"While children only make up a small portion of our population they are 100 percent of our future."

As you read this, somewhere in your neighborhood, state and nation a child is receiving the message that they are "slow," "incapable," that they are "no good" or will "never amount to anything."

From time to time, we hear on the radio, see on TV or read the horror stories of physical and sexual abuse perpetrated on our most vulnerable citizens. These stories make us sick and we quake with anger over how cruel adults can be. While less visible, the constant negative messages that some parents, teachers and other adults drill into our children's heads take their toll too.

How many Bill Gates, Henry Fords, Booker T. Washingtons, Harriet Tubmans, Albert Einsteins and Fredrick Douglaseshas our society lost because a child's spirit has been crushed by an adult entrusted to raise them up?

Not all successful people had ideal childhoods. Many of the people mentioned above overcame great odds to see their dreams become reality. The world is full of successful people who were once considered "slow," "different," or "odd" and were told they would never amount to anything.

Those who escaped the negativity were fortunate to discover someone who believed in them even if that only person was them! All people have the inherent capacity to effect change in their lives and we owe it to all of our children to provide them with the tools to help them succeed.

Quality education is a great equalizer in this world. Our collective future is sitting in our classrooms today. The viability of our society, the strength of our economy, the quality of our lives, the vibrancy of our democracy and our place in the world all depend on how we educate our youth.

When children are taught to hate, they hate, as we see in far too many situations across our nation and the world today. We need to give children the best start in life possible, filling them with love and knowledge along the way.

Yet, believe it or not, and as tragic as it is, far too many of our children enter kindergarten or first grade not knowing their numbers, alphabet or colors. They do not know how to read because, not only have they not been read to, they have not been cuddled and loved.

Human tragedy is compounded when a child begins life with the emotional scars of negativity ingrained so deeply that they seldom recover.

For Michigan to be healthy, we need all of our children to be physically, emotionally and intellectually healthy.

We need to create a shared vision and common agenda across this region and across our great state where every child has a sense of worth, where we all accept responsibility for ourselves, our families, our communities and society at large. We must nurture our children, families and communities in ways that build a quality of life for today and tomorrow.

Here are some suggestions for building up our children and simultaneously building strong communities and likewise, a strong state and nation: