Hackschooling makes me happy - Logan La Plante - TED presentation

Before watching the video presentation, discuss in group:

• What characteristics do teenagers seem to have in common
• Use your imagination and think about why it might be relevant for adults to stop to think about teenagers at all.

Watch thisTED presentation by Logan La Plante and answer the following questions:

•   What question do adults ask teenagers very often? What do teenagers ask themselves very often? 
•    What does Logan say about teenager brains and teenager attitudes ?
•    How does Logan tackle the issue of happiness, health and education? Include in your comment these words by Logan …“Making a living rather that making a life”…
•  What resolution did Logan parents take some years ago and why? Is he all right with his parents´ decision?
• What is a “hacker mind-set” for Logan? How does this concept adapt to “hackschooling” (include the terms: happiness, health, shortcuts, education)
• What values and attitudes has he incorporated from his experiences in a “hackschooling” environment?
• What does Logan mean when he shows the photograph of the white mountains?
• How does Logan put together the following by the end of his presentation: community, freedom, education, happy?

Watch the video presentation again and discuss with your teacher terms and phrases of interest, think of synonyms, antonyms and semantic fields involved.

After the video presentation:

• Is his approach possible in your community? Why?
• Would you like this kind of approach for your children education? What are the pros and cons in your opinion?
• What lessons has he learnt through “hackschooling” that are very valuable for everyone, not only teenagers?

How great leaders inspire action

Watch this TED presentation by Simon Sinek about great leaders and how they inspire action. A very interesting approach to leadership.

After watching the presentation, discuss in class and debate:

- Why does Mr. Sinek take Apple as an example in his presentation?
- Why are the leaders he mentions different from other people in leading situations? Give as many details as possible about the differences.
- How can you explain the Why, How, What concentric circles?
- Do you agree with this approach? Why?

American versus British politeness

Watch this TED video presentation where lecturer Lynne Murphy talks about what politeness means for British and Americans, and why this can create miscommunication across those cultures.

After watching the video discuss this in class:
- Try to recall idiomatic expressions Lynne Murphy uses which include the word "face". Think of other expressions with the same word.
- Which is Lynne Murphy´s conclusion about who is more polite, Americans or British? Why?
- What´s the implicit difference in meaning for "I love..." and "Thank you" for British and American people?

Irrational decisions

Watch this presentation by behavioral economist Dan Ariely talking about the way people don´t take rational decisions. Enjoy.

Discuss these questions in class:

- Why are visual illusions a metaphore for rational behavior?
- What does organ donation depend on, according to Ariely´s reasoning? And what does it mean in terms of making decisions or having an illusion of making a decision?
- What does he say about complex decisions with multiple options?
- What experiment did he do with The Economist subscription? What do the results show?
- Why did he experiment with "slightly ugglier versions" of Tom and Jerry?
-  Last but not least, How does he relate the previous examples to behavioral economics and its importance?

On nurturing creativity: Elizabeth Gilbert

Elizabeth Gilbert muses on the impossible things we expect from artists and geniuses -- and shares the radical idea that, instead of the rare person "being" a genius, all of us "have" a genius. Watch her presentation below, or by clicking here to make use of its interactive transcript.

The 4 ways sound affects us: Julian Treasure

Playing sound effects both pleasant and awful, Julian Treasure shows how sound affects us in four significant ways. Listen carefully for a shocking fact about noisy open-plan offices by clicking here. You can read its interactive transcript on the homepage too.

Or you can directly watch the video below, without the transcript. Have a good time.

The danger of a single story: Chimamanda Adichie

Our lives, our cultures, are composed of many overlapping stories. Novelist Chimamanda Adichie tells the story of how she found her authentic cultural voice -- and warns that if we hear only a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding. Watch this fascinating presentation by clicking here (you´ll be able to read its Interactive Transcript as you follow the presentation on TED´s homepage); or by watching the presentation below (without transcript).

The magic of truth and lies (and iPods)

Using three iPods like magical props, Marco Tempest spins a clever, surprisingly heartfelt meditation on truth and lies, art and emotion. You can also read this presentation using the Interactive Transcript on the right when the presentation is running. Click here (TED´s homepage) for a very good time, or you can watch the same presentation without the interactive transcript below.

How do we know what others think?

Sensing the motives and feelings of others is a natural talent for humans. But how do we do it? Here, Dr. Rebecca Saxe shares fascinating lab work that uncovers how the brain thinks about other peoples' thoughts -- and judges their actions. Don´t miss this interesting presentation.


If you want to watch the presentation and follow the script at the same time, enter HERE