Shameem Akhtar posed as a boy during her early childhood in Pakistan so she could enjoy the privileges Pakistani girls are rarely afforded: to play outside and attend school. In an eye-opening, personal talk, Akhtar recounts how the opportunity to get an education altered the course of her life -- and ultimately changed the culture of her village, where today every young girl goes to school.

To learn is to be free | Shameem Akhtar

What should future schools look like? How do brains learn? Some of the world's greatest educators, researchers, and community leaders share their stories and visions onstage at the TED conference, TEDx events and partner events around the world. You can also download these and many other videos free on TED.com, with an interactive English transcript and subtitles in up to 80 languages. TED is a nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading.

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In all the conversations about improving education for children, the voices of students, teachers and community members are often left out. Educational designer Punya Mishra offers a method to shift that paradigm, taking us through new thinking on the root of success (and failure) at school -- and how a totally new, different kind of educational system could better meet students' needs.

How to design a school for the future | Punya Mishra

As if college applications aren't stressful enough, disadvantaged youth are often encouraged to write about their darkest traumas in their admissions essays, creating a marketable story of resilience that turns "pain into progress," says politics student Tina Yong. She brings this harrowing norm to light, exploring its harms and offering a more equitable process for colleges everywhere.

The rise of the "trauma essay" in college applications | Tina Yong

Video games naturally tap into the way we learn: they focus our attention and track our progress as we head toward a clear goal. Kris Alexander, a professor of video game design and passionate gamer himself, thinks the same elements should be used in traditional education to cater to different learning styles and engage students across the world, both in-person and online.

How video games can level up the way you learn | Kris Alexander

Educator Sharif El-Mekki advocates for the revival of the Black teaching tradition — a set of educational practices grounded in philosophies, values and actions that stretch from pre-colonial Africa to historical African American leaders. He posits that this tradition can help teachers better serve Black students and create a more equitable learning environment for all.

Reviving the legacy of the Black teaching tradition | Sharif El-Mekki

Names like Bayard Rustin, Frances Thompson and William Dorsey Swann have been largely erased from US history, but they and other Black queer leaders played central roles in monumental movements like emancipation, civil rights and LGBTQ+ pride, among others. In this tribute to forgotten icons, queer culture historian and TED Fellow Channing Gerard Joseph shares their little-known stories, connecting the origins of drag in the 1880s to the present day and exploring the awesome power to choose how we define ourselves.

To learn is to be free | Shameem Akhtar

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