Every kid needs a champion
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0:01 - 0:05I have spent my entire life
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0:05 - 0:09either at the schoolhouse,
on the way to the schoolhouse, -
0:09 - 0:12or talking about what happens
in the schoolhouse. -
0:12 - 0:13(Laughter)
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0:13 - 0:15Both my parents were educators,
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0:15 - 0:18my maternal grandparents were educators,
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0:19 - 0:22and for the past 40 years,
I've done the same thing. -
0:22 - 0:25And so, needless to say, over those years
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0:25 - 0:28I've had a chance
to look at education reform -
0:28 - 0:30from a lot of perspectives.
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0:30 - 0:32Some of those reforms have been good.
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0:32 - 0:34Some of them have been not so good.
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0:34 - 0:36And we know why kids drop out.
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0:36 - 0:38We know why kids don't learn.
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0:38 - 0:41It's either poverty, low attendance,
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0:41 - 0:43negative peer influences...
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0:43 - 0:45We know why.
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0:45 - 0:47But one of the things
that we never discuss -
0:47 - 0:50or we rarely discuss
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0:50 - 0:54is the value and importance
of human connection. -
0:54 - 0:55Relationships.
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0:56 - 1:00James Comer says
that no significant learning -
1:00 - 1:02can occur without
a significant relationship. -
1:03 - 1:05George Washington Carver says all learning
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1:05 - 1:09is understanding relationships.
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1:09 - 1:14Everyone in this room has been affected
by a teacher or an adult. -
1:15 - 1:19For years, I have watched people teach.
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1:20 - 1:23I have looked at the best
and I've looked at some of the worst. -
1:23 - 1:25A colleague said to me one time,
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1:25 - 1:27"They don't pay me to like the kids.
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1:27 - 1:29They pay me to teach a lesson.
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1:29 - 1:30The kids should learn it.
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1:30 - 1:32I should teach it, they should learn it,
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1:32 - 1:33Case closed."
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1:34 - 1:36Well, I said to her,
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1:36 - 1:39"You know, kids don't learn
from people they don't like." -
1:39 - 1:42(Laughter)
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1:42 - 1:47(Applause)
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1:47 - 1:51She said, "That's just a bunch of hooey."
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1:51 - 1:52And I said to her,
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1:52 - 1:56"Well, your year is going to be
long and arduous, dear." -
1:56 - 1:58Needless to say, it was.
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1:58 - 2:01Some people think that you can either
have it in you to build a relationship, -
2:01 - 2:03or you don't.
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2:03 - 2:05I think Stephen Covey had the right idea.
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2:05 - 2:09He said you ought to just
throw in a few simple things, -
2:09 - 2:11like seeking first to understand,
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2:11 - 2:13as opposed to being understood.
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2:13 - 2:16Simple things, like apologizing.
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2:16 - 2:18You ever thought about that?
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2:18 - 2:20Tell a kid you're sorry, they're in shock.
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2:20 - 2:21(Laughter)
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2:21 - 2:23I taught a lesson once on ratios.
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2:24 - 2:27I'm not real good with math,
but I was working on it. -
2:27 - 2:28(Laughter)
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2:28 - 2:30And I got back and looked
at that teacher edition. -
2:31 - 2:32I'd taught the whole lesson wrong.
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2:32 - 2:34(Laughter)
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2:34 - 2:36So I came back to class
the next day and I said, -
2:36 - 2:38"Look, guys, I need to apologize.
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2:38 - 2:42I taught the whole lesson wrong.
I'm so sorry." -
2:42 - 2:44They said, "That's okay, Ms. Pierson.
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2:44 - 2:46You were so excited, we just let you go."
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2:51 - 2:55I have had classes that were so low,
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2:55 - 2:58so academically deficient, that I cried.
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2:59 - 3:02I wondered, "How am I
going to take this group, -
3:02 - 3:04in nine months,
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3:04 - 3:06from where they are
to where they need to be? -
3:07 - 3:09And it was difficult, it was awfully hard.
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3:10 - 3:13How do I raise the self-esteem of a child
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3:13 - 3:15and his academic achievement
at the same time? -
3:16 - 3:18One year I came up with a bright idea.
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3:18 - 3:20I told all my students,
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3:20 - 3:23"You were chosen to be in my class
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3:23 - 3:25because I am the best teacher
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3:25 - 3:26and you are the best students,
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3:26 - 3:28they put us all together
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3:28 - 3:30so we could show
everybody else how to do it." -
3:31 - 3:33One of the students said, "Really?"
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3:33 - 3:36(Laughter)
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3:36 - 3:39I said, "Really. We have
to show the other classes -
3:39 - 3:41how to do it, so when
we walk down the hall, -
3:41 - 3:44people will notice us,
so you can't make noise. -
3:44 - 3:45You just have to strut."
-
3:45 - 3:46(Laughter)
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3:46 - 3:48And I gave them a saying to say:
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3:48 - 3:49"I am somebody.
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3:49 - 3:51I was somebody when I came.
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3:51 - 3:53I'll be a better somebody when I leave.
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3:53 - 3:55I am powerful, and I am strong.
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3:55 - 3:57I deserve the education that I get here.
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3:57 - 4:00I have things to do, people to impress,
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4:00 - 4:02and places to go."
