Professor Christopher Emdin @ TEDxNYED

TEDxTalks

 

Christopher Emdin is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mathematics, Science and Technology at Teachers College, Columbia University, where he also serves as Director of Secondary School Initiatives at the Urban Science Education Center. He is author of the book, Urban Science Education for the Hip-Hop Generation, and also a columnist for the Huffington Post, where he writes the "Emdin 5″ series. Dr. Emdin holds a Ph.D. in Urban Education with a concentration in Mathematics, Science and Technology, Masters degrees in both Natural Sciences, and Education Administration, and Bachelors degrees in Physical Anthropology, Biology, and Chemistry.

Dr. Emdin has coauthored proposals to start New York City Public Schools, taught middle school mathematics and general science, and high school physics, and chemistry. He has also been a researcher on many NSF funded research projects in mathematics and science education.

Dr. Emdin was recently awarded the "Best paper for Innovation in Teaching" by the The Association for Science Teacher Education (ASTE) and was named "Groundbreaking Educator" by Arrive Magazine. He was also awarded the Phi Delta Kappa (PDK) Outstanding Dissertation and Emerging Leader Awards.

His research focuses on issues of race, class, and diversity in urban science classrooms, the use of new theoretical frameworks to transform education, and urban school reform. Dr. Emdin researches, consults, and delivers speeches on various issues in schools such as science technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education, urban education, school and classroom climate, fostering dialogue in schools, and student engagement.

He is a noted public speaker on issues such as the Obama Effect on Urban Education, Hip-hop culture and education, improving STEM education, and various educational and socio-political issues related to urban youth of color.

TEDx Talks: Mazi Mutafa on "The Cipher"

TEDxTalks:

 

Mazi Mutafa, an alumnus of the University of Maryland, is the founder and executive director of Words Beats & Life, Inc. (WBL), a hip-hop non-profit committed to transforming individual lives and whole communities through the elements of hip-hop culture. As an undergraduate, Mr. Mutafa was the co-founder of four student organizations and served as the president of the Black Student Union. During his tenure as president of the Black Student Union, Mr. Mutafa created the Words Beats & Life Hip-Hop Conference, a six-day hip-hop conference that endeavored to expand the potential impact of hip-hop as a culture and community. Mr. Mutafa is also a brother of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.

Mr. Mutafa's entire professional career has been dedicated to serving youth and community development. Post-graduation, he worked for the Maya Angelou Public Charter School as a resident male counselor. Following this, he began working at the Institute for Cultural Affairs as the Mid-Atlantic Coordinator for "Youth as Facilitative Leaders" and conducted intergenerational facilitation trainings. Mr. Mutafa's final position before becoming the full-time Executive Director of Words Beats & Life was as the Street Outreach Coordinator for Motivational Educational Entertainment's (MEE) "Be on the Safe Side," a campaign to prevent teen pregnancy.

Jay Smooth @ TEDxHampshireCollege | "How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Discussing Race"

from TEDxTalks

Jay Smooth is host of New York's longest running hip-hop radio show, the Underground Railroad on WBAI 99.5 FM in NY, and is an acclaimed commentator on politics and culture.

In this talk, he discusses the sometimes thorny territory of how we discuss issues of race and racism, offering insightful and humorous suggestions for expanding our perception of the subject.

http://www.hampshire.edu/