TED Talk Outline

Purpose: Youth sports have become an obligation rather than a pastime for the children of America. This has coincided with the rise of mandatory public education and the cutthroat college admissions process. But it also serves as an example of the over-structuring of the lives of modern children. This final aspect is what I’d like to explore with my talk.

Introduction

-Begin with a personal anecdote about my own involvement in competitive sports and a funny picture of myself to make people laugh. Explain the basis of my talk outlined in the purpose section but without the final aspect about over structuring.

History and Actual Shift

-Summarize the basis of paradigm shift paper, the gradual organization of youth sports and the shift in our way of thinking about them—their transition from pastime to job.

Turning Point—over structuring and us

-Make the claim that this represents a larger trend of extreme over structuring and competition in the lives of American children of all ages and that we have suffered from it. Bring up data that shows how packed our time is, how much time we spend studying, participating in clubs, etc. and that we do it all in order to keep up with everyone else. Explain the disadvantages of these packed schedules—how this constant ‘go’ attitude leaves us no time to explore our own interests and relax and the need to compete leaves us unsatisfied and mentally unstable. Apply this specifically to the college lifestyle and use specific examples from Penn State.

Finishing it off—Will it change?

-Admit to not knowing what will happen next with regard to over structuring and competition in school. But encourage the audience to, when they get a chance, take a step back and look at the bigger picture, to search for self-fulfillment and education instead of competition and to do things for their intrinsic value, not just because they look good on a resume. Remind them that it wasn’t always this way in schools. Be sympathetic to the urge to compete and fill the days, however. In the end, you as the speaker don’t need them to change, you just want to draw their attention to a possibly harmful aspect of their lives.

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