The danger of silence | Clint Smith | TED

00:04:23
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiKtZgImdlY

Summary

TLDRIn a heartfelt speech, a teacher reflects on the power of silence and the need to speak out against discrimination and injustice. Inspired by Martin Luther King Jr., the teacher emphasizes the importance of sharing personal truths in the classroom. They share their own experiences of regret for silence during moments of injustice and express a commitment to fostering an environment where students feel safe to speak. The teacher introduces four core principles to guide discussions and aims to lead by example, actively using their voice to advocate for themselves and their students.

Takeaways

  • 🗣️ Emphasize the importance of speaking out against silence.
  • 📚 Create a safe space for students to express themselves.
  • ✍️ Use poetry as a tool to explore personal silences.
  • 🤝 Acknowledge and challenge personal moments of inaction.
  • ✊ Advocate for others, especially marginalized voices.
  • 🎤 Use your voice actively rather than remaining silent.
  • ❤️ Understand that silence can be a result of fear.
  • 🌍 Recognize that silence has real-world consequences.
  • 💡 Engage critically with the narratives around you.
  • 🌱 Foster an environment of trust and honesty in education.

Timeline

  • 00:00:00 - 00:04:23

    Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s words resonate deeply with the speaker, who reflects on the consequences of silence in society, including discrimination and violence. In an effort to encourage open dialogue among students, the speaker introduces four principles in the classroom that promote critical reading, conscious writing, clear speaking, and telling one's truth. The speaker acknowledges their own struggles with silence, sharing a personal experience of giving up speaking as a sacrificial gesture but realizing that their voice had been muted long before that. They recount moments of silence in the face of injustice, illustrating how fear and privilege often perpetuate silence. The speaker vows to break this cycle by actively engaging with those marginalized by society and affirming their humanity, emphasizing the importance of finding and using one's voice instead of succumbing to silence.

Mind Map

Video Q&A

  • What inspired the teacher's message about silence?

    The teacher was inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s quote about remembering the silence of friends.

  • What are the four core principles in the classroom?

    Read critically, write consciously, speak clearly, and tell your truth.

  • How does the teacher encourage students to explore their silences?

    Through poetry, helping them recognize and name their silences without shame.

  • What is the significance of the teacher's personal story about giving up speaking?

    It illustrates their journey in recognizing the value of their own voice and the implications of silence.

  • How does the teacher plan to change their behavior moving forward?

    By livingeach day as if they have a microphone, actively using their voice instead of remaining silent.

