Finnfest message: Education in best investment in innovation

By |

Last week I had the chance to attend Day One of the “Educating for the 21st Century” forum held at the Carlson School of Business as part of this year’s Finn Fest. My colleagues Ross, Savage, Jaci David, and Dane Smith and I showed up to hear presentations from Finnish educators, entrepreneurs, and national government experts in international education. It was a very full day, made more charming and compelling by all the Finnish names, accents and ideas in the conversation. Continue Reading

Scare tactics: From Hiroshima to National Night Out

By |

As most of us know, August 5 was National Night Out, an annual event that promotes the value of getting to know who lives next door as a way of preventing crime in your neighborhood. August 6 is the 69th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima. Is it possible there’s a subterranean connection between the two? Continue Reading

Not in my name: A call to American Jewish organizations during Operation Protective Edge

By |

I am one of those millennial Jews who actually loved institutional Judaism growing up. I loved my synagogue, I loved my Hebrew school, and in fact, I am a 23-year old single woman from the Twin Cities currently exploring synagogue options in Washington, DC. Most people reading this probably understand that most Jews in their 20s and 30s without families don’t often place synagogue life at the top of their Jewish or social life, but I love the feeling of belonging, membership and lifecycle events that institutional Judaism provides. Continue Reading

Fighting terrorism by creating ‘terrorists’

By |

Adel Daoud was the teenage son of immigrants, attending a neighborhood Islamic high school when the FBI started talking to him online. According to his mother,

“Daoud required extra assistance in school, and was heavily dependent on her: ‘He’s not the person with a complete mind. He didn’t talk until five. He was the last one of my kids to talk. He doesn’t even talk Arabic….like the rest of our family, because he’s slow.’” Illusion of Justice, p. 28 Continue Reading