Angela Lee Duckworth: The key to success? Grit

Link to Angela Lee Duckworth's Talk: The key to success? Grit
Photo and Video provided by TED.

     In Angela Lee Duckworth’s Talk: The key to success? Grit, she discusses what motivates individuals and she believes that is grit. She defines it as: “Grit is passion and perseverance for very long-term goals. Grit is having stamina. Grit is sticking with your future, day in, day out, not just for the week, not just for the month, but for years, and working really hard to make that future a reality. Grit is living life like it's a marathon, not a sprint.” She continues her talk by explaining her methods of testing and building her credibility before describing how grit applies to education. She believes grit is what helps student succeed in school, and now she wants educators and scientists to figure out ways to teach grit and help students develop the skills that allow them to set long-term goals and follow through with them, therefore helping them stay in school and finishing their education successfully. She ends the talk by explaining a few methods of how to build grit, but ultimately leaves it up to us and herself to figure out better solutions in the future for how to build grit and inspire students throughout their education.

Do you know anyone that has true grit? How has it helped them to succeed?

Lisa Bu: How books can open your mind

Link to Lisa Bu's Talk: How books can open your mind
Photo and Video provided by TED.

     In Lisa Bu’s Talk: How books can open your mind, she presents a unique perspective of her childhood in China; a perspective that I had never considered because I was born and raised in America. From a young age, Bu was told she had to go to a certain school and have a certain job, even though she had a lifelong dream to be a Chinese Opera Singer. Since she wasn’t able to get any support education from any of the adults in her life, she turned to books. Bu explains that books gave her new insight into the lives of other individuals, and the hardships they have endured. It gave her a new perspective on her life and inspired her to do what she believed in and felt was right.
     Bu’s speech is interesting and engaging through her use of humor and examples of books and writers that are well known. She also uses examples of literature from her home country, and explains the significance and opportunities gained by reading books in two different languages. Bu provides the viewer with a new way to look at books and literature and inspires us to go home and read a book to help us better understand the world and other people’s situations and lives. She also encourages reader to practice comparative reading, an interesting concept that I had never tried before. Comparative reading entails reading two books that are similar in events, time periods, topics, etc. and comparing and contrasting them as you read. I plan on trying out this method once I get some free time, as I believe it will be a learning experience that will help broaden my mind and my perspective on particular events.

What are some of your favorite books that inspire you? What about these books inspires you?

Angela Patton: A father-daughter dance ... in prison

Link to Angela Patton's Talk: A father-daughter dance ... in prison
Photo and Video provided by TED.

     In Angela Patton’s talk, A father-daughter dance… in prison, Patton tells a lively story for her viewers. She explains how a father daughter dance in prison came to be. While Patton’s story is fascinating and engaging, her message is even more important: prisoners are still people and deserve to be treated fairly. Just because a man is in prison, doesn’t mean he doesn’t deserve to have a relationship with his daughter or family. By creating a father daughter dance within prisons, the men and daughters were able to create bonds and memories that would otherwise not be possible. Patton’s story is a friendly reminder that we can all be doing things to help girls and families in the community… sometimes all it takes is listening to young girls and helping them develop their ideas.

What are some other things prisoners and families could do together while they are in jail? Have you heard of any unique concepts being implemented in various prisons?

Gayle Tzemach Lemmon: Women entrepreneurs, example not exception

Link to Gayle Tzemach Lemmon's Talk: Women entrepreneurs, example not exception
Photo and Video provided by TED.

     In Gayle Tzemach Lemmon’s talk, Women entrepreneurs, example not exception, Lemmon discusses women and their ambitions. Lemmon provides information about women from not only America, but various other countries such as Afghanistan and Bosnia. She provides interesting insight and perspectives that many of us are not exposed to and able to experience for ourselves. 

     The main purpose of this talk is to educate individuals on the challenges and experiences of women entrepreneurs. By educating society, women entrepreneurs may be able to gain more respect and help, especially when it comes to financial aid. Lemmon is an effective speaker through her tone and diction. She clearly explains her personal connection to this topic and why it matters to her.
     Lemmon isn’t the only one who believes in women entrepreneurs as Geri Stengel also does. In her article 11 Reasons 2014 Will Be A Break Out Year For Women Entrepreneurs in Forbes, she explains the rising success of female entrepenuers. She states, “The number of $10-million-plus women-owned firms increased by 57% — a growth rate nearly 50% more than $10-million-plus firms overall according to Growing Under the Radar: An Exploration of the Achievement of Million-Dollar Women-Owned Firms”. She also explains, “There is room for improvement, but the U.S. ranked #1 among 17 countries on having the conditions that foster high potential female entrepreneurship, according to Gender-Global Entrepreneurship Development Index (GEDI).” Hopefully 2015 will continue to be a positive, success year for female entrepreneurs.

