Teaching one child at a time

The TED speaker I chose to review was Shukla Bose. Her speech was titled “Teaching one child at a time”. This speech inspired me personally because I am a firm believer in the youth carrying out the growth of our world.  She tells the story of her groundbreaking Parikrman Humanity foundation, which brings hope to India’s youth. Her organization has built four schools, one junior college, and helped out 1,100 children coming from the slums of India. Programs like these are amazing because it gives children with no hope a chance at becoming something in life. A common misconception in India is that parents prefer to send their children to work instead of school. Shukla Bose explains in her speech that this is far from the truth. In actuality parents want their children to have a life better than theirs not just in India but also all over the world. In order to attain this parents have to believe it is feasible. The schools the Parikrma Humanity Foundation has built give children this chance.

Children in these schools face other challenges besides education. According to Bose, 98% of the fathers in these families are alcoholics. Parikrman foundation goes beyond education they put the fathers in rehabilitation programs and help them obtain work upon completion, as well as create after school programs for mothers to learn to read and do arithmetic. I feel that if there were more programs like these in the U.S. children in America facing similar situations would benefit. Bose mentioned that several of the children go on to receive college degrees and professional careers. Far too often in the U.S. we let our children fail instead of providing them with the resources necessary to succeed. Under privileged children in America need these kinds of schools and programs to help them and their families get onto the right track.

After seeing this speech I plan to start a non-profit organization to help educate the youth on careers in Sports and Entertainment management. I know that a lot of youth in the inner city see Sports and Entertainment as just becoming an athlete or an entertainer. But I plan to educate these children on the other alternatives there are in becoming a part of these specific industries. By providing these types of developmental facilities more youth can broaden their horizons. I feel that it is important to be a role model for the next generation, this is a necessity if the Sports and Entertainment industry wants to grow and encourage the youth in a more positive direction as in the eloquent speech by Mary McCloud Bethune My Last Will and Testament,  “The youth will take over our future management.”

The Talent Managers Association

The association I decided to research for my specific industry niche is the Talent Managers Association. The Talent Managers Association is a non-profit mutual benefit corporation with a purpose to promote and encourage the highest standards of professional ethics and behavior in the practice of talent management. The TMA seeks to enhance the entertainment industry by its presence and involvement within it. This association is a self-regulating corporation and holds ethics and integrity to the highest standard. On their website they have a link to the Code of Ethics they follow. They also have a page, which contains links to Guilds, Unions and Support Organizations for the industry.

TMA provides activities for its members that provide excellent networking opportunities. They host expert panel discussions and speeches for its members and host special networking events each year. Their mission statement is to provide the opportunity for students to gain experience, make contacts, and learn about the entertainment industry through tour, speakers, and special events.

Being a member of the TMA has several benefits that go beyond networking and informational events. Your business will have a stamp of credibility, discounts on services that are critical to your clients, use of tested TMA contracts for talent representation. As well as free listings with information from your business directly transferred to trade publications.  Among the other benefits you also receive research support and backup from group of professional talent managers to cover legislation and political issues as needed.

I feel that associations like TMA are necessary to keep people in the entertainment industry connected. Often times in the entertainment industry it becomes a battle between companies instead of a friendly prosperous environment. Before I found out about the TMA I already had incorporated ethics as a top priority in my management company. Being a small company in a large market it is difficult to obtain clients and offer what some of the competitors are offering. This is where I feel ethics plays a big role. If more companies join associations the entertainment management industry can be better regulated and weed out the malpractices that are no longer necessary. TMA offers the “Seymour Heller Award” to its members each year. This award is given for excellence in management and to distinguish individuals who respect the field of talent management. I feel that awards like these are needed to show people in the entertainment management industry that there are other ways to do business without being unethical.