For this weeks blog I choose to watch the Ted Talks from Inspiring Teachers. I have always found it interesting to hear from the teachers who are in the classrooms and I have found valuable lessons hearing first hand what they did and how they shaped young students lives.
The first Ted Talk video that left an impression on me was from Rita Pierson and her video was entitled, “Every Kid Needs a Champion.” She discussed the value and importance of human connection that teachers make in their classrooms. Rita shared that its the relationships that are key. She stated that “everyone in this room has been affected by a teacher or an adult.” WOW! She is right! I am sure that we all can describe that one person who made a difference in our lives, that truly believed in us or the one that said, “Hey, have you ever thought of becoming a teacher?” This made me think of my elementary teachers that did not give up on me! I am so grateful for my teachers that believed in me and pushed me to continue on!
I also watched another video entitled, “How to fix a broken school” with Linda Cliatt-Wayman. She is a principal of a thriving school now, but before she went to this school it was on the persistently dangerous list. She had so many positive points and has great slogans for her school and way of life. The first was, “If you are going to lead, LEAD.” She stated that as a principal it was her goal to be at school and she was going to show her students that she was a leader. Her second point, was “So what, now what”. Her her point was to eliminate the excuses and keep on going. Her third slogan and point was that she told her students everyday that “If nobody told you that they loved you today, remember that I do.” How many of our students don’t hear those simple words of love. It breaks my heart. The greatest take away from this Ted talk was that Linda reminded teachers that our students are just children, often scared by what the world tell them to be. As teachers we need to provide them hope, consistency and love them, no matter what. I was so truly inspired by all the videos from the inspiring teacher list. Each video had great take away points and inspirations and let me to think of myself as a future teacher and how I want to make a difference in the lives of my students.
Check out these Two amazing Ted Talks:
This first Ted Talk is by Ingrid Fetell Lee who shares her story on joy and how she found it. Great talk and she made so many good points. She asks us, “Where does joy come from? What brings you joy? How would you answer? Check this Ted Talk out!
The second Ted Talk I found to add to this blog was from Lera Boroditsky and entitled, “How Language Shapes the Way We Think.” Did you know that there are approximately 7000 different spoken languages in the world? Lera stated that she has done research on language and how things like time, numbers, colors, grammatical gender and how we describe events is all spoken different in different languages. I found this Ted Talk really interesting on language. I am anxious to see if you find anything that surprise you as well.
JaimeBurkink 
I am very surprised after the first video you thought of how your elementary teachers affected you and believed in you. I was halfway through that paragraph thinking, “Except nobody thinks that about elementary teachers.” I think this is more because a lot of us go through our struggles as teenagers and after and we find a high school or college teacher that really supports us and steers us in the right direction. I think my favorite video of these was how to fix a broken school. It is a little uplifting, but also a little informative too so that I can feel inspired AND do something about it.
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Thanks Avery for your comments. You are right, there are a lot of students who think of High School teacher and usually not elementary teachers. I had such sweet, kind and encouraging teachers that when I think of someone who made a difference in me, I automatically think of them. I also loved the video on the broken school, you are right it was uplifting and I felt so encouraged! It was nice to hear from a teacher who made such a difference in the lives of many students!
Jaime
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I really enjoyed the how to fix a broken school video, especially coming from such an inspiring person. I attended a school that I would say could be considered broken and I believe it is finally beginning to be rebuilt. She had so many wonderful thoughts, my favorite being the one you mentioned in that be sure you always know your students KNOW you care. The idea that I will someday have students who feel like no one cares about them terrifies me, but it also inspires me. I will always strive to be a good teacher who students learn from, but I will also be the teacher that students know cares about them. Great thoughts!
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Thanks Britany for your comments to my post. Its good to hear that your former school is on the path to being rebuilt! I am sure its exciting to actually see the changes happening from day to day and from year to year. Like you, I want my students to know that I do care about them and I want the best for them and I want them to succeed!
Jaime
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Looks like you found some awesome videos!! The first one that is called “Everyone needs a champion” is a pretty awesome one!! It is so true!! Some children do not have a champion, so you as their teacher are their champion. Every day you have the opportunity to make an impact on a child’s life!! As a teacher right now, I am seeing that all of the time!! At school is the only place they feel safe and loved and so I am making an impact on my student’s lives and being their champions!!
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Emma, thank you for your comments to my post! You are right that we as teachers are making such an impact on our students! I think that each day we need to encourage our students and remind that they are loved and important!
Jaime
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I think the worst thing any teacher, parent, guardian, or heck any person for that matter do a student/kid is give up on them. If a student feels his world crumbling down around they are less willing to excel as they see it being a pointless endeavor. The students who know they are loved, respected, and cared for tend to be the most successful. Teachers are such wonderful people! Ask most of them why they chose the field and they tell you it’s “cause of the kids.” Trust me, I know a lot of them. They’re not in it for the money, mainly because it’s not a good-paying field compared to others, they’re in it for the impact. Good post Jaime!
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I agree with you 100%! Its the impact and the change we want to make in the students in our classrooms and that is why we are all becoming teachers! Great thoughts! Jaime
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