By Nick Jones, CEI Intern The community is doing its best to create normalcy for students in Ferguson, MO, the St. Louis suburb that erupted in violence after the shooting death of Michael Brown. With the first day of school pushed back a week due to unrest in the greater Ferguson area, the students have been some of the most vulnerable citizens affected by the chaos. Fortunately, community members and people around the world have stepped in to help. With the quick thinking o

“I would love to live like a river flows, carried by the surprise of its own unfolding.” John O’Donohue By Christine Mason, CEI Executive Director Last week I suggested that you begin the year by planning for the history you wish to record in May 2015. Yet, as Irish poet, philosopher, and environmental activist John O’Donohue has suggested, the unfolding is important. I set goals and work with a vision in mind. However, once that is done, for me at least, life works best whe

Yesterday I took my first double decker tour of DC, with my daughter and grandson, Jack. I have lived here since 1986, and taken double decker tours of London, Stockholm, and other cities, so it was interesting to view a city I know fairly well from another perspective. It was with a sense of pride in the US that I passed by monument after monument, so pleased that I, who had visited the museums  and monuments on countless occasions, was finally getting this opportunity. Alon

By Melanie Holland, CEI Intern. Ferguson is a community of 21,000 people. It’s a city of 6 square miles, about 10 miles north of downtown St. Louis. About two-thirds of the residents are African-American; the median income is $37,000, which is about $10,000 lower than the state average. Nearly 1/4th of the residents live below the poverty level. While we, as an organization and group of individuals, cannot and should not comment on the accuracy of any version of the event, we

By Melanie Holland, CEI Intern. The study assessed the correlation between Harry Potter and empathy in two ways. In the first, researchers gave questionnaires to high schools students, one that asked questions about their book choices, and the other gauging their attitudes towards gay people. In the second, the researchers surveyed Italian school children in their fifth year of primary school to assess their attitudes towards immigrants. Then, they read sections of Harry Pott

By Melanie Holland, CEI Intern. According to the study, United States principals’”more so than any of the other 29 countries in the study’”believe that many of their students come from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds. U.S. principals believe that almost 65% of classrooms consist of classrooms with at least 30% of its students coming from disadvantaged backgrounds. In comparison, principals in Mexico estimate it to be 44% of classrooms; principals in Brazil estimat