TED Talks: Fueling Your Students’ Fire
May. Seriously? It’s MAY??? (insert Justin Timberlake meme that only people over the age of 37 relate to).
This is the time of year I get super-emotional as a veteran of teaching high school for twenty years. I have had years of a few Senior students and some
years of all upper-classmen. I have taught this group of Seniors for four years. I feel like every day that passes I need to make sure I impart all my secrets, inspire creativity, and build confidence. I need to make sure they know I don’t just stop being their teacher and biggest fan after they leave the doors of Room 508. It is not a running joke - “Which TED Talk are we going to watch today Mrs. Hair?” I even had a couple come in just today and said, “I caught this TED Talk/Podcast over the weekend and I thought of you…” (insert tears forming)
Have we taught them enough about how to stand strong against what can and will happen in their personal and professional lives? Have we modeled and practiced consistent effort? TED Talks can be an awesome way to inspire and share ideas worth spreading in your classroom! There are thousands of talks for every area and grade level. Teachers can even create their own lessons with reflections using TED-Ed! Discover what other educators have shared or create your own lesson to share with the TED community. After many years of using TED Talks in my own classroom, I decided it was the perfect time to share what an amazing resource this could be for other educators through the Connected Classroom Course, TED Talks in the Classroom At Connected Classroom Courses, our graduate courses for teachers are the perfect fit for manageable and meaningful online graduate level courses for fellow teachers. This is the perfect online course for teachers who want to fuel their students' fire!
We may NOT be able to control what happens when they leave our rooms, but we can control the messages and conversations in our classrooms. Check out a list of inspiring TED Talks I have compiled over the years.
(from www. ted.com)
Jennifer Hair is the Director and Instructor for Connected Classroom Courses. She has taught high school business and visual arts classes for 18 years at Shawnee Mission East High School in the Kansas City metropolitan area. She also teaches numerous self-paced graduate education courses for teachers.