To This Day ... for the bullied and beautiful
Number Eight on Sir Ken Robinson’s list of favorite TED Talks is by a man named Shane Koyczan called “To This Day ... for the bullied and beautiful”. Shane is a poet as he delivers his speech to a full house. He talks about his childhood and how he tried to become himself. As a child he “hid his heart under the bed because his mother told if he wasn’t careful with it, someone would break it.” He claims we have to define ourselves at such an early age now. He continues telling about aspiring moments from his past. He talks about everything children have to deal with: bullies, finding yourself, and staying true to yourself. As future teachers, we need to remember what it was like for us to be the child. Shane made me remember that every child has the same problems. They want to define themselves. As a teacher, I will give my students room to grow and become the people of the future they deserve to be. Children are often put down by adults, because they think their problems trivial. Remember being that kid that got called names? Bullied? This video taught me to remember that for my future students. If you haven’t watched this, I would highly suggest it. It’s a lyrical reminder of childhood and why we as teachers need to pay attention to every child. -Michelle Detar
The video Kakenya Ntaiya: A Girl Who Demanded School was very touching. Kakenya is a woman from Kenya that wanted to make a change. She refused to keep the tradition and be married at the age of 12. Kakenya had dreams of becoming a teacher. Unfortunately, Kakeya had to undergo female circumcision as a compromise for her father to let her continue going to school at the age of 12. This was not at all an easy thing to do, but she was very determined to be a teacher. She did everything she could to get to America in order to attend college. The knowledge that Kakenya acquired when reaching America devastated her, and she decided to do something about it. After Kakenya graduated she went back to Kenya and started an all-girls school. This helped changed their lives for the better. We can learn a lot from this video. One thing we can learn is that it only takes one person to stand up for what they truly believe in to make a difference. Kakenya knew nothing about being a teacher, besides the fact that it looked easy, when she was young. The knowledge that she gained empowered her to do great things. Knowledge should make everyone want to make a difference. This video showed us that it only takes one person to create an opposite path that will help change the lives of many. You may start off with a very small dream, like becoming a teacher, and along the way help others reach dreams that you couldn't imagine. -Demetrius Hamner
On the list of Sir Ken Robinson’s favorite TED talks is a video called Teaching one child at a time by Shukla Bose. In this video, she tells how she started the Parikrma Humanity Foundation from her kitchen table. This is a program that helps the “slums” of India by focusing on teaching one student at a time. She explains that one of the schools she went to was a school that held 165 students and no roof on the building. Her dream, as she says, is for children to live to be educated and to live peacefully in the “kaotic” globalized world. She not only organized the schools that these children now had access to, but she chose a very difficult curriculum for them as well; which made her receive many crazy looks from outsiders. She explains that the students did more than adapt to this curriculum but excelled with it. Shukla Bose is a very inspiring woman. She shows us that every student has potential, they just need the right materials to succeed; and that “one student at a time” makes a difference. Like she says, “Educating the poor is more than just a numbers game.” It is people like this that should inspire educators around the world every day. -Miriah Grantham
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