DK Holland: Kids should help run their own schools

What would schools look like if students had a say in how they are run? DK Holland wanted to find out, so she developed Kids’ Council—a unique, free after-school program in which kids take the lead, setting up a micro-democracy right in their classrooms. Working with grades three to five at a public school in Brooklyn, New York, she has found that even the quietest, most challenged children tend to express natural generosity, inquisitiveness, individualism and fairness when given some freedom.

DK Holland is a designer now working to make the Kids’ Council model accessible to other public schools across the US. She’s finding that many kids are natural innovators; several are consulting with her company, Inquiring Minds USA, to bring progressive learning improvements back into their classrooms.

The TED Residency program is an incubator for breakthrough ideas. It is free and open to all via a semi-annual competitive application. Those chosen as TED Residents spend four months at TED headquarters in New York City, working on their idea. Selection criteria include the strength of their idea, their character, and their ability to bring a fresh perspective and positive contribution to the diverse TED community.