The teaching of a poetry unit always begins the same. We talk about what is poetry, and then students will almost always give me their opinion on poetry writing as a genre. Some students love poetry. Some students immediately throw defenses up because they have notions about poetry that involve feelings, emotions, and talking about personal stuff. They aren’t wrong, but poetry is more than that perception. As teachers, we are charged with showing our students that it is okay to express feelings. It is okay to write about ourselves because it is a reflection of the safe environment we have created without our classrooms. While I have taught many different poetry assignments over the years, I have loved observing student reactions and seeing their faces when I play slam poems. It is like watching a show or attending a performance. There are tons of videos on Youtube, but this post will look at some of my favorites. Besides awesome examples you can use with kids today, I have given a few additional poems that teacher leaders could use when leading teacher training as well.

The TED Talk tagline of “ideas worth spreading” is a powerful message about sharing the power of the human voice to transform the everyday experience. Whether it is Luvvie Ajayi urging us to step outside of our comfort zone or Shonda Rhimes telling us to slow down and enjoy the power of play, we learn from shared human experience. A TED Talk is a teacher. A voice that can reach out and inspire others to feel something different or think about something in a new way. Teachers are living TED Talks each day. However, the work of being a living TED Talk in education can be exhausting. The work we do is heavily reliant on our communities and each other when we feel like we are tired, discouraged, or on the edge of burnout. This post is a collection of 10 TED talks that are compiled for the purpose of inspiration to the classroom teacher or person in education who needs to find a small nugget of truth to feel rejuvenated and refreshed. The small “ah-has” are where we find the strength to continue to find meaning inside and outside of our classrooms.