TED Talk Activity: Argument
https://www.ted.com/talks/alice_goffman_college_or_prison_two_destinies_one_blatant_injustice
TED Talk:
I recommend searching the general topics list under the Discover tab. By doing so, the site will provide you with a list of
speakers and their talks. Read the synopsis and you will be able to determine if the subject connects to the controversial
issues you have decided to focus on. The speaker does not need to be an American nor does the topic need to be
focused on the effects of American citizens. We are global community so consider the global issues.
Date: March 2015 Speaker: Alice Goffman
Title: How were priming some kids for college - and others for prison Main Focus of Talk: The justice system does not
account for the environment children grow up in.
Issue and anticipation of relationship to issue:
In her argument, Alice Goffman talked about kids growing up in unfortunate situations and how the justice system
discriminates and labels these kids because of their economic status and living environment.
Main Ideas/Arguments as they relate to the first controversial topic. These arguments can support your position or
challenge your position or may be a combination of viewpoints. COMPLETE SENTENCES
1. African American and Latino children are faced with the possibility of prison which keeps them from fulfilling
their dreams.
2. A majority of our prisons draw from African American and Latino communities.
3. Kids in predominately black communities grow up with the fear of prison and constantly witness violence from
police officers against the people in their community.
Evidence for 2 of the arguments, what evidence does he or she present to support the argument? (statistics, facts,
names, events) Complete Sentences please.
1. Goffman tells of 2 boys she came to know while living in the historic African American Community near her
college. The oldest of the boys received an aggravated assault charge from one boy at his school when he
shoved him down. He then was forced to wait in prison for his trial that slowly came. THe charges were dropped
but he was denied the right to re-enroll as a senior in high school and was faced with several expensive court
fees where, later, a warrant was issued for his arrest due to his inability to pay these fees.
2. Goffman tells of several eyewitness accounts she had of police violence within the predominantly black
community she was living in during college. During her talk, she told the audience about how she used to see
kids playing cops and robbers. However, the kid playing the cop pushed the boy down once he caught him
handcuffed him and even asked the other child if he was carrying any drugs.
Which part of the talk resonated with you most? In what ways? How will you find it useful with argument essay and
point of view?
-Goffman's stories about her time spent in the neighborhood by her college resonated with me the most.
They were shocking and angered me that this happens. By her telling these first hand accounts, she
earns credibility in a sense that she was there and actually witnessed this happening.
https://www.ted.com/talks/rebecca_onie_what_if_our_healthcare_system_kept_us_healthy/transcript?language=en#t
-146180
Date: April 2012 Speaker: Rebecca Onie
Title: What if our healthcare system kept us healthy? Main Focus of Talk: Changing the healthcare system so that it
keeps people healthy instead of only treating disease.
Issue and anticipation of relationship to issue: Onie, in her argument, addresses the issue she saw in the clinic she had
been working in that patients were coming there because they did not have adequate health needs at home. She saw
that some patients didnt have an adequate or consistent food supply, where they lived was insanitary, or their water
had been turned off. The healthcare system does not focus on helping these people before they get sick and with their
family lives. In fact, Onie even addresses the fact that doctors often share a dont ask policy because they dont want
to bring these issues up with their patients, even though they notice them, because they cannot do anything about it.
Main Ideas/Arguments as they relate to the first controversial topic. These arguments can support your position or
challenge your position or may be a combination of viewpoints. COMPLETE SENTENCES
1. Home environments reflect and affect patients health.
2. Healthcare is not easily made available to all patients; it is often barred to patients with low incomes and
financial troubles.
3. The Healthcare system needs to help people stay healthy in all areas, whether its sanitation or obesity, and
should help people with these issues outside of the medical setting.
Evidence for 2 of the arguments, what evidence does he or she present to support the argument? (statistics, facts,
names, events) Complete Sentences please.
1. Onie provides several accounts of situations shes witnessed with patients to support her argument that
healthcare is not easily made available to everyone. She tells of an account of a patient who was about to be
evicted because he had not been paying his rent but was not paying his rent because he had to pay for his HIV
medication.
2. Toward the end of her speech, Onie explains how Health Leads has worked to go beyond the medical setting to
improve the conditions in patients homes.
Which part of the talk resonated with you most? In what ways? How will you find it useful with argument essay and
point of view?
- The most resonating part of Onies talk was an account she explained she had had with a patient whose
daughter had asthma and woke up every morning covered in cockroaches. This resonated with me the most
because it was so vivid and appealed to my hatred of cockroaches. After she told this story, I immediately
became engaged in her talk due to the horrid conditions she was describing of these patients.
