What is an Excellent Mind? Cleveland Area High School Students Explore Humanities

Now in its third year, the Mandel Youth Humanities Academy (MYHA) offers a unique opportunity for students from across Cuyahoga County: a fully paid curricular experience in the study of the humanities. Over the course of the nine-week summer program, students read and discuss core texts in philosophy, history, literature, and other disciplines under the umbrella of the humanities while also connecting those ideas to film, new media and “‘City as Text” experiences throughout Cleveland. In contrast to recent educational trends that lean heavily toward standardized testing and STEM focus, MYHA provides a refreshing opportunity for students to engage in meaningful discussions about topics such as identity, love, justice, and self-discovery.

David Busch, PhD is the program director responsible for developing and leading the MYHA program course curriculum, and he strives to create a learning framework that is “personally relevant and empowering, allowing students to explore profound questions, develop a sense of self, and prepare for college-level coursework.”

“With the generous support of the Jack, Joseph, and Morton Mandel Foundation, we can offer some amazing curricular experiences. For example, each summer during the Art/Art History week, students do at least one or a combination of the following: a hands-on activity with artifacts at the Cleveland Museum of Art, a graffiti or painting session with a local artist, and/or virtual reality exploration,” says Busch, explaining that MYHA’s multimodal curriculum appeals to students with diverse learning styles while still engaging them deeply in the rigorous study of the humanities.

To further extend the program’s impact, Busch also coordinates alumni events and MYHA launched an alumni fellowship opportunity during the 2023-24 academic year. The inaugural cohort of five fellows explored the question “What is Friendship?” through a range of public talks and seminars from scholars like Nathan King (philosophy) and Nico Slate (history) and community-based experiences with local Cleveland organizations. “Over the course of this past year, we discussed and debated the differences between moral and intellectual honesty, listened to and discussed the legacy of Martin Luther King’s 1967 speech to young people in Glenville, and analyzed the film Join or Die with the film’s director and the education director of the Cleveland International Film Festival,” shared Busch. At the end of the fellowship, alumni took on a leadership role by working with students in the Summer 2024 Cohort.

Nathan King's book The Excellent Mind serves as a key resource for the program, providing a framework for students to consider the character traits of excellent thinkers. What does it mean to have an excellent mind? King describes this as a mind that is curious, careful, self-reliant, humble, honest, persevering, courageous, open, firm, and wise – all characteristics that Busch sees develop in MYHA students as they explore “diverse learning experiences that engaged them as thinkers.” Busch goes on to describe his excitement about “the fellowship as a source for further developing young leaders who draw on their humanities to inform their leadership. For example, when the Fellows developed and facilitated the community building activity with the 2024 Cohort, it was powerful and inspiring for me to see them put complex philosophical ideas into practice.”

According to Lauren Smith, her time as a MYHA Fellow was like a “third space” for her – a place where she can affirm her identity – because of its inclusive nature and its mission of attracting people from all over the county. “These places build friendships within them that are intellectual and purposeful. Friendship and the concept of social capital are important within the community when they are made in these third spaces.”

Reflecting on the first three summers of the program, Busch notes a steady increase in the number of applications received and a successful start of the fellowship program. Of the eighty-four high school students who have participated, thirty-eight percent identified as prospective first-generation college students, a number he hopes will continue to grow.

Other graduates of the 2024 summer cohort described their learning experience as “more than I have learned in a whole school year” and an “approach to education [that] has changed my entire perception of education and my worldview,” testaments, like Lauren’s above, that reinforce the Mandel Foundation’s abiding belief that access to high-quality educational opportunities and engagement with the humanities greatly enhances our ability to envision and create a better world.

Please visit this page to request information about the MYHA program and fellowship.