Xixi Wang

Since 2014, thousands of student groups across the globe have been developing and sharing their ideas using our free TED-Ed Student Talks resources. To celebrate 10 years of TED-Ed Student Talks, we have been collecting stories of impact from the program’s facilitators as part of our “10 for 10 years” series.

For this installment of the series, we are highlighting Mahrukh Bashir, a TED-Ed Innovative Educator, longtime Student Talks facilitator, and director of Millennia World School in Indonesia.

Here, she speaks with TED-Ed’s Senior Community Manager, Peter Maccario, about how she seamlessly integrated the Student Talks program into her school’s curriculum, created a collaborative, safe environment for the students to flourish and build their perspective and confidence, and shares some hard-won wisdom on bringing the program into other schools:

Peter Maccario (PM): Tell me about Millennia World School, your role, and the type of students that you service within your school.

Mahrukh Bashir (MB): I am the director of Millennia World School, with a team under me of principals, operations, research and development, and technology. The philosophy of the school is based on integral education where we educate children holistically. We look at students not only as academics, but in terms of spiritual, physical, and all different aspects. Our focus is to help kids achieve being the best version of themselves, and that whatever they do they should be happy doing it and it should be based on what they’re passionate about. The idea is to create individuals who are passionate about being change-makers. We cater from kindergarten up to grade nine. The children are mostly Indonesians, locals, mixed races, mixed religions — it’s a school for everyone basically.

PM: You’ve been doing this for a very long time with your school, which is incredible. How did you implement TED-Ed Student Talks into Millennia and how does it fit into what you already do at the school?

MB: I have been using TED-Ed Student Talks since it started. I started TED-Ed as a club, but I wanted it to be more than a club, I wanted it to be part of our curriculum. When TED-Ed Clubs changed to TED-Ed Student Talks— when the first TED-Ed curriculum book was changed— it was a good opportunity for me to put it in the curriculum, and not to teach it as an extracurricular or as a club anymore. So then we started doing TED-Ed as part of student development; as a class which focuses on public speaking using the TED-Ed curriculum. It kind of fit in perfectly because kids liked it— it was public speaking but it was fun, and it wasn’t as structured as other subjects they had to do.

Mahrukh Bashir and students working on Student Talks activities

PM: What is the atmosphere of the class? And why do you think students like it so much? 

MB: I have asked my students “why do you like it? If we made it optional, would you still want to do it?” Most of my students said yes they would still want to participate in it. And I asked why. They said that it helps them look at things in a different perspective. When we start the [class], I tell my students that when you are going to speak, when you are going to choose a topic or subject for the talk, it [should] be something which is meaningful; an idea which is beneficial for other people. So they feel that they are able to contribute to the world in some way. And it aligns completely with Millennia’s philosophy since we focus a lot on social responsibility.

“Judgment-free expression has shown me how creating safe spaces for students can unlock their potential in unexpected ways.”

With [Student Talks] they feel like they are contributing to a broader audience because once their talks are on YouTube there’s a wider audience that sees it. I had a student who was facing body shaming from her own family, and it was very difficult for her. When she was thinking about her topic, this was not something that she really wanted to talk about. But then later she realized that there are a lot of kids who could be feeling the same thing, and would benefit from it. It was sharing something with others which made it feel that it could be more meaningful. I feel that when kids feel comfortable in that way, they want to do it. They are willing to put themselves out there even though I know that they are nervous.

Mahrukh Bashir with Millennia School’s Student Talks participants

PM: Is there one moment that really sticks in your mind as being the reason why you do this?

MB: There are multiple! One highlight is that I had this student who was absolutely scared to talk in public. She would do everything to stay away. Extremely smart girl but very scared even to be seen in public. So when she came to my class we started talking about it, and she asked if she had to do the talk. I told her that it’s completely up to her, we will work on it, we’ll go through the process, she’ll write the talk, and in the end if she doesn’t want to perform it, it’s okay. We can just publish her work as she’s written it. No pressure. And then she was okay. She worked really hard on it, we practiced speaking, and she did her research.

Then, finally it was one week before they had to do their talk. She came up to me, and said “I think I want to do it; but will you be disappointed in me if I back out at the last minute?” I responded, “I can never be disappointed, you have done amazing, and saying that you want to do it is a proud moment for me.” Then, on the day [of the talks], she comes and tells me she wants to be the first one to do the talk. So, I was like, “okay, let’s go!”

And she did it; she did it so beautifully. Her parents were in the audience and they started crying after her talk finished. She overcame her fear of speaking in public. This really gives me goosebumps every time I think about it. There was no pressure for her if she didn’t want to do it, and I left it to her. And that is one of the moments that I think really changed her, and she was able to overcome that fear.

“It gives them a lot of confidence. It tells them that they are capable of sharing something meaningful with the world.”

PM: What skills have you seen your students improve the most by going through these activities and the program?

MB: One of the skills I’ve seen developing in my students is confidence. Skills like research, collaboration, and feedback they also get from other subjects we are teaching them. But the confidence of coming up with the idea and then sticking to the idea, saying this is what I want to share, it’s my story, and my perspective. And then actually being brave enough to come up in front of an audience and speaking. So, for me, that is the skill which is developed most in the kids: being brave and having confidence.

Millennia World School’s Student Talk event

PM: What tips or words of wisdom would you share with a teacher, a director, or someone who is considering bringing TED-Ed Student Talks to their students?

MB: First, if you have not started TED-Ed Student Talks, what are you waiting for? You need to start as soon as possible.

Second, I would say don’t rush the kids. Let them go through the process of trying to understand what they want to talk about. Don’t push ideas or your own agenda. Let the topics or ideas come from the kids. It cannot be from the adults and I spend a lot of time with children on helping them come up with ideas. Let them marinate in their own process of generating the ideas.

Third, give children voice and choice. I feel that TED-Ed Student Talks is a platform which has been created to help children look at different perspectives and help them share their experiences with the world.

Lastly, let this be run by kids. You just facilitate and nothing else. Let the students do it.

I think that’s it. If you have not started it, please do start it. It’s one of the best things for children, because it gives them a lot of confidence. It tells them that they are capable of sharing something meaningful with the world.

Interested in learning more about TED-Ed Student Talks? Check out our Student Talks page here to find out how the program works and how you can get involved.

Check out the other pieces in the 10 for 10 years series here, here, and here.