The following videos and articles express thoughts and beliefs that I feel are relevant to my teaching beliefs and style:
What Teachers Make
In this excellent slam poem, poet Taylor Mali responds to a critic who espouses the old maxim "those who can, do, and those who can't, teach."
WARNING: one instance of language that could be considered blasphemous, and one rude gesture...
The Value of Non-Catastrophic Failure
Dr. Alex Russell delivers a TED Talk explaining why experiencing non-catastrophic failure free from parental / guardian interference is so important to stemming the tide of anxiety disorders facing modern children.Â
This Is Water
A commencement address in which David Foster Wallace describes the importance of perspective and choice in how we live our lives.
WARNING: one instance of mild language...
Pale Blue Dot
Based on NASA's famous "Pale Blue Dot" photograph taken by the Voyager I spacecraft as it left our solar system, Carl Sagan's iconic speech of the same name contrasts our human sense of self-importance with our cosmic insignificance. By recognizing how truly small and fragile Earth is in the vastness of the universe, we can also appreciate the senselessness of human conflict and violence.
Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance
Reknowned academic Angela Lee Duckworth discusses the outcomes of her decades of research into success: the discovery that the one quality that trumps all others in predicting achievement is the fusion of passion and perseverance she calls "grit."
What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains
A short video on the damaging effects of spending too much time on the internet / social media / cell phones, especially on thinking and academic success.
WARNING: one or two instances of violent cartoon imagery...
The Mind
Buddhist philosopher Alan Watts discusses the dangers of compulsive thinking and the benefits of finding time for quiet meditation and mindfulness.
Our Loss of Wisdom
In this thought-provoking TED Talk, psychologist Barry Schwartz discusses how regimented job expectations and educational curriculum can actually work against the very goals they seek to achieve, and that trusting human wisdom is the key to unlocking our potential.
Knowledge vs. Thinking
In this animated excerpt from his commencement address at Western New England University, renowned science advocate Neil deGrasse Tyson discusses why accurate, but memorized knowledge is inferior to the approximate, but insightful results of intelligent thinking and problem-solving.
Inside The Mind of a Master Procrastinator
Tim Urban's TED talk on the topic of procrastination may ring true to students who have ever struggled to manage long-term projects, or stay on top of their studies. Those who are interested in this topic may want to check out Indistractable, by Nir Eyal, for practical strategies to avoid distraction and procrastination.