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4:02 - 4:03And they said, "Yeah!"
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4:03 - 4:04(Laughter)
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4:04 - 4:06You say it long enough,
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4:06 - 4:09it starts to be a part of you.
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4:09 - 4:16(Applause)
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4:16 - 4:19I gave a quiz, 20 questions.
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4:20 - 4:21A student missed 18.
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4:23 - 4:26I put a "+2" on his paper
and a big smiley face. -
4:26 - 4:28(Laughter)
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4:28 - 4:31He said, "Ms. Pierson, is this an F?"
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4:31 - 4:33I said, "Yes."
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4:33 - 4:34(Laughter)
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4:34 - 4:37He said, "Then why'd you
put a smiley face?" -
4:37 - 4:39I said, "Because you're on a roll.
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4:39 - 4:42You got two right.
You didn't miss them all." -
4:42 - 4:43(Laughter)
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4:43 - 4:47I said, "And when we review this,
won't you do better?" -
4:47 - 4:49He said, "Yes, ma'am, I can do better."
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4:49 - 4:53You see, "-18" sucks
all the life out of you. -
4:53 - 4:55"+2" said, "I ain't all bad."
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5:01 - 5:07For years, I watched my mother
take the time at recess to review, -
5:07 - 5:10go on home visits in the afternoon,
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5:10 - 5:13buy combs and brushes
and peanut butter and crackers -
5:13 - 5:15to put in her desk drawer
for kids that needed to eat, -
5:15 - 5:19and a washcloth and some soap
for the kids who didn't smell so good. -
5:19 - 5:21See, it's hard to teach kids who stink.
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5:21 - 5:22(Laughter)
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5:22 - 5:24And kids can be cruel.
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5:25 - 5:27And so she kept those things in her desk,
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5:27 - 5:31and years later, after she retired,
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5:31 - 5:34I watched some of those
same kids come through -
5:34 - 5:36and say to her, "You know, Ms. Walker,
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5:36 - 5:37you made a difference in my life.
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5:38 - 5:39You made it work for me.
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5:39 - 5:41You made me feel like I was somebody,
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5:41 - 5:45when I knew, at the bottom, I wasn't.
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5:45 - 5:47And I want you to just
see what I've become." -
5:47 - 5:50And when my mama died two years ago at 92,
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5:50 - 5:53there were so many former
students at her funeral, -
5:53 - 5:56it brought tears to my eyes,
not because she was gone, -
5:56 - 5:59but because she left
a legacy of relationships -
5:59 - 6:01that could never disappear.
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6:02 - 6:06Can we stand to have more relationships?
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6:06 - 6:07Absolutely.
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6:07 - 6:10Will you like all your children?
Of course not. -
6:10 - 6:11(Laughter)
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6:11 - 6:15And you know your toughest
kids are never absent. -
6:15 - 6:17(Laughter)
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6:17 - 6:19Never.
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6:19 - 6:20You won't like them all,
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6:20 - 6:24and the tough ones show up for a reason.
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6:24 - 6:27It's the connection.
It's the relationships. -
6:32 - 6:36So teachers become
great actors and great actresses, -
6:36 - 6:38and we come to work
when we don't feel like it, -
6:38 - 6:41and we're listening to policy
that doesn't make sense, -
6:41 - 6:44and we teach anyway.
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6:45 - 6:49We teach anyway,
because that's what we do. -
6:49 - 6:51Teaching and learning should bring joy.
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6:52 - 6:54How powerful would our world be
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6:54 - 6:58if we had kids who were
not afraid to take risks, -
6:58 - 6:59who were not afraid to think,
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6:59 - 7:01and who had a champion?
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7:01 - 7:03Every child deserves a champion,
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7:03 - 7:05an adult who will never give up on them,
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7:05 - 7:08who understands the power of connection,
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7:08 - 7:12and insists that they become
the best that they can possibly be. -
7:12 - 7:15Is this job tough? You betcha.
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7:15 - 7:17Oh God, you betcha.
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7:17 - 7:20But it is not impossible.
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7:20 - 7:22We can do this. We're educators.
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7:22 - 7:24We're born to make a difference.
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7:24 - 7:26Thank you so much.
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7:26 - 7:31(Applause)
- Title:
- Every kid needs a champion
- Speaker:
- Rita Pierson
- Description:
-
Rita Pierson, a teacher for 40 years, once heard a colleague say, "They don't pay me to like the kids." Her response: "Kids don't learn from people they don’t like.'" A rousing call to educators to believe in their students and actually connect with them on a real, human, personal level.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDTalks
- Duration:
- 07:48
Camille Martínez edited English subtitles for Every kid needs a champion | ||
Krystian Aparta commented on English subtitles for Every kid needs a champion | ||
Krystian Aparta edited English subtitles for Every kid needs a champion | ||
Krystian Aparta edited English subtitles for Every kid needs a champion | ||
Thu-Huong Ha edited English subtitles for Every kid needs a champion | ||
Thu-Huong Ha approved English subtitles for Every kid needs a champion | ||
Thu-Huong Ha edited English subtitles for Every kid needs a champion | ||
Morton Bast accepted English subtitles for Every kid needs a champion |
Krystian Aparta
The English transcript was updated on 4/16/2015.