15 Inspiring TED Talks From Teachers and Educators

15 Inspiring TED Talks from Teachers
and Educators
1
Posted August 2015

Here are 15 of the most inspiring TED talks from teachers and educators, ranked
according to the number of total views they received from a combination of outlets,
including Ted.com and YouTube.
1. The Key to Success? Grit Angela

Lee Duckworth
April 2013
Psychologist Angela Lee Duckworth left a demanding job in consulting to become a
seventh grade public school math teacher. What she quickly learned is that IQ was not
the only difference between her best and worst students. She believes what we need in
education is a better understanding of students and learning from a motivational,
psychological perspective. After teaching, she went back to grad school to complete her
Ph.D. in psychology. In her research, one characteristic emerged as a significant
predictor of success grit. Grit is living life like its a marathon, not a sprint, she says. In
this talk, she explains her theory of grit as the key to success.
2. How to Escape Educations Death

Valley Sir Ken Robinson
April 2013
Education is not a mechanical system, its a human system, says author and educator
Sir Ken Robinson. And he believes Americas system needs work. The dropout crisis is
just the tip of the iceberg; what about the kids who are staying in school but are
disengaged? In this enlightening talk, Robinson shares three principles on which human
life flourishes and how they are contradicted by todays culture of education. He believes
kids prosper best with a broad curriculum, and real education must give equal weight to
science, math, the arts, humanities, and physical education.
3. Every Kid Needs a Champion Rita

Pierson
April 2013
In her 40 years as a professional educator, Rita Pierson learned a lot. One of the most
important things she learned is the extreme value and importance of human connection
building relationships with her students. Here she shares the amazing power of apology,
positivity, and optimism. Its a tough job, but teaching and learning should bring joy, she
says. Listen up, teachers and educators: Be a champion to your kids and help them to be
a better somebody.
4. Lets Use Video to Reinvent Education

Salman Khan
March 2011
Salman Khan is one smart guy. He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, an
M.Eng and B.S. in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT, and a B.S. in
mathematics from MIT. While working as a hedge fund analyst, he was tutoring his
cousins and began posting videos to aid in their learning. He discovered just how helpful
his videos were to his cousins and others, allowing people to study on their own time, at
their own pace. What resulted is the Khan Academy, a non-profit organization with the
mission of providing a free world-class education to anyone, anywhere. He believes
teachers can use this technology to humanize the classroom.
5. The Danger of Silence Clint Smith

July 2014
A PhD candidate at Harvard University and a 2014 National Poetry Slam champion, Clint
Smith has four core principles posted in his classroom: read critically, write consciously,
speak clearly, tell your truth. He tells his students his truth; he once gave up speaking for
Lent, which led him to realize the danger of silence. In this poetic, riveting talk he asks,
Who needs a soapbox when all youve ever needed is your voice?
6. A Girl Who Demanded School

Kakenya Ntaiya
October 2012
Many Americans take education for granted. Its not the same for girls in the small village
of Enoosaen, Kenya, where girls are brought up to be wives and mothers. Kakenya
Ntaiya wanted to become a teacher and had to make an extreme deal with her father and
negotiate with village elders to be able to attend high school and college. Now an
educator and activist, Ntaiya tells her incredible story and how she returned home to
build The Kakenya Center for Excellence, a boarding school for girls in her community.
7. Math Class Needs a Makeover Dan

Meyer
March 2010
High school math teacher Dan Meyer believes there is a huge problem in math education
today. He says, I teach high school math. I sell a product to a market that doesnt want it
but is forced by law to buy it. In this talk, Meyer gives 5 symptoms that were doing math
reasoning wrong, including the eagerness for formula. We live in a world of quick fixes,
but thats not how we should be teaching math. He discusses the importance of
formulating the problem and the need for more patient problem-solvers.
8. 3 Rules to Spark Learning Ramsay

Musallam
April 2013
After a life-threating heart condition, chemistry teacher Ramsey Musallam translated
advice from his surgeon into 3 simple rules for his classroom. In this explosive talk,
Musallam shares these rules he uses in his lesson planning today. If teachers can leave
behind their role as disseminators of content and instead become cultivators of
curiosity and inquiry, they might just spark imagination and bring more meaning to the
school day.
9. Teach Teachers how to Create Magic

