Examples Of What Adults Can Learn From Kids By Adora Svitak

Niki Tarighati
Professor Buchanan
RWS 200
19 February 2023
Creative and Courageous Kids: Leaders of Tomorrow A world in which adults often struggle to communicate and cooperate desperately needs the optimistic, childish thinking that kids bring to the table. Children have so much to offer, and their hopes and dreams are often dismissed by adults with negative outlooks and harsh expectations towards kids. This is exactly what prompted child prodigy Adora Svitak (12) to speak on behalf of children in her TED Talk, “What Adults Can Learn From Kids.” Since age seven, Svitak has aspired to become published, which she in fact accomplished and is now a short story writer and blogger. Svitak travels around the United States, speaking to adults, educators,

This is because both kids and adults are capable of displaying childish behavior. To prove her point, Svitak uses historical examples, such as “imperialism and colonization, world wars, [and] George W. Bush” to demonstrate how adults have been irrational (Svitak 0:30). She immediately contrasts this with examples of when children have made immense differences in history. Svitak emphasizes that age has nothing to do with childish actions: “Anne Frank touched millions with her powerful account of the Holocaust. Ruby Bridges helped to end segregation in the United States. And, most recently, Charlie Simpson helped to raise 120,000 pounds for Haiti, on his little bike” (Svitak 0:40). Svitak uses the rhetorical strategy of exemplification to provide the audience with concrete examples that support her claim. Logically, her claim now becomes irrefutable and more convincing. Additionally, she highlights the innocence, creativity, and optimism that children display, and contrasts these qualities with the distrust and negativity that can be found in many adults. By emphasizing the positive attributes of children and the negative aspects of adult life, Svitak provides compelling reasons as to why adults should look to children for inspiration and

If adults give kids more trust and say in the rules, then kids would have so much more to offer: “Adults often underestimate kids' abilities. We love challenges, but when expectations are low, trust me, we will sink to them” (Svitak 4:30). She brings up a personal anecdote of the way she was raised. “My own parents had anything but low expectations for me and my sister. Okay, so they didn't tell us to become doctors or lawyers or anything like that, but my dad did read to us about Aristotle and pioneer germ-fighters” (Svitak 4:40). This anecdote made the audience laugh and feel closer to Svitak, creating a more positive and uplifting environment. The use of personal anecdotes is an effective way to appeal to the audience’s emotions because many experiences are often shared by individuals, and so the audience can relate to Svitak. Furthermore, Svitak shares that when she was a child, she wanted to get her writing published, and many publishers turned her down, but “One publisher, Action Publishing, was willing to take that leap and trust me, and to listen to what I had to say… And from there on, it's gone to speaking at hundreds of schools, keynoting to thousands of educators, and finally, today, speaking to you” (Svitak 5:47). She describes how, at a young age, she developed a strong passion for writing and how her