On April 21, The Benjamin School held its third annual TEDxTheBenjaminSchool event, this time in Benjamin Hall. The theme for this year’s event was  “Sapir Whorf,” a phrase that refers to a theory developed by American linguists Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf. It states that the structure of a language may determine or greatly influence the ideas and behaviors characteristic of the culture in which it is spoken. It’s a theme that was the common thread through many of this year’s talks,  most of which were given by students.

There were 27 student speakers, including 24 seventh graders, two eighth graders, and one fourth grader. Seven adult speakers also gave talks at the event which was livestreamed from Benjamin Hall.  Some of the adults included poet, author, and former Benjamin parent Mrs. Georgia Heard, award-winning author Ms. Nora Baskin, and assistant professor of Social Justice Education at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and TED veteran Dr. Jamila Lyiscott.

Organized by Dean of Academics Dr. Cristina James, the event attracted close to 300 people who were required to buy tickets to gain entrance. People came and went all day as the event began at 9:00 a.m. and wrapped up around 3:30 p.m.

For the past two years, the event was held in the Barker Performing Arts Center, otherwise known as the BPAC, on the Lower/Middle School Campus. This year, in addition to it being held in Benjamin Hall at the Upper School, it was not held on a school day, like it was in past years, and the speakers were not provided with teleprompters this time around, an indication that the students were more prepared this time around.

“The talks were far more finessed and rehearsed and curated carefully, and truly imparted ideas worth spreading,” said James.

TBS also got Bagel Boyz to cater the event thanks to TBS parents Mrs. Jennifer Lower and Mrs. Niki Zur. As a result, there was food available throughout the day, from pasta to bagel sandwiches, to chips and cookies.

This year’s TEDx event was divided into three sessions. There was session one, which was titled “The Walk of Faith,” featuring speakers who overcame their fear of presenting. Session two, titled “Between the World and Me,” was comprised of speakers whose talks were about something between them and the world. Lastly, session three, titled “Still Persist,” included talks  about an obstacle that had to be overcome and how the presenters continued to carry on.

Seventh-grade student Jasper Wright started off the day. His TEDx talk was titled “When Your Instrument Is Your Body, You Play With Your Soul.” He talked about his talent, beatboxing, and compared it to when he used to play trombone. He said when he played trombone,  he had to read from a book to make his music. However, when he beatboxes, he is the book, and the music comes from within. He really got everyone going with his outstanding beatboxing skills, but he admitted that he was scared before he took to the stage.

“I felt very nervous [about going first] because people in the lobby were telling me, ‘Oh, if you mess up, the whole thing is ruined’ and all that stuff, so I was nervous, but once I started beatboxing, I wasn’t nervous anymore,” said Wright.

So he didn’t forget his talk or freeze on stage, Wright made sure he was prepared.  “I made a routine,” he said. “I rehearsed my TED[x] talk a lot. I did it in front of people.”

Like Wright, seventh-grade student Sarah Darby felt more comfortable after getting into the flow of things. “Once you get into [your TEDx Talk], it’s not as [nerve racking] because you’re focusing on your talk and not the audience,” she said.

Fellow seventh grader Alex Fleming Lake agreed. “I felt confident,” he said. “I was also a little bit nervous, so those combined was making me excited and nervous and confident at the same time.. “I was nervous because my parents were watching and all my friends were watching, and I was also confident because I knew [my TEDx talk].”

The bigger venue of Benjamin Hall didn’t help calm the students’ nerves. Lake said that it was different to do his TEDx Talk in Benjamin Hall because “there were much more people, and it was a bigger audience.”

“It was a lot different [to do my TEDx Talk in Benjamin Hall] because of the stress level, and, it was all professional,” said Wright. “When I just did it in my room, it was just me with a pretend mic and stuff, but [the actual talk] was in front of people and all that.”

All of the speakers did a fantastic job in memorizing and presenting their talks. Now, the recorded talks with be uploaded to the official TED site so everyone in the world can see them.

James felt the day was a huge success, and she is appreciative of all the hard work the students put into their talks. “I am indebted and in awe and so proud of all my TEDxers,” she said. “They gave me purpose and inspired me with a sense of mission and passion. I am forever grateful [for] their perseverance and bravery and intellect throughout the process. They killed it on the red circle.”