In her Ted Talk, "Every Kid Needs a Champion," educator Rita Pierson argues that every child needs at least one champion in their life to help them succeed. Pierson cites her own experience as an inner-city high school teacher where she saw firsthand how students with someone in their corner were more likely to succeed than those without. She relates a story of two students with the same name, both of whom came from similar backgrounds and had similar intelligence levels, but only one of whom had someone who believed in him and pushed him to succeed.
Pierson's talk speaks to the importance of the relationships between teachers and students, and how those relationships can be the difference between success and failure. Her message is particularly relevant in light of the book "The Other Wes Moore," which tells the true story of two young men with the same name, both of whom came from similar backgrounds but ended up in very different places in life. One of the Wes Moores became a Rhodes Scholar and