Rick B. Larsen
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Mask mandates. Instruction on race. Utah’s civic education is under debate. It’s time to seize the moment
Right now, Utah is experiencing challenging — even combative — debates over social issues and appropriate K-12 education curriculum. At its core, this challenging moment has to do with parents feeling a loss of control over the education and well-being…
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The U.S. is losing its civics education — here’s how to turn it around
We can no longer avoid this harsh truth: Despite the high value we place on education, we have allowed an atrophy to occur. We have ignored the gradual reduction of history and civics and accepted the erosion of content and…
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Does freedom have an expiration date?
It is our republic – if we can keep it.
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The quality of our future depends upon understanding our past
It is time to prioritize the teaching of complete, accurate and sequential history and civics. It is time to make civics education the new STEM education movement.
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Independence Day: a reckoning
Our hope must be in a clear and honest vision of the future. It must be informed by understanding and gratitude for all that came before. We are all inextricably joined in our fate. And in some shape or form,…
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Racism did not begin in America, but it can end here
We face the most consequential opportunity since a tenuously reunited, post-Civil War nation dusted itself off, stood upright and chose to continue the experiment — imperfections and all.
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Youth mental health hangs in balance. Philanthropy can help.
As hundreds of thousands of Utah’s youth enter week five of these restrictive measures and social isolation, we should be particularly wary of the impact of this new reality on their mental health.
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History shows us government expands in a crisis, then stays that way
Passion during a crisis is not political – it is human nature. However, exploitation of a crisis is political, and we should be aware of an existing structural imbalance at the federal level that enables the leveraging of passion and…
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President’s letter: Our urgent work
Crisis does not sideline an organization like Sutherland – it increases the importance and urgency of our work.
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President’s letter: We will prevail
As power moves from federal to state to local agencies, we see the true importance of local leadership – as well as the irreplaceable role communities must play in addressing their own needs.