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What about TED-based clubs in schools? TED-based classes?
TED is an incredible concept. It is intelligent, innovative, and gives rise to some amazing ideas. The central idea of TED - the proposition of an idea worth spreading, and intelligent discussion to improve it - is something that can be applied to every part of our lives, but often the most important part of life is the younger years of primary and secondary education. Why not take the TED ideal and apply it to our schools?
I am a high school student, in the 12th grade, and TED has changed my life. I propose to the TED community this idea: the formation of school clubs (or similar groups) focused around TED that eventually transform into dedicated classes; instead of a traditional class, it would consist of the exhibition of an idea that the students and teacher then discuss.
TEDtalks, TEDconversations, even comment discussions about the talks could generate the initial idea; the class would spend the entire period discussing it, trying to improve upon it, finding ways to let it affect their lives for the better.
That's my idea (indeed, I intend to actually do this at my school), and I'm presenting it to the TED community to ask for ideas, suggestions, and discussion of the implications of this idea.
Areej Mehdi 500+
Richard Lucas 100+
here are some photos from this morning, where I was helping another parent do an enterprise leadership workshop
where we used two TED videos (Sivers the Dancing guy, and Richard St John on Success.
https://picasaweb.google.com/richard.lucas2009/RecentlyUpdated02?authkey=Gv1sRgCIOpsYe58-Ta8gE#
If it can work with 11 year olds in Cracow Poland, why not in your school.
Some ideas
Get school alumni and parents involved,
Do an appeal on your school web site, alumni mag and school newsletter.
like this.
https://picasaweb.google.com/richard.lucas2009/RecentlyUpdated#5426542880233439250
I blogged about it here
http://www.pmrpublications.com/wordpress/2008/07/09/helping-school-children-find-out-about-the-world-of-work-%E2%80%93-low-cost-high-impact-best-practice-from-winchester-college-uk/
and now we are running a competition as part of Global Entreprenuership Week where kids can win prizes for tracking down and interviewing their school alumni who have set up businesses. The web site is in Polish but if you want to copy it I'll send you more details
Pick a theme. appeal for parents, alumni who have some practical experience.
Ask your school director if you can show a TED talk at some school event.
Ask directors of nearby schools if you can appeal to them to do an inter school event, like a Flash Mob with dance schools, like http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ3d3KigPQM
Find other schools world wide and do Skype link ups.
Find partners people running causes you like and work with them.
For example invite in local crime prevention, drug abuse centres, people who work with criminals and put them on a panel
for example invite in your local Toastmasters, Humanists Atheists, Islamists Christians, people who don't normally meet and then show one Christian TED talk Billy Graham, one anti etc etc
Get an energy consultant to advise on making the school more eco friendly.
Do internet TV live streaming
Good luck, and congrats
Richard Lucas
Jared Tompkins
Wayne Busby 30+
There are so many talks I have had the pleasure of viewing only to think afterwards; "if only we learnt this is grade school, where would we be now? Would the world be as it is today?
Scott Taylor
Bill Barhydt 100+
Thank you for posting this great question/idea!
Martin Melendro 500+
For over two years the TED Club has been bringing together the Lafayette community to promote intellectual curiosity, to deepen the understandings of the world, to share and discuss innovative ideas presented by renowned speakers on the TED website and to connect club individuals with TED and other NGO's. We have had biweekly discussions partnering with academic departments, and last semester, after sending club members to four different TEDx conferences, we decided to organize our own conference.
Our theme, Love, Involve, Evolve, emerged from recurrent racial slurs and symbols found written with graffiti on campus. With bringing Jane Golden, executive director of the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program, we hope our school administration gets inspired to use art, instead of emails and pledges, to show its discomfort. We are in the process of coming with a solution, but the inefficienty of our institution's burocracy is not allowing us to create change soon enough. Last night, two more swasticas were found on campus.
In what is left from this semester we will be discussing the future of our club with student government, administration and faculty. We hope that after the success of our event on Saturday and the context and urgency of change this will happen, however we can't be sure. This has been a long extenuating process, but we hope that while we transition from the TED Club to TEDxLaf and we become stronger, perhaps we can think in even bigger, more holistic approach. If anyone has had similar experience, please feel free to contact me to discuss different possiblitie
Antonio Spears
I have been viewing your comments and suggestions and will take them into consideration when organizing a Ted Club or Society. I strongly believe this will get many people involved and engaged in our community and society and help people start to actually "think". It's amazing how I haven't even known about TED for more than a month and already hooked! I would love to hear more suggestions. Hopefully, if one does get started at my college we can have some local sponsors to help us have live webcasts.
I'm new to this so your thoughts and suggestions are appreciated! Thanks!
Kelly Smith
I first heard about TED in 2008 when I was in college. I was so inspired by the TEDTalks that I watched online that I would share them via Facebook or emailing to classmates or friends.
However, I sought to share them more widely to promote TED. I organized weekly TEDTalks viewing parties in my college dorm for the students and curated the events leading brief discussions after each video. My supervisor, a PhD student at my university, became quite interested in TED and offered an honors seminar course centered around the idea of TED Talks. At the beginning of the semester, the students would watch select TED Talks, and then throughout the semester, each student would offer their own TED Talk.
My sister, a teacher, has shown TED Talks in her classroom for enrichment activities as well after I shared TED Talks with her.
I think you've tapped onto a very powerful idea, and I hope you can help carry this vision further. Good luck!
Ashley Rodriguez
Luiz Mello 500+
Christine Smith
gale kooser 20+
Zdenek Smith 100+
http://blog.ted.com/2011/03/01/join-the-ted-ed-brain-trust/
The project is currently open for registration to everyone that wants to participate.
Steve Stone
And so maybe YOUR talk would not be a film from a stage, but a video of your club taking action (planing the community garden, meeting with politicians, whatever).