Christopher Emdin
October 2013
What can teachers learn from master story-tellers or even great rap artists? According to
longtime educator Christopher Emdin, they can learn magic. Teacher education covers
theory and standards but not much about the basic skills the magic teachers need to
engage students. Emdin is confident that magic can be taught and discusses
transforming teacher education in order to teach teachers how to create it.
10. My Daughter, Malala Ziauddin

Yousafzai
March 2014
In many patriarchal and tribal societies fathers are usually known by their sons, but Im
one of the few fathers who is known by his daughter, and Im proud of it, says education
activist Ziauddin Yousafzai. His daughter, Malala, an education advocate in her own right,
was shot in 2012 and later, at age 17, became the youngest-ever Nobel Prize recipient.
In his talk, Yousafzai discusses his belief in education for emancipation and teaching his
students girls and boys to unlearn lessons of obedience and honor, part of a vicious
cycle that continues in many patriarchal and tribal societies.
11. Our Failing Schools. Enough is

Enough! Geoffrey Canada
May 2013
Times have changed but not in education. In an insightful and entertaining talk, education
advocate Geoffrey Canada asks why we havent we allowed innovation to happen in our
schools. Our business has refused to use science, he says. America is holding on to a
one-size-fits-all business plan that doesnt make sense. Canada advocates the need for
starting kids earlier (pre-kindergarten), proper testing and evaluation, and providing
support to kids. Above all, keep innovating.
12. How to Learn? From Mistakes

Diana Laufenberg
November 2010
From the one-room schoolhouse to encyclopedias to the Internet, access to information
has come a long way. Social studies teacher Diana Laufenberg says we need to change
the way we look at education. Rather than looking at school as the place students come
to get information, it should be a place for experiential learning, embracing failure, and
empowering student voices. The things that kids will say when you ask them and take
the time to listen is extraordinary, says Laufenberg.
13. Kids, Take Charge Kiran Bir Sethi

November 2009
Kiran Bir Sethi was infected with the I can bug when she was 17. When she founded
the Riverside School in India, it became a lab to infect others and teach children to
become aware, enabled, and empowered to change the world around them. When
children are empowered, not only do they do good, they do well.
14. Hey Science Teachers Make it Fun

Tyler DeWitt
November 2012
Science, dont take yourself so seriously! In this engaging talk, high school science
teacher Tyler DeWitt walks us through a horror story about viruses and bacteria. He
explains how he uses story-telling to help his students understand the boring textbook.
He implores teachers to take science less seriously and to fight the tyranny of precision.
There are a growing number of online resources that can help, including DeWitts own
videos.
15. My Story, from Gangland Daughter to

Star Teacher Pearl Arredondo
April 2013
Everyone has a story. Everyone has a struggle. And everyone needs help along the
way. Hoping to connect with her students, Pearl Arredondo shares these words and her
story with her students. Growing up the daughter of a high-ranking gang member, she
understands the need for a support network so that kids dont become victims of their
own circumstance.

15 Inspiring TED Talks From Teachers and Educators

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

15 Inspiring TED Talks From Teachers and Educators

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

15 Inspiring TED Talks From Teachers and Educators

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

15 Inspiring TED Talks from Teachers

Posted August 2015

1. The Key to Success? Grit Angela

2. How to Escape Educations Death

3. Every Kid Needs a Champion Rita

4. Lets Use Video to Reinvent Education

5. The Danger of Silence Clint Smith

6. A Girl Who Demanded School

7. Math Class Needs a Makeover Dan

8. 3 Rules to Spark Learning Ramsay

9. Teach Teachers how to Create Magic

10. My Daughter, Malala Ziauddin

11. Our Failing Schools. Enough is

12. How to Learn? From Mistakes

13. Kids, Take Charge Kiran Bir Sethi

14. Hey Science Teachers Make it Fun

15. My Story, from Gangland Daughter to

You might also like