Maria Singman

Brainstormer, Concerned citizen, Educator/Teacher, Explorer, Life mentor, Musician, Performer, Public servant

My name is Maria Singman and I love TED talks. I'm always looking for new and fun things to learn. I'm very thankful for this community of TEDsters.

I have three main passions in life: Teaching, Learning, Music & Arts integration with the general curriculum, as well as living life with an open hand, open heart, and open mind.

ESOL, Music Education, Performing Arts

Have you ever had a moment or an idea that changed your life for the better? Well, for this Expeditionary Learning teacher that moment was when I discovered the world of TED. It was in my senior year of college that TED.com found me. A friend of mine sent me a TED talk by Sir Ken Robinson. It was that talk that got me hooked on watching TED videos and I’ve been supporter of TED ever since. During the summer of 2012 I saw that Amana Academy was interested in being apart of the TEDxYouthDay event. Since I am avid fan of ALL things TED related I jumped on the opportunity to help organize it. With the support of Amana Administration, parents and students we are moving forward with plans for the first TEDxAmanaAcademy! My hope is that the TED movement will stir in our students a desire to take charge of their Expeditions and help them to become the Citizen Scholars they were meant to be.

I come from a very musical family. I love to sing, play piano, & listen. Literally, every defining moment in my life can be found etched in my father's guitar and heard in my mother's voice.