The Princeton You Won't See in the Brochure | Melissa Benbow

The Princeton You Won't See in the Brochure | Melissa Benbow | TEDxWilmingtonED

Рет қаралды 19,199

6 жыл бұрын

Ivy Alumna discusses her experience as a student of color, calling educators to act to make the college experience welcoming to students of all backgrounds.
Melissa Benbow is an educator, writer, and artist. She graduated from Princeton University with a B.A. in English and a concentration in African American studies in 2013. Since then, she has been working in the non-profit sector. She completed a term of service with AmeriCorp, worked at Delaware Technical Community College for 2 years, and is currently working for TeenSHARP Delaware. Her long term goals are to work in academia and to expand her career as a visual artist. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx

Пікірлер: 20

@drums3269 11 ай бұрын

This Ted Talk is more relevant now than when she gave the original presentation.

@Hannahi757 4 жыл бұрын

Wow. This was very eye opening! Powerful!

@johnpoole8451 5 жыл бұрын

Princeton isn’t perfect, but it has come a looong way since I was there in the 60s. I loved Princeton as a middle class kid growing up in the 50s. I realized shortly after I left Princeton that I had lived most of my life in a bubble, protected from all the harsh realities that existed outside of my community. The first blacks, the first women, the first students from families with no members who had college educations, all of them encountered a place that was unfamiliar with them and their previous lives. These pioneers at a sheltered upper middle class institution encountered ignorance and a fair degree of prejudice from the outset. I am happy to say, however, that Princeton as well as these pioneers stuck with the painful process of catching up with reality and coping with the many problems encountered along the way. The process is ongoing. But I have much more respect for the University and its diverse body now than I ever did for the homogeneous institution that I attended so long ago. It is like seeing a child grow into adulthood while surviving and learning from the many pitfalls along the way and achieving wisdom and hope rather than cynicism. I am still a Tiger.

@crazygenx2539 5 жыл бұрын

Oh come on, Princeton is fantastic. l loved it and so did all my minority friends. And we loved and respected each other. I honestly don't know what you are talking about. Reality is what you choose to see. I hope you have moved on.

@171TITO 4 жыл бұрын

@@crazygenx2539 Your minority friends? What did you have like 2 chinese friends that helped you with your math and science or something?

@milaje6197 3 жыл бұрын

This is really inspiring

@justindiddler101 2 жыл бұрын

@@crazygenx2539 don’t lie.

@mattlocdproductions 6 жыл бұрын

The white historians who wrote the pamphlet seem to hide their sins from the brochures. You grew from it in a major way! Bless up Queen.

@pacifiquebusiness 9 ай бұрын

🧡

@cheese-power Ай бұрын

This problem is not unique to Princeton. It’s applies to all the elite universities in the world.

@rogermcnogerfrogger9855 4 ай бұрын

🙄

@mastertoad2 4 жыл бұрын

Look... if she did bad because she was unprepared, it provides ammunition for why affirmative action is flawed. Having race as a helping factor increases the likelihood of unqualified students getting into school. The speaker is very brave for talking about this, so I’m not trying to shame her, but I’m saying an important flaw of aff act.

@A-M4 3 жыл бұрын

What do you say about rich people who buy their way into schools and have subpar merit? (look at the varsity blues case.) Also, affirmative action is not perfect, but it is a way to help those who are systematically oppressed in society (race, gender, income level.) Also white women are the largest beneficiaries of Affirmative Action. Are you going to talk about them though?

@briana.g.7412 3 жыл бұрын

She doesn't sound as if she intellectually unprepared, but emotionally unprepared to see that such a prestigious institution could still be plagued with racism. But of course, since you can't fathom the fact that Blacks could acheive at this level, your conclusion was she couldn't do the work.

@tfitness4u 3 жыл бұрын

She said she got a D. She said she graduated from Princeton. She was obviously smart enough to graduate from Princeton University. If she got into Princeton due to affirmative action and she graduated it proves that affirmative action works. Research her. See if she graduated with Ds and Fs. Check to see whether she graduated at the bottom, middle or top. After you research that you should then research what group of people benefit most from affirmative action

@leah2734 Жыл бұрын

I think affirmative action is a flaw too but not for the same reasons. A lot of people feel unprepared in at least one of their subjects if not all subjects going into higher education and a lot of people are unprepared including those from monetarily wealthier, whiter, and so called "less diverse" backgrounds. One of the reasons I believe is that there are a lot of teachers lacking in effective universal teaching methods and tools especially that of motivating and understanding their students and helping them overcome the challenges that come with learning new or unfamiliar subjects especially those they may not feel as passionate or confident about. All subjects have a purpose and those purposes should be emphasised when teaching them. Chemistry is a very important subject but can be very difficult to learn even in the more basic stages of learning but when introduced in an effective manner it can be very engaging, practical and rewarding thus making students more prepared to apply it in "real world" situations. Educators need to be better prepared and trained in order to prepare their students. Education is not limited but endless. There's up, There's down, and there's all around. Look around but never forget the ground and what's beneath it as well as the heavens(skys) above which may seem out of reach to many but provides life to all. Remember this history "Mankind WAS ONE single nation, and Allah sent messengers with GLAD TIDINGS and WARNINGS; and with them He sent the Book in truth, to judge between people in matters wherein they DIFFERED, but the People of the Book, AFTER the Clear Signs came to them, did NOT differ among themselves, EXCEPT through SELFISH CONTUMACY. Allah by His Grace guided the Believers to the Truth, concerning that WHEREIN THEY DIFFERED. For Allah guides whom He will to a path that is straight." [2:213] Seek Allah's guidance and try to overcome selfish contumacy. Things are a lot better when we work together in harmony. Ameen.🤲💞😇😇🦕🦖🌱🌷🥗🕌🧭🕋🌄🌅🌠🌌🌧⛈🌈📿🎶📖🛠⚖🧬🩸🩹🫀🩺🧠🫁🦴🧎🧎‍♀️🤵👰🤰🤱🧑‍🍼🦸‍♂️🦸‍♀️👼👨‍🌾👩‍🌾🧑‍🏫👩‍🏫🧑‍🎓👩‍🎓👩‍⚖️👨‍⚖️👩‍🍳🧑‍🍳👩‍🔧👨‍🔧👩‍🏭👨‍🏭👩‍🔬🧑‍🔬🧑‍🎨👩‍🎨🧑‍✈️👩‍✈️👩‍🚀🧑‍🚀👩‍🚒🧑‍🚒👮‍♀️👮🕵‍♀️🕵💂‍♀️💂‍♂️🥷🥷👷👷‍♀️🤴👸👩‍🎤👨‍🎤💃🕺🤹‍♂️🤹‍♀️🧘🧘‍♀️☯️☪️🕎⚛☮☸♈♉♊♋♌♍♎♏♐♑♒♓♀️♂️♻️♾🇪🇺