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Can Gen Z reclaim the art of conversation? | Michelle Burke | TEDxStevens Institute of Technology

Thu Jul 31, 2025
For most of my career as a teacher, the 10 minutes prior to the beginning of class wasn’t just about getting my notes in order or setting up my technology; it was about chatting with students. We talked about our day, notable world events or recent upsets in sports. Today, students are more likely to ignore the people sitting next to them in favor of scrolling on their phones. But this comes at a cost: In our technology-driven world, the ability to converse and build social connections is as important as ever, but it seems to be a dying art. In this talk, we’ll explore creating tech-free spaces and how that opens up new possibilities for engagement, learning and pleasure. Michelle Y. Burke is an award-winning poet as well as a devoted teacher and mother. She is the author of the poetry collection Animal Purpose, winner of the Hollis Summers Poetry Prize, and her poetry has been featured on The Writer’s Almanac, American Life in Poetry, Best of the Net, and Poetry Out Loud. She’s received poetry prizes from the Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Memorial Fund, the Cultural Center of Cape Cod, and the American Literary Review, and fellowships from the MacDowell Colony, the Vermont Studio Center, and the Charles Phelps Taft Research Center. She holds a PhD from the University of Cincinnati, an MFA from the Ohio State University, and a BA from Loyola University Maryland and is a Teaching Assistant Professor in the Foundations of Critical Inquiry Program at the Stevens Institute of Technology. At Stevens, she teaches courses that explore creativity and the intersection of technology and ethics. She believes in creating opportunities for screen-free conversation, especially for young people, and with the help of her daughter, she hosts regular knitting circles and nature outings for the tweens and teens in her community. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

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