First Idea's brand new Blue Sky account, it's primary social media platform, is @firstidea.bsky.social. Follow us now for updates!
The Writing I Do: New Advice Feature On Substack
I am happy to announce a new feature of my Substack account: "The Writing I Do: Notes from the Desk of a Working Writer." "The Writing I Do" is a weekly video describing a challenge I faced in my professional life and how I wrote my way through it. It draws on my work as … Continue reading The Writing I Do: New Advice Feature On Substack
Revisiting Heritage Languages
The following are remarks delivered by John Tessitore during a panel discussion, "Multilingualism for Global Citizenship," on February 10, 2025, at the Brandeis University Mandel Center for the Humanities. I want to thank Esha Senchaudhuri and the Mandel Center for inviting me to participate in this discussion. I’m an unusual participant…an American Studies PhD whose … Continue reading Revisiting Heritage Languages
Melik Khoury on education for the green economy
The president of Unity College discusses the benefits of distance and hybrid education as we train a workforce to address the climate crisis, published in Impact Entrepreneur. https://bit.ly/3DrVuDg
A Shift in Emphasis for First Idea
First Idea to Focus on Project Management and Collaborations for academic and cultural organizations, NGOs, and public/private partnerships. For over fifteen years, I have directed big, ambitious, national projects and policy studies. The future of the humanities. The future of democracy. The future of higher education. The future of language education. The future of civil … Continue reading A Shift in Emphasis for First Idea
America’s Languages Working Group Launches New Online Resource
Unprecedented Collaboration to Document Language Access During the past two years, as the nation has faced both a global pandemic and an increase in domestic unrest, the need to communicate in all of America’s languages—all the languages spoken across the country—has become even more apparent. Language access has become a central challenge to the equitable … Continue reading America’s Languages Working Group Launches New Online Resource
Quality Hybrid Courses Key to Financially Sustainable Colleges
Important piece in Ed Tech on the future of higher ed in the wake of the pandemic. Dr. Melik Peter Khoury, President of Unity College, explains why Unity thrives at a time when so many small colleges are closing or merging.
Coming soon: We Are What We Speak
John Tessitore was honored to sit down with linguist Emily Rae Sabo and her team to discuss the relationship between language access and civil justice. It can be very difficult for English-speakers to navigate legal matters related to family, housing, health care, veterans affairs, debt, employment... It's nearly impossible for people who do not speak … Continue reading Coming soon: We Are What We Speak
The Importance of Data
Last week, the American Academy of Arts & Sciences released the third and final publication in the first phase of its work on civil justice, Measuring Civil Justice for All: What Do We Know? What Do We Need to Know? How Can We Know It? First Idea was involved in every aspect of the project, … Continue reading The Importance of Data
Video: The Civil Justice Gap, narrated by Lamorne Morris
First Idea was proud to work with filmmaker John Moody to create this terrific introduction to the American Academy report, Civil Justice for All, narrated by actor Lamorne Morris. https://youtu.be/n1K1FmS9GP4
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