What
do you do with 1400 volunteers who specialize in English (the subject), a
pirate supply store, and a magazine office? Why, put it all together at 826
Valencia, and add in an English-centered tutoring center for kids of course!
Dave Eggers is the mastermind behind this idea. When he lived in Brooklyn in
2000, he heard from his teaching friends that they were having trouble keeping
their students at grade level in reading and writing. His friends wished for
more manpower so that their students could get the help they needed through
one-on-one learning time. Eggers wanted to help, but he did not see a way to
bring the skills of his neighborhood (which was filled with writers, editors,
and the like) to benefit the lives of the
struggling students. But the story does not end there. He soon moved back to San
Francisco, California where a magazine he worked with, the “McSweeney’s
Quarterly”, and a few other magazines rented an office space which they shared
with a tutoring center. Suddenly, a light bulb went off. Ding! Why not open the
building up to kids who need extra help with English homework? The professional
writing community working there could volunteer their free time and give
one-on-one attention to the students! And so, 826 Valencia was born. Here, a
pirate supply store pays for the rent, because the property is officially zoned
for retail, and the magazine employees (along with other volunteers) offer
homework help to excited kids after school. This idea has inspired other
similar centers to pop up all over the country and even internationally! Egger
hopes that many other transformative partnerships will develop and dramatically
change the lives of thousands of school children. Through his TED Talk, he
encourages and challenges others to invest their time in the up and coming
generation. By sharing their knowledge and giving one-on-one time, adults can
help children to make tremendous progress in their education. This can lead to
the formation of a new generation that is fully prepared to solve the problems
the world presents. I know this idea is occurring in my own life--through my
parents. Whenever I need help on homework, need some constructive criticism on
a paper, or need to bounce an idea off of someone, I turn to my parents. When
teachers cannot provide the time and attention their students need, the child’s
parents should be encouraged to step in and help their student with school.
According to Eggers, just 35 to 40 hours a year of one-on-one attention can
help a student achieve at one grade level higher. One-on-one time is essential
to students’ lives, and if provided by someone, namely their parents, it can
help them to succeed even more in school.
Eggers
has a game-changing and profound idea that if practiced can revolutionize the
success of children in education. His humorous presentation style helps to
package his speech up and tie it with a bow. He constantly makes the audience
laugh and captures their attention with his idea and somewhat odd story of how
it came to be. He also shows numerous pictures from 826 Valencia and other
centers like it to give the audience visuals of his idea in action. However, he
is very nervous, particularly about how much time he has left, and stumbles over
his speech with many “uh”s, “um”s, and “ah”s. Eggers’s innovative idea and fun
presentation style deservingly earns him a standing ovation at the end of his
TED Talk.
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