I'm 17 | Kate Simonds | TEDxBoise

This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences.
Kate Simonds, senior at Timberline High School, is 17. Take a deep breath and a quick inventory of what feelings come to mind when you consider a 17 year old. Now watch this talk and prepare to have your thoughts flipped inside out.

[northlander]

She is way more mature than many adults.

[brandonfreiberg]

When I was in fifth grade, I used the word "monoculture" in an essay about agriculture. I did not find this word online and I actually knew it before. I used it correctly without grammatical errors, but my teacher accused me of plagiarism and took off points even though I had worked super hard on that essay. She told me there was no way I knew a word that she didn't know since I was only in fifth grade. I'm sick of teachers assuming that kids don't know anything.

[iamelvis]

She should have ended it with "But what do I know, I'm only 17"

[rachelkingston]

At 13 I was artistic, passionate about books and reading. I ran sometimes competitively and was actually ok. I wrote stories extremely often. This was before I started secondary school. Now at 17 I cant remember the last time I went for a run or picked up a pen or a paintbrush. Now all I can think or more stress about is what course I will be doing in two years time because it is drilled into me by my teachers. Do I have any clue what I want to do? NO.And why don’t I? Because the last 4 years of my life have been spent sitting down hour after hour making sure I know my essays off by heart or learning how to use Pythagoras theorem. When teachers ask me why I don’t know what I want to do with my life. How can I answer. Pointless hours of school and unnecessary subjects have prevented me from developing more hobbies and finding my real talents. Now I panic to find an answer when people ask me what I really like to do. The school system is all wrong and needs to be changed. But young people’s voices are being ignored, completely ignored. This needs to change

[anyamckercher]

Teenage years: When everyone treats you like a child and expects you to be an adult

[djdom]

I'm 15. I'm too old for anyone to find me cute and too young for anyone to take me seriously...

[ana-sofiavelasco]

Wow, so many of these comments are just proving her point! "I wouldn't talk to a 17 year old about serious subjects", "You don't need to worry about being listened to", "Her problem's not a real problem". Don't you see? You're stifling her voice, a voice which might very well be a hugely influential voice of the future. As a 16 year old, I have never been told outright that my opinion doesn't matter, but some adults are so dismissive, it doesn't even cross their minds that we might have an opinion. So much so that I'm pleasantly surprised when an adult seems genuinely interested in my opinion. Adults should be validating and expanding teenagers' knowledge. If I don't know something - educate me!

[hafsahtahir]

"students have been made fun of for answering too many question"


AMEN

[KaraCamilleDelonas]

I'm 23 and still not being taken seriously. And I'm beginning to realize that my seniors will never take me seriously. When I'm 50 I will be belittled by 75 year olds. This is just how it is, and this girl is fucking brilliant to shed light on this issue. Young minds are fresh, creative minds.

[goaway]

I honestly hate when people say, that you don't 'live in the real world' like…ummm…WHAT DO YOU MEAN? AM I NOT HERE WITH YOU RIGHT NOW?

[SethGardnerVlogs]

I think that nobody raises their hand in class because very few are curious anymore. How could a student be curious when we are taught to regurgitate information we may rarely use, and then forget it?

[__keeraa]

I don’t know why, but she reminds me of Hermione Granger
In other words, she’s awesome.

[aimifarhanaa]

i am 22 and i have no idea what i am doing in life.

[exlibrisas]

People think if you`re young, you know jack shit. But in reality, older people live biased lives with ideology fitting only for their time. It`s mostly not about life experience. It`s about your perception.

[WolvesLoveMusicals]

When I was 17, I graduated high school and went straight into college. I took Oral Communications that summer just to get my feet wet for college life. I held a solid A the whole semester, getting a few Bs on some assignments. On my final speech, I talked about the necessity to reform public schools. Remember, I had just graduated high school and this was very important to me. I was nervous, so I went over my time by a few seconds. The class clapped at the end and said I did very well. My professor gave me a D on the speech, dropping my whole grade to a B for the semester. When I challenged him on it, he said I went over time, was unprepared, and my topic was not relevant to my college student audience. I was devastated and ever since I have been very cautious on what I write, what I say, and how I react to my professors and classmates. It's a sad world out there....

[elizabethgrey]

And you shouldn't have to be a seventeen year old who has an impressive vocabulary or be outstanding in academics. You shouldn't need to study what most adults don't even know much about, like astrophysics or extremely complex math or really any sort of subject that is "above your age level". To be taken seriously and respected as a HUMAN BEING, a teenager doesn't have to be extraordinary. As a legitimate individual, we deserve to be treated as such and not expected to be "impressive" just to convince you that we're worth listening to.

[grace-dcwh]

this kinda adds up with "how school makes kids less intelligent" how students aren't interested as how they were used to be. Equality is very very important, not just with male and women, but children and adults.

[ismaillamrabet]

I'm 20 years old, which means I am no longer a teenager, but anyway I appreciate the way this girl defends her idea. Because when I was her age or even younger, my thoughts were meaningless to adults and thus I was facing the same difficulty.

[lcr]

She really didn’t know what was coming when she said “cured an epidemic”

[dharvell]

When our children were entering their teen years, my wife and I had a discussion as to how to approach the coming, dreaded years. After a lot of thinking about how we wished WE were raised, we decided that we would extend our children more and more freedom of decisions, input of ideas that concerned the entire family, but yet hold them responsible for mistakes. But that's the thing... we ENCOURAGED them to screw up. The bigger the screw up, the better (as long as it wasn't life-altering, we warned). And screw up, they did. But that's where the amazing things started to happen. They learned, they grew, the realized that their actions had an impact - for better or for worse. What came of all of this: three strong, independent daughters who are amazingly in tune with themselves, what they want, where they want to go, and what they wish to accomplish. When you listen to teen's voices, it empowers them in the best ways possible. It's something I recommend, wholeheartedly.