Ideas change everything

"High School Training Ground"

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Malcolm London |

TED Talks Education

• May 2013

Young poet, educator and activist Malcolm London performs his stirring poem about life on the front lines of high school. He tells of the "oceans of adolescence" who come to school "but never learn to swim," of "masculinity mimicked by men who grew up with no fathers." Beautiful, lyrical, chilling.

Want to use TED Talks in your organization?

Want to use TED Talks in your organization?

Young poet, educator and activist Malcolm London performs his stirring poem about life on the front lines of high school. He tells of the "oceans of adolescence" who come to school "but never learn to swim," of "masculinity mimicked by men who grew up with no fathers." Beautiful, lyrical, chilling.

Want to use TED Talks in your organization?

This talk was presented at an official TED conference.

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About the speaker

Poet, performer, activist

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Young spoken-word poet Malcolm London has been called the "Gil Scott-Heron of this generation" (by Cornel West). His feisty, passionate performances take on the issues of the day, including the Chicago education system in which he grew up.

This talk was presented at an official TED conference.

Read our curation guidelines.