"Every Kid Needs a Champion" - TED Talk

Last April, I wrote a posting about one of my new obsessions: TED Talks, "a global set of conferences owned by the private non-profit Sapling Foundation, formed to disseminate 'ideas worth spreading'" (Wikipedia). Over the past few months, I've watched a reasonable amount of these talks, but not as many as I would like. I can't imagine why I haven't; it's not like I've been busy or anything. :-)  Yesterday, I was in one of my grad classes and the instructor played an inspiring TED Talk which I hadn't had a chance to watch before and thought to myself: "I need to share this!" While it is geared toward educators, I think the message is pretty powerful. 

The speaker is Rita F. Pierson, "a professional educator since 1972, taught elementary school, junior high and special education. She was a counselor, a testing coordinator and an assistant principal. In each of these roles, she brought a special energy to the role -- a desire to get to know her students, show them how much they matter and support them in their growth, even if it was modest" (TED.com).

After watching this speech, entitled "Every Kid Needs a Champion", I would have liked to have been this woman's friend. Sadly, she passed away in June 2013, so it is not meant to be. Actually what I really would have loved is to have been her student. Watch and enjoy this amazing woman with her inspirational message!