6 TED Talks for Parents
As a parent, you can often feel overwhelmed trying to have all the answers for your children. It can feel like you are failing when you struggle to explain to your child why something like war happens in the world. But remember, you don’t have to have all the answers. Taking the time to help your child learn where to find different viewpoints and answers might help them learn even more than you could teach on your own. A great resource for you are TED Talks.
TED, a media organization, describes its talks as “ideas worth spreading.” And they are. With talks ranging from creativity and education to business and science, TED offers something for everyone. That everyone includes parents like you; several talks cater to themes for parents through TED’s partnership with PBS.
To make it easy to choose your next TED Talk, the best six talks for parents are listed below and arranged by category.
Education Revolution
The Education Revolution talks center around how the digital world intersects with and transforms the classroom, but they cover subjects like poverty, diversity, and parenting skills too.
1. The Education Revolution: Mind the Gap
This video examines the skills gap in the United States. The speakers in the talk expand upon the problem then identify the skills most needed in the current economy. If nothing else, this film will help you think through skills and habits to instill in your child before sending them off to college and into the world.
2. The Education Revolution: Unconscious Bias
“The Education Revolution: Unconscious Bias” supports two audiences. First, it encourages parents and students of color by letting them know they aren’t alone in their struggles at school and home. Second, it spurs their peers to contemplate how they view and act toward people of color.
3. Sal Khan: Mastery-Based Learning
In this talk, educator Sal Khan examines kids’ disengagement from the classroom. He suggests a solution to the problem, one that prioritizes mastery and perseverance over rote memorization. The talk may not interest kids, but it could help parents who want to motivate their kids to persist with their academics.
Science and Wonder
The Science and Wonder talks aim to arouse everyone’s curiosity, and they will. These TED Talks come courtesy of speakers from places like Pixar, MIT, and Radiolab.
4. Science and Wonder: Our Place in Space
Your kids may or may not remember Bill Nye the Science Guy, but you probably do. Round them up and sit down to watch Bill Nye and the Planetary Society talk about LightSail, a privately funded spacecraft powered by photons. Afterward, head over to Netflix or Amazon to view old episodes of Bill Nye the Science Guy.
5.Science and Wonder: Times Square Time Machine
Take your kids on a time-traveling journey with this short TED Talk. You initially start off relaxing in Times Square, circa 2015. The film then leaps backward in time to reveal the earth beneath your feet, as well as to highlight how “humans have utterly transformed the globe.”
6. Danielle Feinberg: The Science of Light
Get your kids excited about this TED Talk with one word: Pixar. Danielle Feinberg, Director of Photography, takes an insider’s look at classic Pixar movies like Toy Story, WALL-E, and Finding Nemo. She reveals the math, science, code, and art that go into creating the beloved stories.
If you want to learn parenting skills or spark your kids’ imaginations, watch a couple of the TED Talks listed here. Your kids will soon be drawing or writing stories, researching where some animals come from, or thinking about how math and science can be used to create movies and artificial limbs.
The most important things to remember are that these issues can be complicated and being a parent doesn’t always have simple, “right” answers. Prepare and focus on your own questions and how you can help your child learn and grow.
Brooke Nally is a freelance writer based out of Utah. She enjoys hiking, reading, writing, and traveling.
