“If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary,” wrote James Madison in the Federalist Paper #51.

Lacking angels, Madison asserted that elections were one of the U.S. Constitution’s checks on political power. “A...

Fueled by virulent anti-Semitism, the Sabbath peace was shattered this past weekend when 11 members of the Pittsburgh Jewish community were murdered in a synagogue where they had gathered to celebrate a birth, to pray and to study.

As a scholar...

The Pittsburgh neighborhood in which the recent horrific mass shooting took place isn’t only the home of the Tree of Life synagogue. Squirrel Hill was also Mr. Rogers’ neighborhood, the place where he...

When Sly and the Family Stone released “Everyday People” at the end of 1968, it was a rallying cry after a tumultuous year of assassinations, civil unrest and a seemingly interminable...

If young people are to engage in democracy and society, young people need to learn how to respectfully disagree. Yet, educators often find it challenging to lead discussions on contentious issues.

Based on my experience as a middle school social studies...

Jair Bolsonaro, the right-wing populist who cruised to victory in Brazil’s presidential election, is notoriously outspoken about his dim view of Afro-Brazilians,...

Alrededor de 5.000 personas, la mayoría pertenecientes al violento e inestable “Triángulo del Norte” de Centroamérica –formado por Guatemala, El Salvador y Honduras–, están atravesando México con la intención de solicitar asilo en la frontera de Estados Unidos. La denominada “c...

Money is indispensable in American electoral campaigns. Without it, candidates cannot amplify their message to reach voters and it’s harder to motivate people to take interest and vote.

Nevertheless, a May 2018 Pew survey revealed a bipartisan 70 percent of respondents...

Test scores, school report cards and Facebook posts complaining about homework problems often drive critiques of how math is taught in schools.

Amid the debates, it has become increasingly clear that one ingredient is necessary for success: opportunities for...

In recent decades, many popular myths about the Amish – that they are dying out, or are a homogeneous community of technophobes, or are “stuck in the past” – have been convincingly dispelled. Yet the...