William Pamperin

Concerned citizen, Consultant, Educator/Teacher, Environmentalist, Parent, Student, Writer/Editor

I teach math for fun (I also get paid). Teenage cognition memorizes me. I am fasciated with philosophy and its evasive nature to societal norms. I can spend days reading and listening to podcasts. I have insecurities, strengths, flaws, and virtues that guide my behaviors and attitudes. I want to live in a world where everyone knows and applies multivariable calculus to solve problems, in order to achieve my goal I teach mathematics conceptually to high school students.

Legos, math, breaking social norms, speaking truth, LGBT rights, The Economist, Foreign Affairs, Noam Chomsky, Daniel Kahneman, Amos Tversky, Naomi Klein, Dan Carlin, Nietzsche, philosophy, kite surfing, teaching, and learning.

1. The idea that a goal exists is a fallacy, rather we are the goal. 2. When was the last time you allowed yourself to do nothing. 3. Profit is not the metric by which we measure success, it is one of many indicators. 4. When someone is better than me it means that they have failed more often than I have. 5. What does it look like to live in a world where everyone knows and applies multivariable calculus? 6. Teaching without passion is a human rights violation.

My TED story is woven into the fabric of my professional life. I think that when students take opportunities to demonstrate leadership that are self-initiated and filled with a personal passion: who am I to stand in their way. TED was introduced to me through a school I worked at via its administration team. There were students on the planning committee but it was mostly run by adults. I was inspired to see the TEDx unfold and have wanted to see this done at schools I have worked at since. I have used TED in my teaching and learning. I rarely give the inspirational talk but have grown quite fond of TED Ed as it pertains to student learning. Since that first school I have mentioned, I have always been at the receiving side of TED, it has been a goal of mine to be on the giving. The 2019-2020 academic year is the years that my TED stars are aligned. A charismatic, caring, reflective, motivated leader in the school body approached me on the first day of school and asked if I would be the faculty supervisor for school's TED Conference. I pushed back on his enthusiasm reminding him that this is his senior year, there are DP exams, you are already involved in many things, and this is going to be lots of work. He told me that over the summer he filled out the application with a friend and yes, he wants this project to be part of his senior year and he will not accept no as an answer. He smiled and gave me a list of reasons why he and his team are ready for the job and why they wanted me to be the leader. As mentioned above I am drawn to teenage cognition. If there is anything I can do to help them pursue their passions, I will go about it whole-heartedly. I want all my students to be successful where they are. Building healthy relationships, setting realistic goals, failing with excellence, and adding creative bits to the novel that call themselves are the signs of a balanced individual; if I can cultivate that in any manner, I will. As an educator, if fills me with personal satisfaction knowing that something a student is passionate about is being shared with the community, that I am given a role in this process is an honor. I want to share ideas with the school community and greater Accra. I want to help fulfill this students dream of hosting TED. I want what this student started to extend beyond the academic year. I do not want to be the person who says "no".

Counseling, listening, reading people, platform games, board games, Pokemon GO, scheming, and running