Dave Eggers opens his TED talk with a story about educators. He knows many but is not one himself, he is rather a writer. He tells of their struggles with many students, who needed one-on-one time to comprehend their materials. However, with the low teacher to student ratio it would be impossible to give students this opportunity, and if attempted only a single hour of one-on-one instruction would be available to each student per week.
Students struggled with keeping up with their reading and writing grade level, often in under funded schools. The answer to these problems could all be solved simply with more people to help. Dave knew many writers, like himself who had incredibly flexible schedules, and were willing to help, so he took action. With the purchase and renovation of a retail property into a pirate supply store -in order to pay the rent- these writers now had a location where students would be able to come after school for additional help and tutoring.
Another factor comes into play here, refered to by Clay Shirky as Cognitive Surplus. As described in a previous blog post of mine, Cognitive Surplus is.... It was demonstrated in this situation. There were many writers with free time and willingness to help these struggling students. This Cognitive Surplus sparked exponential growth in the idea, and the organization which grew from 12 to 1400 volunteers. Any free time volunteered was appreciated, and people began coming in more and more often, sometimes directly after work, simply to help the students in need.
The compassion and devotion of these volunteers drove these students to new limits, and far past the old ones they had set for themselves. Students were even given the opportunity to write books, ones that would be published and sold to the outside world. The store grew in popularity once the books were published and sold within it. Inspired by the tremendous success of the store and tutoring, similar organizations opened, like the Brooklyn Superhero Supply.
Since Cognitive Surplus played such a large role in the development of the program I feel that it makes for an even more inspiring story. Hundreds of selfless people with a little extra time put it towards a cause greater than themselves. Knowing that just one or two extra hours of your time a week can make a significant difference in a students education will hopefully inspire more people to get out and help others, no matter the amount of time they are able to commit.
Dave's talk opened my eyes to the devotion that people can have towards local organizations. These people didn't have to take on massive projects to make a world wide difference. They were able to just take what they had, an apply it on a small scale. As more people did the same it grew to become known world wide and inspired others to take part in volunteering locally.
We have talked in my English class about the significance of one-on-one time with instructors. As Dave said, "It's been proven that 35-40 hours a year with one-on-one attention, a student can get one grade higher," (Dave Eggers). Imagine what the world could look like if people shared their knowledge with children more often, on a more personal level. The education system would make leaps and bounds, new discoveries could be made faster and ultimately a greater future would emerge. The children of today are quite literally the future, so investing our time and talents in them is the best of gifts possible to give to the world. The only way to expand human understanding of life is through these forms of Cognitive Surplus, and everyone is able to and should contribute.
I would have preferred the talk to have ended with a challenge rather than a wish. In my mind a wish typically represents unreasonable wanting or hopefulness, yet not always. A challenge to the audience would have ended the talk on a stronger note, igniting the flame of competition. Not that competition should be the driving force behind volunteering, but it would have been a source for the motivation of knowing that someone wants you to better the world for no other reason than because it is the right thing to do.
Website with information on the tutoring organization:
onceuponaschool.org
Dave Eggers TED talk:
Others can be found at ted.com
The compassion and devotion of these volunteers drove these students to new limits, and far past the old ones they had set for themselves. Students were even given the opportunity to write books, ones that would be published and sold to the outside world. The store grew in popularity once the books were published and sold within it. Inspired by the tremendous success of the store and tutoring, similar organizations opened, like the Brooklyn Superhero Supply.
Since Cognitive Surplus played such a large role in the development of the program I feel that it makes for an even more inspiring story. Hundreds of selfless people with a little extra time put it towards a cause greater than themselves. Knowing that just one or two extra hours of your time a week can make a significant difference in a students education will hopefully inspire more people to get out and help others, no matter the amount of time they are able to commit.
Dave's talk opened my eyes to the devotion that people can have towards local organizations. These people didn't have to take on massive projects to make a world wide difference. They were able to just take what they had, an apply it on a small scale. As more people did the same it grew to become known world wide and inspired others to take part in volunteering locally.
We have talked in my English class about the significance of one-on-one time with instructors. As Dave said, "It's been proven that 35-40 hours a year with one-on-one attention, a student can get one grade higher," (Dave Eggers). Imagine what the world could look like if people shared their knowledge with children more often, on a more personal level. The education system would make leaps and bounds, new discoveries could be made faster and ultimately a greater future would emerge. The children of today are quite literally the future, so investing our time and talents in them is the best of gifts possible to give to the world. The only way to expand human understanding of life is through these forms of Cognitive Surplus, and everyone is able to and should contribute.
I would have preferred the talk to have ended with a challenge rather than a wish. In my mind a wish typically represents unreasonable wanting or hopefulness, yet not always. A challenge to the audience would have ended the talk on a stronger note, igniting the flame of competition. Not that competition should be the driving force behind volunteering, but it would have been a source for the motivation of knowing that someone wants you to better the world for no other reason than because it is the right thing to do.
Website with information on the tutoring organization:
onceuponaschool.org
Dave Eggers TED talk:
Others can be found at ted.com
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