I'm 17 | Kate Simonds | TEDxBoise

Summary

In this powerful TED Talk, 17-year-old Kate Simonds challenges the assumption that young people lack the experience or ideas worth listening to. She argues against the age-based bias that undermines the value of student voices and calls for a world where adults respect and collaborate with students to foster creativity and solve societal problems. Kate's passionate plea for the recognition of young people's potential and the need for their active participation in shaping the future is both inspiring and a call to action.

Takeaways

• 🗣️ The speaker, Kate Simonds, challenges the assumption that young people must achieve extraordinary feats to be respected and heard.
• 👠 Kate emphasizes that the only qualification to be a TED speaker is to have an idea worth spreading, not necessarily to be a recognized expert or achiever.
• 🧠 She points out the irony that being 17 and on stage garners respect, but not for the right reasons, highlighting the societal bias towards age and experience.
• 🙅‍♀️ Kate shares personal experiences of her voice being disrespected and dismissed by adults, suggesting a broader issue of ageism in how young people's opinions are valued.
• 🔊 She argues that young people should not have to be millionaires or cure diseases to be worthy of attention, advocating for the respect of any idea regardless of the age of its originator.
• 🤔 Kate questions the validity of the belief that teenagers are incapable of empathy, using her own empathy to understand the audience's assumptions as a counterargument.
• 🏫 Through her involvement with One Stone, a student-run non-profit, Kate demonstrates that young people are capable of significant contributions when their ideas are respected.
• 📚 She critiques the education system for not valuing student input in what and how they learn, suggesting this contributes to a lack of student engagement and confidence.
• 📉 Kate observes a decline in student participation and confidence as they progress through school, attributing it to a system that undermines their ideas and capabilities.
• 💡 She proposes the idea of creative collaboration between adults and students, where both parties listen to and respect each other's ideas, as a solution to societal problems.
• 🌟 Kate concludes by urging both students to believe in their own voices and adults to listen, emphasizing the potential for change when young people are taken seriously.

Q & A

What is the main theme of Kate Simonds' TED Talk?

The main theme of Kate Simonds' TED Talk is the undervaluation and disrespect of young people's voices and ideas, particularly teenagers, and the need for a creative collaboration between adults and students.

Why does Kate feel that her age might have influenced the audience's initial perception of her?

Kate believes that because she is 17, the audience might have initially perceived her as a child prodigy or an accredited creator, assuming she must have done something extraordinary to deserve a TED Talk.

What is the only qualification Kate mentions for being a TED speaker?

The only qualification for being a TED speaker, according to Kate, is to have an idea that one believes is worth spreading.

What experiences has Kate had that made her feel her voice was not respected?

Kate has been told by adults that she is not ready to vote despite her interest in politics, and she has been told to stop fighting for equality because her voice is considered too small to make a difference.

What is the name of the non-profit organization Kate worked with and what did she learn from the experience?

The non-profit organization is called One Stone. Through her work with One Stone, Kate learned how to create a budget, run an interview, speak in front of large groups, and most importantly, problem-solve.

How does Kate describe the difference in experiences between being within the One Stone organization and interacting with adults outside of it?

Within One Stone, Kate's thoughts were never questioned, but outside when interacting with adults about her work, she was often asked, 'What do you know?', implying that as a teenager, her knowledge and ideas are not valued.

What does Kate believe is the reason behind the decline in students' participation and interest in education as they progress through school?

Kate believes that students lose sight of the value of their education and stop learning because they are told they don't understand and don't deserve control over what they learn, leading to a lack of confidence and disinterest.

What does Kate suggest is a possible reason for society's inability to solve certain problems?

Kate suggests that society's inability to solve certain problems may be due to a lack of creative thinking, which she believes is more prevalent in the brains of teenagers who have more scattered and spontaneous neurosignalling pathways.

What is Kate's proposed solution to the problem of undervalued student voices?

Kate proposes a world of creative collaboration between adults and students, where adults listen and respect student ideas, and students respect and listen to their own ideas, fostering an environment of mutual respect and accountability.

How does Kate define the concept of 'brain conformity' and how does it differ between teenagers and adults?

Kate defines 'brain conformity' as the more constant and mapped neurosignalling pathways found in adults compared to the more scattered, spontaneous, and creative pathways in teenagers, suggesting that this difference could be harnessed for innovative problem-solving.

What is Kate's final message to both teenagers and adults in her TED Talk?

Kate's final message is that teenagers need to believe in their own voices and ideas, and adults need to listen to and respect those ideas, working together for mutual accountability and progress.