TED Community » Alexander Miller

More About Me

I'm passionate about

The future; Education; Innovation & Creativity

People don't know that I'm good at

Thinking. Those that know me would use the word 'athlete' to describe me. I will never grow out of my love for athletics, but I believe people will see my true philosophy more and more.

My TED Story

I am a victim of ideas spreading, a victim of TED. I believe in the way that TED has instilled greater ideas and greater character in me. I hope to engage more like myself. I view this platform that we have as an opportunity to challenge the future head on and change it for the better.

Comments

• TEDCred score: +0.20 TEDCred reflects your contribution to the TED community.

• A comment on Conversation: Can we fix our education system by creating small community groups?

  Mar 9 2012: Yes, I believe that will and has played a large role in improving education. What you are suggesting is very similar to private education.
  
  The benefits of privatized education far outweigh those offered by the public factory system of education. I apologize I can not list in depth the benefits, but it seems you have already considered some of them.
  
  Smaller class size is very important; It has been proven by many studies that a better teacher to student ratio fosters more learning. Small community groups like you are suggesting also provide opportunity to not only engage students more, but also draw in the attention of parents. Parent involvement is key to the overall efficacy of education. In short, it has been proven to be true that private education has had a positive effect on test results and student achievement.
  
  Small community groups are working!

• A reply on Conversation: Do you think we still need school?

  Mar 9 2012: Keep learning, stay active, and keep doing. As you are engaging within the TED community, I would venture to guess that you would be interested in auto-didacticism. I myself have struggled with keeping my interest in obtaining a degree. I found it much more enjoyable to teach myself via various reliable resources available to me. I find it common that many people sacrifice their happiness in pursuit of a degree that they don't want. Why do they get it? There are countless reasons but more often than not because their parents want them to and because it has become a necessity within the workplace. I wish it wasn't that way. I wish experience was still valued, but it seems that most employers are merely wanting their employees to have experienced college.

• A comment on Conversation: Do you think we still need school?

  Mar 9 2012: "Do we still need school?" It is a great question with a complicated answer. There is no way to fit even a fraction of the answer within these character limits, but personally I do not believe that everyone needs school to be successful. Aries you had pointed out that there are successful dropouts. That premise brings to mind great minds like Steve Jobs, Zuckerberg, Branson etc. Please note though that those same minds still diverted their attention to the pursuit of something great. As you will hear in Jobs' famous Stanford commencement address, he began dropping in on classes that interested him. I believe that is the most concise answer to your question. No, not all of us need school to be successful. It is not enjoyable for many, but if a drop out can drop in on subjects that pertain to their interests than they will be going in the right direction.
• +2

  A comment on Conversation: WHAT IF... we link the ideals of Bryan Stevenson with the infinite possibilities of the City 2.0 ? What can WE do together... IDEAS?

  Mar 6 2012: I believe that Mitch is hitting on all the right points. To answer your question Terry we have to examine the injustice of City 1.0 to design the justice system of City 2.0
  
  I think that there is a widespread disbelief, especially in low income communities, in what used to be called "the American Dream." As Mitch pointed out, we have groups of people that have expectations of themselves for the future. There are groups that undoubtedly will deny their chance of ever going to jail, while other groups will describe a future incarceration as inevitable. These expectations are not only learned in the classroom, but also witnessed on a larger scale within society as a whole. The injustice is not solely in letting disadvantages among classes exist. Even worse than that the true injustice is not letting each American, regardless of class, believe in opportunity.
  
  In Bryan Stevenson's talk he specifically discussed the African-American's lack of opportunity. This included lack of opportunity to be tried as a child, lack of opportunity to be tried without the bias of race, and I argue just the overall lack of opportunity. I believe that we must educate every individual on opportunity. Regardless of obstacles, we must train the character of every individual, just as Jimmy the janitor did. Not every American beliefs in "the American Dream," but I believe this talk was a good reminder to: "keep your eyes on the prize and hold on."