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![The Case for College](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/d466e46d-2c35-47dd-a43c-2aaaba7c24c5/53823335595_4e8cbae7d5_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=0%2C0%2C5504%2C5504&w=290)
In “Mindset Matters,” Daniel R. Porterfield advances the argument for the value of undergraduate education and suggests ways to improve education for new generations. Three college graduates join to talk about how the experience helped them launch the lives they’re living.
![Walton Family Foundation Presents: Dreaming Our Futures — A Fireside Chat on Mentorship and Education](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/37d39ad7-512c-4f9d-9092-3b10db3aebf5/240627_dreaming_futures_007.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=1284%2C0%2C2667%2C2667&w=290)
The Walton Family Foundation’s latest research with Gallup shows that young people need a sense of purpose in school and work to feel happy—and the right adult mentors and guides can help them find it. Learn how leaders who are working with youth to help them navigate challenges on the path to adulthood.
![Academia at a Crossroads](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/84db7fff-d2f7-4f59-9e67-0ab4f888b774/academia.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=238%2C0%2C3101%2C3101&w=290)
Academia is beset by challenges related to free speech, admission policies, donor pressures and soaring costs. University leaders are simultaneously negotiating these minefields and convincing the next generation that college is still worth it. Can academia rise to these challenges?
![How To Dismantle Structural Racism in Health?](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/26db16fe-9f06-4ff3-88be-c9edd1717752/53806498237_abd97894b4_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=775%2C0%2C3101%2C3101&w=290)
Structural racism, reflected in uneven access to care, inequitable community conditions, and the wealth gap, drives persisting racial disparities in health. Unconscionable differences in life expectancy and the incidence of numerous diseases are the result. The systems and structures at the root of these inequities were created intentionally and need to be dismantled just...
![Mental Health Matters](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/d5c21063-2d3c-4924-bfd8-5fa27f606309/53806482912_f582492ae7_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=5213%2C810%2C3282%2C3282&w=290)
Mental health crises are plaguing Americans. Despite parity mandates that require mental health services to be reimbursed like any other medical service, clinician shortages, knowledge gaps, inequitable access to services, lack of culturally appropriate treatment models, and stigma combine to undermine effective care. To address the growing crisis, we need more research an...
![How to Dance in Ohio: Celebrating Neurodiversity](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/3231a015-3b05-4b1e-9cae-e2fbf38a2df6/53807727889_051dc811b0_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=1813%2C0%2C4641%2C4640&w=290)
The Broadway musical “How to Dance in Ohio” is the true story of a group of young people with autism preparing for a formal dance. Based on a documentary of the same name, the autistic characters are played by autistic actors in a musical celebration of neurodiversity and the universal need for connection. “If you’ve met one autistic person, you’ve met one autistic person,...
![A World Worth Fighting For: Katharine Hayhoe on Communicating Climate Change](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/b5d8cdce-9c40-40e3-9241-767f8a658c9b/AIFStockHeroImages16.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=1508%2C0%2C3377%2C3375&w=290)
Katharine Hayhoe is an atmospheric scientist and Chief Scientist for The Nature Conservancy. Ahead of Aspen Ideas: Climate next week, we caught up with Dr. Hayhoe to discuss tips for talking about climate change with anyone, how her faith informs her climate activism, why environmental guilt-tripping never works, and how to develop real, muscular hope.
![Aif Stock Hero Images 2](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/01e44384-391e-4e6f-a5f3-76f1b1da51f7/AIFStockHeroImages2.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=400&mono=b78045&q=80&rect=1602%2C0%2C3377%2C3375&w=400)
![Aif Stock Hero Images 2](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/01e44384-391e-4e6f-a5f3-76f1b1da51f7/AIFStockHeroImages2.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=400&q=80&rect=1602%2C0%2C3377%2C3375&w=400)
Shakespeare is ubiquitous in literature classes and theater, but the avenues of relating to his work are not always clear to young people and modern audiences. Some, such as Shakespeare scholar and professor Ayanna Thompson, argue that his plays make sense as living, breathing, adaptable instruments that can be shaped to fit the times. Playwright, director and professor Ja...
![Aif Stock Hero Images 15](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/fdd4fce3-8f25-434e-bc38-703de78f0d7d/AIFStockHeroImages15.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=400&mono=7d247d&q=80&rect=2395%2C0%2C3377%2C3375&w=400)
![Aif Stock Hero Images 15](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/fdd4fce3-8f25-434e-bc38-703de78f0d7d/AIFStockHeroImages15.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=400&q=80&rect=2395%2C0%2C3377%2C3375&w=400)
When Sal Khan created Khan Academy, he was trying to scale up the successful experiences he’d had tutoring his cousins one-on-one in math. He saw how effective it could be for students to go at their own pace, ask questions and be questioned about their reasoning, and he wanted to make those benefits available to as many kids as possible. The organization eventually grew t...
![Educating for Democracy (workshop)](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/e4e6eee4-c1cf-48dc-acda-0399848cd093/53014282440_04a5387dfd_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=1376%2C0%2C5504%2C5504&w=290)
Do American universities have an obligation to educate their students to be the next generation of citizens and civic leaders? What does it mean for a university “to offer students an education that will promote their flourishing as human beings, their judgment as moral agents, and their participation in society as democratic citizens”? Join a workshop with leaders from th...
