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![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....
![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?
![Keeping Veterans Healthy](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/null7a34ddcb-d872-4a54-a57c-da60626b0e5c/42269597274_4e08af349b_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=483%2C0%2C2034%2C2034&w=290)
The Veterans Health Administration, which serves nine million vets, has come under fire for long delays in providing services and reimbursing clinicians, and fixes are clearly needed. But former Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin got a lot of pushback when he argued against privatizing the $200 billion system. Everyone agrees that the veterans who sacri...
![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 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...
![Power to the Parents? The Culture Wars Come to School](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/e9cc259f-61b1-4aa2-96a1-f06583203f22/52177431292_41ccb5c410_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=990%2C0%2C3939%2C3939&w=290)
At first blush, this year might be considered the year of parental power, with the proliferation of parental bills of rights across the country that put limitations on what can be taught in public schools and allow objecting parents to seek removal of books from the school library. These bills and similar legislation purport to provide parents a greater voice in their chil...
![Elizabeth Green AIF 2015](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/null395d2dab-ad03-4fcd-804e-d273ff7518c7/19327683052_3eb5821c72_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=400&mono=b78045&q=80&rect=0%2C458%2C3280%2C3278&w=400)
![Elizabeth Green AIF 2015](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/null395d2dab-ad03-4fcd-804e-d273ff7518c7/19327683052_3eb5821c72_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=400&q=80&rect=0%2C458%2C3280%2C3278&w=400)
How can we make every teacher a star teacher?
![Parent Power: Transforming Systems with Families at the Center](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/16c277aa-6d88-4817-a616-ea6f49aff359/aif-2022-systems.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=400%2C0%2C800%2C800&w=290)
For over a decade, Ascend at the Aspen Institute has lifted up parents’ voices and experiences to inform bold solutions for economic mobility in the United States. How does lived expertise influence the way programs and policies are created? What can we learn from a new wave of philanthropic efforts to invest in communities and their parent leaders? Four dynamic leaders sh...
![The Shared Roots of Extremism](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/null63a2d8e5-38e9-4a69-b5ac-75d22b22ff2e/shared_roots_extremism_aif19.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=562%2C0%2C1436%2C1436&w=290)
Recent years have seen the wane of the threat of ISIS, even as white supremacists carry out more violent attacks across the globe, from Christchurch, New Zealand, to Charlottesville, VA. What leads someone down the path of political extremism, what causes them to become violent, and how do authorities or community leaders help stop — or reverse — extremism?
![Fostering Educational Excellence on a Global Scale](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/nulle332f5ee-525f-4199-90cf-84de51c19441/FosteringEducationalExcellenceonaGlobalScale_aif19.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=560%2C0%2C1440%2C1440&w=290)
The world faces many challenges—from climate change to political instability to widening inequality—that transcend borders and impact us all. If today’s young people are to be equipped with the imagination and skillsets to tackle these growing threats, educational excellence is key. How do we build successful education systems at scale and in every community? And what expe...
![Reinventing Normal: The Setbacks and Silver Linings of Online Learning](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/nullb7dee8c1-8b24-4ba6-888a-944b86c7de95/iStock-1266721890.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=493%2C0%2C1414%2C1414&w=290)
The reality of educating children during a pandemic can be overwhelming. Learn how educators and policymakers are working to ensure every child is digitally connected.
![29179855488 Dabecbda54 O](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/nullnull5f9d2f8d-f168-4bc1-9f91-c7ba7a1a38fd/29179855488_dabecbda54_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=400&mono=8a5f4e&q=80&rect=985%2C0%2C1969%2C1969&w=400)
![29179855488 Dabecbda54 O](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/nullnull5f9d2f8d-f168-4bc1-9f91-c7ba7a1a38fd/29179855488_dabecbda54_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=400&q=80&rect=985%2C0%2C1969%2C1969&w=400)
Why is it so hard to watch our children fail? Why might a highly structured life for a child be a bad thing? And how important is our behavior, as adults, in the development of a child? Psychologist Angela Duckworth explains how to raise a child with strong character.
![Adobestock 258598749](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/nullbadc029a-219c-4cbb-b14f-d19588915137/AdobeStock_258598749.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=400&mono=7d247d&q=80&rect=960%2C0%2C3840%2C3840&w=400)
![Adobestock 258598749](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/nullbadc029a-219c-4cbb-b14f-d19588915137/AdobeStock_258598749.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=400&q=80&rect=960%2C0%2C3840%2C3840&w=400)
The American Dream says hard work will lead to a better life. But Harvard professor Micheal Sandel says climbing the ladder of success is getting harder in the United States, because the rungs on the ladder are growing further apart.
![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=ac473e&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...
![adobe stock image](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/null53843895-cd1b-40e9-bbd3-ab16b9ad837c/AdobeStock_352057232.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=400&mono=0a80bc&q=80&rect=1358%2C0%2C4000%2C4000&w=400)
![adobe stock image](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/null53843895-cd1b-40e9-bbd3-ab16b9ad837c/AdobeStock_352057232.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=400&q=80&rect=1358%2C0%2C4000%2C4000&w=400)
A school year unlike any other is starting for students and educators across the United States. The pandemic and social unrest around racism make it a challenging time for students, teachers, and administrators, but it’s also a period of opportunity.
![The Case for Inclusive Capitalism](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/9e91fa2b-8b1b-4355-ab99-debbffb7bb1f/35557430386_91fbdc6a6f_h.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=576%2C0%2C1024%2C1023&w=290)