Ideas change everything

Help for kids the education system ignores

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Victor Rios |

TED Talks Live

• November 2015

Define students by what they contribute, not what they lack -- especially those with difficult upbringings, says educator Victor Rios. Interweaved with his personal tale of perseverance as an inner-city youth, Rios identifies three straightforward strategies to shift attitudes in education and calls for fellow educators to see "at-risk" students as "at-promise" individuals brimming with resilience, character and grit.

Define students by what they contribute, not what they lack -- especially those with difficult upbringings, says educator Victor Rios. Interweaved with his personal tale of perseverance as an inner-city youth, Rios identifies three straightforward strategies to shift attitudes in education and calls for fellow educators to see "at-risk" students as "at-promise" individuals brimming with resilience, character and grit.

This talk was presented at an official TED conference.

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Donate to Dignity in Schools, an organization that challenges the systemic problem of pushout in our nation's schools and works to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline.

Volunteer with CURYJ (Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice), an organization that promotes initiatives aimed at restoring young people's dignity and well-being.

About the speaker

Educator, author

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Victor Rios seeks to uncover how to best support the lives of young people who experience poverty, stigma and social exclusion.

This talk was presented at an official TED conference.

Read our curation guidelines.

Donate to Dignity in Schools, an organization that challenges the systemic problem of pushout in our nation's schools and works to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline.

Volunteer with CURYJ (Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice), an organization that promotes initiatives aimed at restoring young people's dignity and well-being.

Victor Rios: Help for kids the education system ignores | TED Talk