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  • 00:00:13
    Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,
  • 00:00:14
    in a 1968 speech where he reflects upon the Civil Rights Movement,
  • 00:00:18
    states, "In the end,
  • 00:00:21
    we will remember not the words of our enemies
  • 00:00:24
    but the silence of our friends."
  • 00:00:27
    As a teacher, I've internalized this message.
  • 00:00:29
    Every day, all around us,
  • 00:00:31
    we see the consequences of silence
  • 00:00:33
    manifest themselves in the form of discrimination,
  • 00:00:35
    violence, genocide and war.
  • 00:00:39
    In the classroom, I challenge my students
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    to explore the silences in their own lives
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    through poetry.
  • 00:00:46
    We work together to fill those spaces,
  • 00:00:48
    to recognize them, to name them,
  • 00:00:51
    to understand that they don't have to be sources of shame.
  • 00:00:54
    In an effort to create a culture within my classroom
  • 00:00:57
    where students feel safe sharing the intimacies
  • 00:00:59
    of their own silences,
  • 00:01:01
    I have four core principles posted on the board
  • 00:01:03
    that sits in the front of my class,
  • 00:01:05
    which every student signs at the beginning of the year:
  • 00:01:08
    read critically, write consciously,
  • 00:01:10
    speak clearly, tell your truth.
  • 00:01:14
    And I find myself thinking a lot about that last point,
  • 00:01:16
    tell your truth.
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    And I realized that
  • 00:01:20
    if I was going to ask my students to speak up,
  • 00:01:22
    I was going to have to tell my truth
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    and be honest with them about the times
  • 00:01:27
    where I failed to do so.
  • 00:01:28
    So I tell them that growing up,
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    as a kid in a Catholic family in New Orleans,
  • 00:01:33
    during Lent I was always taught
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    that the most meaningful thing one could do
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    was to give something up,
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    sacrifice something you typically indulge in
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    to prove to God you understand his sanctity.
  • 00:01:44
    I've given up soda, McDonald's, French fries,
  • 00:01:47
    French kisses, and everything in between.
  • 00:01:50
    But one year, I gave up speaking.
  • 00:01:54
    I figured the most valuable thing I could sacrifice
  • 00:01:56
    was my own voice, but it was like I hadn't realized
  • 00:02:00
    that I had given that up a long time ago.
  • 00:02:03
    I spent so much of my life
  • 00:02:05
    telling people the things they wanted to hear
  • 00:02:07
    instead of the things they needed to,
  • 00:02:08
    told myself I wasn't meant to be anyone's conscience
  • 00:02:11
    because I still had to figure out being my own,
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    so sometimes I just wouldn't say anything,
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    appeasing ignorance with my silence,
  • 00:02:19
    unaware that validation doesn't need words
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    to endorse its existence.
  • 00:02:23
    When Christian was beat up for being gay,
  • 00:02:24
    I put my hands in my pocket
  • 00:02:26
    and walked with my head down as if I didn't even notice.
  • 00:02:29
    I couldn't use my locker for weeks because the bolt on the lock
  • 00:02:31
    reminded me of the one I had put on my lips
  • 00:02:33
    when the homeless man on the corner
  • 00:02:35
    looked at me with eyes up merely searching
  • 00:02:37
    for an affirmation that he was worth seeing.
  • 00:02:39
    I was more concerned with touching the screen on my Apple
  • 00:02:41
    than actually feeding him one.
  • 00:02:43
    When the woman at the fundraising gala
  • 00:02:44
    said "I'm so proud of you.
  • 00:02:46
    It must be so hard teaching those poor, unintelligent kids,"
  • 00:02:49
    I bit my lip, because apparently we needed her money
  • 00:02:51
    more than my students needed their dignity.
  • 00:02:53
    We spend so much time
  • 00:02:55
    listening to the things people are saying
  • 00:02:59
    that we rarely pay attention to the things they don't.
  • 00:03:02
    Silence is the residue of fear.
  • 00:03:06
    It is feeling your flaws
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    gut-wrench guillotine your tongue.
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    It is the air retreating from your chest
  • 00:03:11
    because it doesn't feel safe in your lungs.
  • 00:03:13
    Silence is Rwandan genocide. Silence is Katrina.
  • 00:03:16
    It is what you hear when there aren't enough body bags left.
  • 00:03:19
    It is the sound after the noose is already tied.
  • 00:03:22
    It is charring. It is chains. It is privilege. It is pain.
  • 00:03:25
    There is no time to pick your battles
  • 00:03:27
    when your battles have already picked you.
  • 00:03:28
    I will not let silence wrap itself around my indecision.
  • 00:03:31
    I will tell Christian that he is a lion,
  • 00:03:33
    a sanctuary of bravery and brilliance.
  • 00:03:36
    I will ask that homeless man what his name is
  • 00:03:38
    and how his day was, because sometimes
  • 00:03:40
    all people want to be is human.
  • 00:03:42
    I will tell that woman that my students can talk about
  • 00:03:44
    transcendentalism like their last name was Thoreau,
  • 00:03:47
    and just because you watched one episode of "The Wire"
  • 00:03:49
    doesn't mean you know anything about my kids.
  • 00:03:51
    So this year,
  • 00:03:53
    instead of giving something up,
  • 00:03:55
    I will live every day as if there were a microphone
  • 00:03:57
    tucked under my tongue,
  • 00:03:59
    a stage on the underside of my inhibition.
  • 00:04:03
    Because who has to have a soapbox
  • 00:04:05
    when all you've ever needed is your voice?
  • 00:04:10
    Thank you.
  • 00:04:12
    (Applause)
Tags
  • silence
  • truth
  • education
  • discrimination
  • Martin Luther King Jr.
  • classroom
  • poetry
  • advocacy
  • personal growth
  • speaking out