Overall, I was pleased with how my TED Talk went. I tried to stay away from that more structured form of speaking that I had during my civic artifact speech and make my speech flow better instead of feeling like I was restating an essay. I watched many TED talks in preparation, and I noticed that most slides were extremely simple, and many had no words, so I tried to incorporate those simple elements into my slides. I asked a few framing questions that we discussed last class, because I thought questions like that really made listeners think and helped me get my overall point across. I am very passionate about the issue of prison reform and particularly felon rights, and I think I did a pretty good job in letting that show during my talk. I’ve done many projects about prison reform in the past, but doing a TED talk let me consolidate a clear argument and analyze the more general shifts that America is facing.
One possible public controversy topic could be the issue of closing schools because of COVID for the fall and the spring semesters. Different universities have taken drastically different approaches to re-opening, and it is an issue that affects us as students, along with teachers, parents, and other staff. Some schools have gone completely remote, others hybrid, and others in person. There is growing debate as to what should happen this upcoming spring semester, and it is already sparking genuine controversy. Some schools like West Chester university have already closed their doors for the spring. Despite this, there is still existing debate over what should have happened this fall semester! Should students and faculty have a choice to attend in person school if they please? Is this an issue that the federal or state governments needs to take sole power over? Or is it up to the Universities….
Another possible public controversy topic is a higher minimum wage. Many contend that the current minimum wage is not a livable wage, and minimum wages should be raised in order to provide lower class workers a more stable life. Some argue that the standard wage of 7.25$ an hour is suitable, and raising it would be a misplacement of resources. Minimum has been raised in many cities like San Francisco, who recognized that previous wages aren’t livable. The minimum wage controversy is becoming especially pertinent in cities where the standard of living is raising, and it is becoming nearly impossible to live off of minimum wage.
I think your TED Talk sounded really good and your presentation was clear and informing. You had amazing content that’s very relevant to today’s world. As for your project ideas, I like both and I think the one on what schools should do with Covid would give us a lot of directions to go in and we could find a lot of information.
Hey Dan! I really enjoyed watching your TED Talk. I think the topic is so important now especially during the BLM and how the prison system criminalizes African-American groups at a significantly higher rate.
I also talked about minimum wage as a possible option for the public controversy topic. But I really like the COVID idea is really cool since it is so relevant to today’s political climate.