I am a huge fan of TED talks. A motivating talk on a topic I am passionate about can be a great source of inspiration to me. That’s why I was beyond thrilled when I was asked to become part of the TEDxNicosia team as their official blogger. These independently organised TED events have been taking place in Nicosia since 2011 and have covered some amazing areas and brought forward leading thinkers prepared to make a difference in our society.
I attended my very first event on March 5. The topic being discussed was education. Here are my thoughts on the event and the published article I wrote.
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I still remember the first TED talk I watched online. Sir Ken Robinson was talking about education and the killing of creativity by schools. I loved it! Finally, here was someone who was talking about education in a language I understood and actually wanted to listen to. Imagine my excitement when I realised that not only would that same talk be part of the TEDxNicosiaSalon, most importantly standing before me would be three speakers, all educators, using the same hopeful language. Innovators in the field of education who dare to question do in fact exist in our local community and last Saturday they had plenty to say. As a mother with a son about to hop on the education carousel I wanted to be impressed. And I was.
All around the globe, salon events involve a small group of individuals who are able to interact with the speakers and explore a chosen subject through discussion. At the TEDxNicosiaSalon, held at the beautiful ARTOS Foundation, the atmosphere was positively charged with quotes such as ‘system has to change’, ‘learning is difficult’ and ‘education should go hand in hand with humour’ being spoken.
Eleni Protopapa, a young and tenacious history teacher was the first speaker. She spoke about the importance of humour in education. How original, I thought. I am always maintaining that life needs more humour but laughter as part of an education? The point she was making was not that education is a laughing matter, obviously, but that it can break down the barriers between teachers and students. By humanising yourself, students will appreciate you more, she said. I don’t remember a single teacher I had being funny so that explains alot about my attitude towards them. Humour equals human, Eleni said. Aren’t teachers humans? Don’t humans make mistakes? We should bypass mistakes and allow teachers to be humanised. Laughter and humour can be a useful tool when used at the right moment.
Next up was Thad Correia, a drama teacher. Everytime I hear the words ‘drama teacher’ I can’t help but smile perhaps because as a byproduct of public school education in the 80s growing up I had never seen a drama teacher. Back then I had only ever heard of drama teachers existing in the movies. Thad spoke about the importance of owning our narrative and the need to stop giving our children a set narrative. They are only set to become doctors and lawyers, he said. Having a strong narrative and showing them that there are other options helps create and strengthen self-confidence. And we all know how important that is when it comes to kids. By allowing children to participate in drama classes we are allowing them to try out different roles, entertain ideas and not throw anything out.
Last but by no means least was my favourite speaker. She looks like a principle and walks like a principal but she definitely doesn’t talk like one. Deborah Duncan, Principal of the Junior and Senior School questioned education. What is it for, she asked. Is it not to grow individuals, independent learners and not just functioning members of society who can memorise chemistry but never learn it at depth? She talked about a learning pit where both strong and weak can interact, motivating each other to learn. She talked about growth minded persons versus fixed minded persons which basically means that students who were encouraged to ‘grow’ their brains did so, increasing their intellectual abilities therefore doing better at school. She talked exactly the way I want my son’s educator to talk.
I left the small gathering where big ideas were being discussed feeling hopeful because through TEDxNicosiaSalon I realised that innovation and education can actually coexist. And how exciting is that!
If you want to learn more about TEDxNicosia and when the next event will take place check out the website or go to Facebook for more info.
