This Spirited TED Talk On The Importance Of A School Will Inspire You This Weekend

It is not everyday that we come across inspirational people in our journey in life. People from various walks of life, share their experiences and life lessons through fiery speeches on TED Talks and as parents, it gives us a lot of insight on parenting and in shaping the future citizens of tomorrow.

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One such TED Talk that we came across was this great speech by the famous Nadia Lopez, the founder of Mott Hall Bridges Academy. She gives a spirited talk on how every school that opens, forces a jail to be shut down. She gained great recognition when one of her students, Vidal Chastanet, was featured on the Humans of New York (HONY) blog. The student was asked: “Who’s (sic) influenced you the most in your life?” Chastanet replied as below:

“Who’s influenced you the most in your life?” “My principal, Ms. Lopez.” “How has she influenced you?” “When we get in trouble, she doesn’t suspend us. She calls us to her office and explains to us how society was built down around us. And she tells us that each time somebody fails out of school, a new jail cell gets built. And one time she made every student stand up, one at a time, and she told each one of us that we matter.”

A photo posted by Humans of New York (@humansofny) on Jan 19, 2015 at 4:20pm PST

At Mott Hall, Nadia Lopez and her students work against innumerable challenges that life throws at them. She told the audience that 100% of her students live below the poverty line, 86% are below grade level in Math and English, and 30% have special needs. She explains in this video about how she believes in every child’s brilliance and capabilities. In today’s world, when there is a need for doers to pave new paths, Nadia Lopez is surely an inspiration.

Image source: pbs.org

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