own experiences in education. He begins with his observation that the outcomes of the conference invite change which he applauds. However, he notes that change is always accompanied by fear, and fear has a habit of closing the lid on change. He speculates upon the possibilities were he to have been educated in a different way one in which creativity and unexpected responses were valued and not punished. Looking back, he wonders why no one saw or understood the direction his life seemed to be taking almost from its inception. He is distracted from his love of music by the system into believing there was no monetary security in being a musician. Despite becoming a lawyer, he eventually listens to his call and becomes a singer, when his wife is willing to open Pandora's box with him. In today's environment, he sees pure knowledge and new thought being drowned out by the noise of our own existence, and the generations being taught to rely heavily on past knowledge. He is saddened to see the young lose their freshness and new ideas incrementally with each passing year of their formal training. He invites educators to open Pandora's box through research and create the potential for change and new thought to carry us through this millennium and beyond. (YLB)