Ted Talk: A Father Daughter Dance In Prison

I first watched a Ted Talk called “A father daughter dance in prison” by Angela Patton. In this Ted Talk, Angela told a story about how she formed an organization called “Camp Diva”. This organization helps fathers and daughters stay connected in each other’s lives. She believed that in preparation for growing up and their own woman-hood, they needed the opportunity to have a way to invite their fathers into their lives on their own terms. Girls in her camp decided to have a dance. Once the dance was a success, they decided it would be annual. But for the second year of the dance, one girl’s father couldn’t come because he was in jail. The group felt that the girl needed to experience the dance as well, so they had the dance in jail. More girls with fathers in jail were invited, and it was described as a very beautiful and moving night.
At first I found that this Ted Talk was very different.
Growing up in a pretty well-off town, I have never met somebody in jail or seen a jail myself. Watching this Ted Talk opened by eyes to exactly how hard it would be if you knew your own father was still alive, but you could never see him. Growing up without a father figure in your life sounds very tough but it was never something I really thought about. I thought the woman in this Ted Talk had a very big heart. To create this organization to help keep a connection with fathers in jail was a very risky thing to do, but also sounded very rewarding. These girls will now be able to live their lives differently knowing that they have this small connection with their fathers, which I think is very
heartwarming.

The next Ted Talk I watched was called “Every Kid Needs a Champion” by Rita Pierson. In this Ted Talk, she talks about her life and how it has revolved around education. Her and her parents were all teachers. She states that although kids are dropping out, not going to school, and skipping class, what they really need is a good relationship with a teacher or an adult that they can look up to and go to. She feels that kids have trouble learning from teachers or people that they don’t like. She emphasizes the importance of raising children’s academic self-esteem in order to do well. She even told her past classes that they were chosen to be in her class because they were advanced, even when they were not. She is a very positive lady. When she used to given her classes 20 question quizzes, if a kid missed 18 questions, she would write +2 instead of -18 on their paper. Rita described how many lives she touched by being a positive teacher who is likeable. Kids did so well in her class and enjoyed going, affecting the quality of their work.

I couldn’t agree more with what Rita described in this Ted Talk. When I am in an academic class and I like the teacher, there is definitely a relation with how well I do in the class. It is easier to learn from someone who you respect and who respects you. The classroom environment is less stressful, and it helps to open up your mind to the learning material, not to how frustrated you are with the person teaching it to you. Rita seemed like a very positive lady and seemed to have a very big heart. To have patience with classes who were very academically challenged as she described, and to take them all the way to the top of their classes after just 9 months is something that is not only one of her greatest accomplishments, but also is a life changing and heartwarming experience.