Do you know any women entrepreneurs? If so, share their stories (i.e. who they are, what they do, how long they have been doing it, etc.)

Amy Purdy: Living beyond limits

Link to Amy Purdy's Talk: Living beyond limits
Photo and Video provided by TED.

     In Amy Purdy’s Talk: Living beyond limits, she opens with the question, “If your life were a book and you were the author, how would you want your story to go?” She then explains the situation which first made her ask herself this question, and that was a rare disease that left her with a 2% chance of living. Purdy lived, but she sadly lost both of her legs in the process. While this was a hard phase of Purdy’s life, it also forced her to find her inner confidence and positivity to push through her situation and move on with her life. Instead of seeing the bad in the situation, she saw the good: with prosthetic legs, she could now be as tall (or short) as she wanted, she could have whatever shoe size she wanted, and her feet would no longer get cold when she went snowboarding. Purdy’s personal story reminds us all that there is good in every situation, and each one of us can choose to see the bad, and live an unhappy life, or we can choose to see the good and make the best out of our situations and be happy.

Question for you all: If your life were a book and you were the author, how would you want your story to go?

Rita Pierson: Every kid needs a champion

Link to Rita Pierson's Talk: Every kid needs a champion
Photo and Video provided by TED.

     In Rita Pierson’s talk: Every kids need a champion, Pierson encourages everyone to support and inspire children in their education. Pierson has been an educator for the past 40 years and has a lot of experience with different types of students. In her talk, she shares some of the successes and failures she has had as a teacher, mainly to emphasize for others what has worked for her. She admits to once teaching an entire lesson wrong, and having to admit to the class that she had incorrectly taught them. But even though she messed up, it was OK, because it taught her students that its alright for everyone to mess up, and that it is best to own up to your mistakes and make them right whenever possible.
     One of her main points is the necessity of believing in students; if they know their educator doesn’t believe in them, how are they expected to believe in themselves? Pierson explains, “Can we stand to have more relationships? Absolutely. Will you like all your children? Of course not. And you know your toughest kids are never absent. Never. You won't like them all, and the tough ones show up for a reason. It's the connection. It's the relationships. And while you won't like them all, the key is, they can never, ever know it. We teach anyway, because that's what we do.” Pierson encourages positivity in all situations, and I believe her talk is one that all instructors can benefit from watching and considering her advice.

Who was one of your favorite teachers? What qualities made them such an excellent teacher? Did they share any common methods or beliefs with Pierson? 

Katherine Fulton: You are the future of philanthropy

Link to Katherine Fulton's Talk: You are the future of philanthropy
Photo and Video provided by TED.

     In Katherine Fulton’s Talk: You are the future of philanthropy, Fulton does an excellent job of explaining philanthropy clearly, while inspiring viewers to get involved and make a difference in a way that matters to them. Fulton clears up confusions that philanthropy only means giving money; she explains, more importantly, it's about giving time and talents too. These are things we all have and can give to the charities, organizations, and social movements we are most interested in. 
     Fulton gives lots of examples of charities and organizations individuals can become involved in, but she always makes sure to state that people should do what they are most passionate about. She ends her talk by encouraging each and every one of us to inspire our future generations, just as her ancestors have inspired her. I found the end of her speech to be very motivating and emotionally engaging, and think it was the perfect ending to encourage people to go out in the community and get involved by giving their time, talents, or money.

What philanthropies are you passionate about? What do you do to help those causes?

Hanna Rosin: New data on the rise of women

Link to Hanna Rosin's Talk: New data on the rise of women
Photo and Video provided by TED.

     In Hanna Rosin’s Talk: New data on the rise of women, Rosin provides uplifting facts and statistics for women about their increased involvement in society. She summarizes that more women are getting degrees, getting jobs, becoming managers and higher positions, and many more exciting statistics. While her talk is female centered, she does a great job of avoiding “man hating” or putting males down. Instead, she provides the facts as they are, and makes a point to tell men that this is important information for all men and women to know.      
     Rosin’s facts are clear and easy to understand which can sometimes become challenging when giving a talk on research that is over your audience’s head. Her graphs and images help further explain her points and some of them (especially the ones of celebrities) provide the audience some entertainment. I personally enjoyed her stories about her experiences, especially in Kansas, because I am originally from there! It was interesting to hear her experiences and how they relate to her information.      
     A few days after reviewing Rosin’s talk, I began to observe my classes and the percentage of males to females. I believe I am in very gender-neutral courses, such as psychology, mass media law, and communication, but I found it interesting to note that almost all of my classes have more women than men. I think I may be doing some research in the near future of the amount of women to men at my university, and other universities around the country, as I think it is fascinating to compare different schools and states. More to come. 

Were you surprised by Rosin’s statistics on the rise of women? Why or why not? Do you have any personal experiences about women rising in society that you would like to share?