How do educators win the hearts and minds of their students, especially those who are disenfranchised by the education system? Teacher Adam Heenan has found that engaging his students means personally investing time in learning about their lives and challenges and helping them actively address these. Here, he describes a teaching approach borrowed from community organizing and calls on teachers to re-visit the age-old question of, "for what do we teach?"

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)