TED Talks by Cameron Riley

     I have recently been watching TED Talks for a Journey Journal in English. These talks are about 18 minutes long and can be about almost anything. Topics such as the Zika virus, school and poverty are three of the many topics that have been discussed at TED Talks. During school, teachers such as Mrs. Kopp and others have shown TED Talks in a wide range of classes. I discovered TED Talks in middle school, some being very simple such as "How to find a wonderful idea" and "A tribute to nurses". Others being about very difficult and harsh topics such as "Behind the lies of Holocaust Denial" and "How racism makes us sick". When I first heard in our English class that one of our independent work assignments was to make a journal, I wasn't very excited. Mrs. Kopp left some examples for the class to choose from if needed. The first option was to watch TED Talks and record what I liked, didn't like and what could be taken away from each speaker. I became excited to learn that I could watch these talks and discuss them in a paragraph to summarize what I enjoyed and what I learned from each talk.
     While working on this assignment I have watched and enjoyed multiple TED Talks, each one being interesting and able to grab my attention in many different ways. One of my favorites called "Poverty isn't a lack of character; it's a lack of cash" by a historian named Rutger Bregman. His talk discussed Poverty and the one scientifically proven way that it could be avoided. Before the video started, I was very questionable about watching this talk. Poverty is a very tough topic to talk about and may not be a suitable topic to bring up in certain places. But the outcome of watching this video was terrific. I learned about a study in Canada which ended poverty in their town by giving people more money. It doesn't seem very exciting or cool but these kinds of talks and discussions really interest me and have made me enjoy this unit in our class more than any other.
     I highly recommend watching these TED Talks. You may learn something new or be interested to watch a video on a familiar topic. Whatever you chose, you won't be disappointed.