--- description: What's after 2016 for the Obamas, improving tech journalism, avoiding the mistakes of the past against ISIS, fixing overtimes rules & more. title: These Are Today's Best Ideas image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Ideas](/section/ideas/) ## Ideas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Innovation](/tag/innovation/) ## Innovation Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Five Best Ideas of the Day: December 3 by [The Aspen Institute](/author/the-aspen-institute/) ## The Aspen Institute Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 3, 2014 5:01 PM CUT by [The Aspen Institute](/author/the-aspen-institute/) ## The Aspen Institute Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 3, 2014 5:01 PM CUT **1\.** [**The Obamas should consider teaching in an urban public school after 2016.**](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/12/02/why-the-obamas-should-consider-teaching-in-an-urban-public-school-after-2016/ "undefined") By Valerie Strauss in the Washington Post **2\.** [**Tech journalism needs to grow up.**](http://theweek.com/article/index/272858/tech-journalism-needs-to-grow-up "undefined") By Michael Brendan Dougherty in The Week **3\.** [**Despite conventional wisdom to the contrary, the surge strategy didn’t end the war in Iraq. We shouldn’t try it again against ISIS.**](http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/coin-is-a-proven-failure/ "undefined") By Daniel L. Davis in The American Conservative **4\.** [**Adjusting outdated rules for overtime could give middle class wages a valuable boost.**](http://www.pbs.org/newshour/making-sense/middle-class-cant-get-ahead "undefined") By Nick Hanauer in PBS News Hour’s Making Sense **5\.** [**A new solar power device can collect energy even on cloudy days and from reflected lunar light.**](http://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/orb-shaped-solar-power-device-works-cloudiest-days-180949307/ "undefined") By Tuan C. Nguyen in Smithsonian Magazine  [_The Aspen Institute_](http://www.aspeninstitute.org/ "undefined") _is an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, D.C._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3615860/five-best-ideas-of-the-day-december-3/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3615860/five-best-ideas-of-the-day-december-3/"},"headline":"Five Best Ideas of the Day: December 3","datePublished":"2014-12-03T17:01:39.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:06:50.335Z","description":"What's after 2016 for the Obamas, improving tech journalism, avoiding the mistakes of the past against ISIS, fixing overtimes rules & more.","url":"https://time.com/3615860/five-best-ideas-of-the-day-december-3/","keywords":["Innovation","School","Syria","Obama","Iraq","Unemployment","ISIS","cities","Journalism","Wages","Solar Power","overtime"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"The Aspen Institute","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/the-aspen-institute/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/innovation/","name":"Innovation"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3615860/five-best-ideas-of-the-day-december-3/","name":"Five Best Ideas of the Day: December 3"}}]}] ```