Extra Credit Opportunity - TED Talks Education

Ted talks education featured a total of nine talks delivered by nine industry professionals, advocates and thought leaders. The program sought to explore ideas about how to deal with the high school dropouts. I grasped three underlying themes in all the talks: the need to change the education system in order to give a learning environment that inspires learning, not just being in school or passing examinations; the need for teachers to be the champions of their students; and need for the teachers to be given the support to do what is right for their students.

All human beings have the capacity to learn, the degree of success depends on how much effort one puts in. This Angela Duckworth calls grit – the ability to work towards sets goals without giving up. This is a quality that needs to be cultivated from when children are young and nurtured especially in school, not just by teachers but also parents.

More than two talks centered on the idea of building relationships with students. One speaker Rita Pierson who has been a teacher for over 40 years said children need champions. Still on the same theme another speaker – Pearl Aredondo said she strives to help children not to become victims of their own circumstances. Roles come with expectations, and teacher’s role is also to nurture their students and provide a safe haven for them. These two speakers are very right, if children know that their teacher cares about them, they will do their best not to disappoint the teacher and everyone else.

Geoffrey Canada, the President and CEO of Harlem Promise Academies, talked about the need to change the business model of the current education system. He advises the government and teachers to look at the data from the yearly tests, and to tailor their education to fit results that are desirable. Bill gates of Microsoft talked about developing teachers capacities to do their work.

Sir Kenneth Robinson talked about No child Left Behind and the irony that it is actually leaving lots of people behind. He mentions the principles that ran counter to the current culture of education i.e. people are different and diverse and a one-size-fits-all is not the best way to implement education; the second is the importance of sparking curiosity in learners; lastly, the need for creativity. He argues against standardization of tests and gives the example of the Finland education system.

All the teachers who spoke at this TED taught in schools where children from poor and disadvantaged neighborhood attended. And the reason they are agitating for change is because they realize the importance of a decent if not good education. Apart from intellectual growth, it is also the only way that one will be able to achieve a better life. These TED talks also illustrated the importance of school as an agent of socialization.