![Harnessing A.I. for Education](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/8958eebd-4801-42fd-9508-7217959ddb76/53011954595_cfff34ea6b_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=978%2C0%2C3913%2C3913&w=290)
At a moment when decades of academic achievement have been lost, can we amplify the benefits of A.I. equally across society, or will we allow a deeper digital divide to leave out even more students? Khan Academy founder and CEO Sal Khan talks about the potential for this nascent technology to transform education, activating and engaging an entire generation to create chang...
![Flipping the Script on the Digital Divide](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/5badbf69-a89c-4b53-976f-b46f4e0acc7b/53008874482_8ef6a1711b_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=1808%2C0%2C4640%2C4640&w=290)
Digital skills open doors to jobs in tech, media, and across all industries. Connecting diverse students and workers with the education and training needed for the 92% of today’s jobs that require digital skills creates a pipeline of talent, critical to driving economic opportunity and mobility.
![How Philanthropy Can Drive Change in Public Education](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/01ecddf3-d2a8-49af-bb6a-7f7baca926fe/53008416589_4e25d515ec_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=1000%2C0%2C4000%2C4000&w=290)
As members of the Giving Pledge, Melanie and Richard Lundquist have given more than $400 million over the past decade to critical causes ranging from educational opportunity to health care access to climate change mitigation. What drives a modern philanthropist to do what they do, what models of giving work best, and where are the opportunities for private dollars to make...
![Classroom 2050](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/61ec4767-1e76-486a-b34c-5161124aa3f4/230628_classroom_2050_004.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=666%2C0%2C2667%2C2667&w=290)
With students learning in more places and different ways than we have ever seen, the pace of change in education is dizzying. Join our panel of education experts in a discussion about what the classroom of the future will look like, how educational innovation can bridge divides, and how we can work together to get there. Presented by the Walton Family Foundation
![Wicked Problem: Affirmative Action — Who Wins?](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/52133bca-9974-475e-a883-546b080e5a76/53007142404_707e91b700_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=1808%2C0%2C4640%2C4640&w=290)
In this new Aspen Ideas format, all attendees gather each morning to kick off the day by exploring a current issue of deep complexity. This year, the Supreme Court is once again considering the constitutionality of race-based affirmative action programs, and its ruling may have a profound impact on the makeup of America’s most selective colleges and universities. How sh...
![Wicked Problem: What Should We Know and Who Decides?](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/fd263779-29e0-4ae7-a15a-3f375c2845e4/53001886049_f0a9bda0eb_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=1376%2C0%2C5504%2C5504&w=290)
In this new Aspen Ideas format, all attendees gather each morning to kick off the day by exploring a current issue of deep complexity. Debates over the content of our historical narrative and cultural values have Americans of differing ideologies engaged in heated battle, with educators and students caught in between. Meanwhile, have we failed to meaningfully educate o...
![What Makes Art a ‘Public Good’?](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/6775d251-688e-4826-bf81-3d76b4ed4ff5/53001161237_9763736859_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=0%2C1376%2C5504%2C5504&w=290)
Why is there resistance to the idea that public funds should be used for art? What does it mean for the stewardship of cultural and educational organizations and the support of individual artists? And how does the relationship between non-profit and commercial culture impact how we value the creative sector?
![Aif Stock Hero Images 1](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/ffcacfc0-6502-4a1a-9368-65299484a673/AIFStockHeroImages1.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=400&mono=0a7c51&q=80&rect=2431%2C0%2C3241%2C3240&w=400)
![Aif Stock Hero Images 1](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/ffcacfc0-6502-4a1a-9368-65299484a673/AIFStockHeroImages1.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=400&q=80&rect=2431%2C0%2C3241%2C3240&w=400)
The desire to try and stop people from reading certain printed material has been around since material was first printed. In the modern era, book banning has waxed and waned in popularity, experiencing peaks during McCarthyism and again in the 1980s. We’re now in the midst of another wave, mostly targeting books by people of color and LGBTQ identities. In 2022, the number...
![Making the Grade: Helping Kids (and Parents) Thrive](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/6786d809-a1f9-44ff-8c5f-6551eb02e484/AIFStockHeroImages.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=1260%2C0%2C3240%2C3240&w=290)
Today's kids are coming of age against a backdrop of political, social, technological, and economic upheaval. While these circumstances are shaping a precocious generation that is changing society and redefining cultural norms, kids are also struggling with mental health issues, the pressures of social media, and the ongoing impacts of COVID-19 on key developmental years....
![Aif Stock Hero Images 1 school](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/65f4208f-9bb0-4f28-b4b8-40adc98f513e/AIFStockHeroImages1.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=400&mono=b78045&q=80&rect=2186%2C0%2C3242%2C3240&w=400)
![Aif Stock Hero Images 1 school](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/65f4208f-9bb0-4f28-b4b8-40adc98f513e/AIFStockHeroImages1.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=400&q=80&rect=2186%2C0%2C3242%2C3240&w=400)
Parents have always cared about what their kids are learning in school, but education debates have become particularly explosive in the U.S. in the last couple of years. All over the country, parent groups have introduced bills that try to control and restrict what children learn – especially around issues of race, history, and LGBTQ identity. What’s behind the recent push...