The specific ideas that have rooted themselves in my brain over the past week focus on fearlessness, high expectations and creativity.

I was most impressed with the presentation by John Hunter, whose World Peace Game is pure genius.  And yet the man himself exudes a genuine humility that is incredibly moving.  He is just a teacher that created a game.  I cannot help but imagine how different I would be, perhaps how different we all might be, if we had a teacher like John Hunter.  His game forces children to develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills, to make strategic plans, to negotiate and to compromise in a way that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.  And yet the game is absolutely relevant, addressing issues like economics, politics, war, resource management and sustainability, natural disasters, etc.  The fact that this is designed for fourth graders is even more remarkable.  Something he said about the game stuck with me.  He said that he wants his students to “love it (the game) so much they can’t do without it, but make it so difficult they almost can’t do it.”  I am attaching a link to Hunter’s TED Talk in 2011.

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/john_hunter_on_the_world_peace_game.html

The other speaker who I have continued to think about is Sarah Kay.  She is all of 22 years old and yet she has founded an organization called Project V.O.I.C.E. that teaches poetry and self-expression to people across the United States.   She talked about how, as a teenager winning a slam poetry competition, the idea of being listened to was “transformational.”  Kay has a vision and nothing stops her from moving that vision forward.  Her optimism is as inspiring and infectious as her poetry is joyful and moving.  She urged the audience to be open to “accidental breakthroughs” as are children, but to do that we need to remain flexible.  What if more of us put effort into helping others find their voices?  And then took the time to listen to what they have to say?  Attached is a link of TED Talk that Sarah Kay presented in 2011.

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/sarah_kay_how_many_lives_can_you_live.html

In this day and age of technology, something that Stephen Carter said in his general session presentation struck a chord with me.  He said that, regarding books, some ideas are so important that it is worthwhile to put them someplace where they are not easily destroyed.  He also said that books themselves suggest complexity and that by taking the time to read and think can cause you to change your mind.  He went on to say that when we remove complexity, that everything is reduced to slogans and that reducing great ideas into streams of information is a terrible mistake.  Carter said that educators should not “give up on the book as a tactile object” and that it “teaches values by its’ very existence.”

Finally, in her presentation, Amy Chua’s observations on self-esteem in children were noteworthy.  She said that true self-esteem must be earned by overcoming something difficult or by meeting a challenge, and that doing something “extremely well” is “happiness-producing.”  She also suggested that we should assume strength rather than weakness in our children and instill in them a strong work ethic.