Talks: Education
High school and the final years of primary school is a time with lots of changes for youngsters. Physical changes, but, most of all, internal changes that can generate doubt, lack of confidence and fear. Many children and teenagers think that having a disability must be terrible, both due to a different physical appearance and due to being a hindrance for everyday life and other activities, like sport.
On the other hand, when they get to know me, they see that it’s the other way around, that you are the one that sets limits on yourself and that the most important is to pursue what you like regardless of what people and society expect from you, be it a lot or be it nothing.
Goals
Talks at schools, as well as treating the topics listed in the Talks: Overview section, have the goal for students to question the governing values and prejudice that society has, to learn how to put their problems into perspective and also the importance of having a positive attitude and of fighting for what you really want.
The activity is also useful so that students can see disability and diversity from a different point of view, not from pity, but as equals. This will help them treat people with disabilities and other difference with respect and less prejudice.
Finally, as a huge part of the talk is lead by questions asked by the students, one last goal is to solve all doubts -and gossip too- in a relaxed atmosphere that they may have about me, be it about my personal life, my time at school, about sport, living as a disabled person, etc. From these questions other useful topics that usually arise are bullying, sexuality and facing fears, among others.
Format
The length of the activity can vary, from 45 minutes to an hour and a half. The institution can also choose whether to work beforehand with the students in order to prepare some topics and questions or to let my talk be their first contact with me and then work on the treated topics later on.
Here is a small fragment in Spanish about facing fears that came from a student’s question:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWUU9tqdGls
You can watch a video with the essence of my motivational talks at: Tú decides tu camino (TEDxGràcia).
Where
Since I began my career as a speaker, my talks have brought me to more than a hundred schools and high schools, both public and private, as well as to professional schools and sports clubs.
Some of the towns and cities that I have visited are (in no particular order):
Barcelona, San Francisco, Sebastopol, Terrassa, Sabadell, Manresa, Sant Cugat del Vallès, Sitges, El Masnou, Matadepera, Valls, Sant Esteve Sesrovires, Sant Adrià de Besós, Guía de Isora, Tamaimo, Los Silos, Adeje, Santa Úrsula, El Tanque, Santiago del Teide, etc.
If you would like to hire me for a talk or for a related project or if you want more information, feel free to contact me.
