Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 February 2018
Education is important to astronomers because it affects the recruitment and training of future astronomers, and because it affects the awareness, understanding and appreciation of astronomy by taxpayers and politicians who support us. We have an obligation to share the excitement and the significance of our work with students and the public. Education is often neglected by the scientific and professional community - not by us, of course - and by many research universities. Our task is not only to be better astronomy educators ourselves, but to convince and train our students and colleagues to do likewise.