Host John Legend at the taping of TED Talks Education. Photo by Joe Sinnott, courtesy of WNET.

John Legend, the nine-time Grammy Award winner who calls himself a cheerleader for liberal arts education, hosted the proceedings. Legend has worked closely with educators and sits on the boards of Teach for America, Stand for Children, and the Harlem Village Academies.

The presenters were a mix of educators and social activists.

Rita Pierson, a teacher from Houston, TX, kicked-off the event by reminding attendees that education reform should be about human connections and relationships. “Kids don’t learn from people they don’t like,” she said.

Microsoft founder and “impassionate optimist” Bill Gates addressed the fact that the USA is globally in fifteenth place in educational achievement. He stressed that teacher evaluation offers “little useful feedback” and said he feels “our teachers deserve better.” He also noted that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation believes that “everyone needs a coach” and is investing in meaningful evaluation methods.

Gates’ talk didn’t set well with some members of the audience. “Bill Gates is not an educator and does not represent (or fund) directions in education that are in the best interest of teachers,” Bob Drake, a chemistry teacher and a member of the Educational Services Advisory Committee for New York City’s public television station WNET, told School Library Journal.

Bill Gates at the taping of TED Talks Education. Photo courtesy of TED/Ryan Lash.

Nevertheless, the focus of Gates’ comments was on trend for the event. “Testing shouldn’t be the dominate culture of education,” concurred Sir Ken Robinson, an inspirational speaker on creativity whose 2006 TED Talk is the most popular in TED history. In his presentation, he faulted No Child Left Behind for promoting “conformity” and “low grade clerical work,” which he said creates an educational culture that de-professionalizes teachers. “Command and control is what’s wrong with education,” he added, noting that, rather than “a climate of control,” we should be fostering a “climate of possibility.”

Sir Ken Robinson at the taping of TED Talks Education. Photo courtesy of TED/Ryan Lash.

For Amanda Akdemir of the Mt. Pleasant-Blythedale Union Free School in Westchester, NY, the event was “both inspiring and motivational.” She told SLJ, “Every teacher [should] watch the talk and be reminded of the power we hold in our careers to transform the future of this country.”

TED is a nonprofit created in 1984 devoted to “Ideas worth spreading.” Initially it brought together people from the technology, entertainment, and design fields, but has since broadened its scope.