As an 8th grader Elijah realizes that his private school may not be preparing him for life after school.
He attends a school with abundant resources - except in racial & economic diversity.
Our system of segregated education is failing our students. Solutions come with diversified curriculums - and prioritizing diversity when we make decisions about where to live & go to school.
Elijah has a dream where segregated schools and curriculums will be a thing of the past.
Elijah Jones is a freshman at the Tatnall High School, located in Wilmington, Delaware, where he is a representative of his 9th grade class. His extracurricular activities include varsity football, chess, robotics, culinary and all things STEM. He also studies French and is working to master the French Horn. Elijah was a participant in the LYTE (Leading Youth Through Empowerment) Scholars Program based at the Thomas Edison Charter school. Now he is training to become a College Access Ambassador with TeenSHARP. His awards include 2012 National Chess Champion, 2015 Fox's Master Chef Junior Philadelphia Semi - Finalist, 2017 Science Olympiad Delaware top ten winner in electric vehicle. In his TED talk Elijah will discuss the inequities in the public school system. He will juxtapose his experiences at an elite private school and a public middle school and unpack the notion of access and its importance to helping youth reach their full potential.
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at ted.com/tedx