Sentence Diagramming: Toward the Future of Political Discourse | Aerin Bender | TEDxDakotaRidge

Sentence diagramming, a uniquely American pedagogical tool, reveals the deeper meanings of text by pulling words apart to understand how they work together. In a similar way, Jacques Derrida’s philosophy of deconstruction focuses on pulling apart rhetoric in order to examine the assumptions on which it is built. Derrida’s true focus was the deconstruction of power regimes and the institutions behind them. We can use these principles of “taking apart” as effective responses in a polarized and censorious political climate, building effective discourse on a basis of shared understanding. After spending 15 years in United Methodist ministry, Ms. Bender changed her focus to teaching. She has Masters degrees from Duke and the University of Southern California, a Bachelor's degree from the University of Louisville, and an International Baccalaureate diploma from much longer ago than she would care to admit. She has been published in "get born" magazine, and in the literary anthology Notes from the Underground. Ms. Bender has been a teacher in Colorado since 2011, licensed in second Language Arts, Elementary Education, and K-12 ESL. She has two children, two geckos, two cats, a dog, and a snake named Veralidaine Neverfell. 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