And if you keep your eyes open for ways to build connections to other schools, that would make it even more powerful (do you have foreign exchange students - might they take the idea home with them?)
Indigo cantor
Adam Burk 500+
Adam Burk 500+
Keep following your passion Jared, its beautiful.
Jared Tompkins
I've thought of a way to improve the idea. My purpose was always for the TED club to grow from a casual club into a regular, dedicated discussion, but now I'm thinking bigger. I'd like the club to become integrated with a TEDx event nearby! Whether it's a webcast, a club field trip, or even having students give talks, I want the TED club to be a part of the global TED community. My hope for the (distant) future is that the club grows into a real, dedicated TEDx event itself! The school would make a great venue, there would already be a guaranteed crowd of thinking attendees, and I think that it could become a great thing.
Samuel Eddy 500+
Samuel Eddy 500+
We here in Chennai have just coined a word for this TEDucation!! As Chief Coordiantor of TEDxChennai I have been evengalising TED in Colleges and schools in Chennai with dramatic results .This is as simple as organising TEdxevents in schools and colleges. I have also been mentoring these TEDx events .I now propose to start screening TED talks everywhere .In fact we have even started screening TED talks in our church and Ideas worth spreading are spreading everywhere. Now the TEDx in a box will also help us spread the TEDucation in the rural areas!!
Regards,
Samuel Eddy
P,S. Must talk to Chris and Laura about copywriting the word!!!!LOL.
Sabin Muntean 30+
I've also had the same idea soon after discovering TED back when I was in the 12th grade. We were discussing India in English class and although the material we were wroking with was quite interesting, it all wasn't a match for the great talks of TED India.
Reading texts on women's issues there just isn't the same as hearing and seeing a great talk from TED.
Same thing applied to other topics we discussed such as genetic engineering or stem cells. I remember not studying for the test on this topic with the papers from class, but by re-watching Gregory Stock's 2003 talk "To upgrade is human".
Unfortunately, at that time I was convinced that our teacher wouldn't be too interested, so I never brought the matter up, however looking back I regret this. So all I can say is go ahead, start up a TED club, talk to your teachers and bring them aboard as well!
To what extent the use could increase to actual TED classes is debatable, it all depends on the school. I think all in all such classes will not replace regular classes, but serve as an additional way of learning and finding inspiration.
Here we always had additional involvement in clubs or groups mentioned below our marks, perhaps you could put TED in that category as well.
Ideally you could then also get the clubs involved in TEDx events in the region.
Athena Lam 50+
TED talks get you all fired up, which is great. What would make it perfect is if you can translate that energy into a lasting impact. By that I mean after watching a TED talk, or a few of them, get the people who attend to go do something related to that.
It takes more homework on your part, because you need to facilitate and have a bit more structure, but it would help generate ideas. It won't just be another (albeit an exciting) social. So for example, if you've watched the Ken Robinson talks - then bring in a few ideas on how you can make small incremental changes in your school and facilitate a discussion. Eventually, participants will probably also bring in their ideas. And go do something with it.
Bringing TED talks to the world is a great thing on the TED website - it will be phenomenal when we create an entire TED spirit of making the changes. You've already started it - keep it growing!
Sabin Muntean 30+
Thumbs up!
mary vargas
Athena Lam 50+
I know high school's a bit of a bubble in itself - it takes up majority of your time 5 days a week, and there might not be much connection between the school and other initiatives/communities. And I also hear you in that there's an issue with getting people to care (teachers, students) and generating critical mass.
I think it's still possible. Most of the projects I've started are very grassroots, 0 budget, kind of things, but they grow slowly. The first thing is probably just to get the visibility there - to have those days, and hassle one of your teachers to just give you a room (most of them stay behind for an hour or two afterschool anyway). Make it easy for them - you organize everything (name of the group, what TEDtalks, facilitation for debate - or even if it's not a debate, just kind of a - well what can we do about this or what other neat initiatives have we found similar to the TED talk, doing the posters/contacting the announcement/student council) and make it so effortless on the teacher's part they can't say no.
And for the students - grab your friends first. And if not - well you're watching TED videos anyway - just watch it in a classroom and see who drops by!
Felipe Rocha
Make sure to keep us updated on how this project of yours goes, so that it can then be expanded to other schools. And, maybe, who knows, this project grows enough that it spawns a TEDx of its own. :D
(TEDxHS, TEDxHigherED anyone?)
Colleen Steen 500+
I LOVE YOUR ENTHUSIASM!!!
James Robinson
Janessa Marks
Jimmy Strobl 30+
Quality: as mentioned by some, its what makes TED great. The lack of curators and appointed discussion leaders may work at one school or two but to make this into something really great and global (guessing thats what we all want) TED needs to be in control somehow.
Structure: Who should be appointed to lead and why (if not TED)? And what topics should be discussed and in what way? Democracy may be a good way to go about this, although since it's probably going to be small in the beginning we may get 2 votes for Technology, 1 vote for Entertainment and 1 for Design... losing half of the participants because of lack of interest.
I think that somehow TED needs to put together a "top 10 for schools" or something. Which would include that TED took the role as curator and discussion leader for 10 topics worthy of discussion. This would be a guideline and basis for things worth discussing. and what way to do it in.
Final question: if it's not curated by TED will it really become something more then some eager students tryings to spread knowledge in some random places around the world?
Jared Tompkins
However, you have given me an idea. There is at least one TEDx organizer in my area, and I think it would be a great idea to contact him to see what he thinks about it. Perhaps the school TED clubs could grow into being somehow connected with TEDx events; perhaps discounts for school trips to the events, or having a student present a Talk, or some other arrangement.
Wole Olugbenle 30+
Matthieu Miossec 100+