From Video Game Violence To Politics: Hudson School Students Give TED Talks In Hoboken

This story was written by Teddy Almond, a junior at the Hudson School, a coeducational day school in Hoboken:

By Teddy Almond

HOBOKEN, NJ — Sophomores at the Hudson School will present their TED Talks this Thursday, a project they've been preparing since September.

The school is participating in a global program administered by TED-Ed. Any school in over 130 countries can apply to be enrolled in it.

This is the first year since the pandemic that Hudson School students are delivering their talks in person.

The TED-Ed Student Talks website explains that the program aims to provide “a free curriculum that supports students in identifying, developing and sharing their ideas in the form of short, TED-style talks. This curriculum is used in over 130 countries by educators in classrooms, schools, extracurricular settings and educational organizations.”

The program is designed for students ages 6-18.

How It Works

The way that the talks work is that each student chooses a specific topic to which they can personally relate.

Over the course of a few months (from September to March) the students conduct extensive research into their topics through reading online articles and printed books, watching documentaries, and conducting at least one interview.

After they are done researching, each student creates a slideshow accompanied by a scripted speech which that student will deliver. The TED Talks usually range from five to 15 minutes each, and if the student delivering the talk gives permission, their video may be spotlighted on TED-Ed’s website.

Hudson School English teacher Richard Fulco is spearheading this year’s student TED Talks.

This is Fulco’s first year at The Hudson School; he has a background in teaching public speaking. He commented that he feels confident that this year’s talks will go very well and that he knows how hard students have worked to get to where they are now.

Some of the topics that Hudson School students will be presenting this Thursday are Living with ADHD, The Surprising Similarities Between ASL & Mandarin, Importance of Coral Reefs, and The Joys of Modern Dance, among others.

You can view some of last year's TED Talks at the links below.

A Sampling of Last Year's Student TED Talks:

(Olivia Yerovi)

(Hayes Hoffman)

(Ames McNamara)

(Reed Kibutu)