It’s a humbling feeling to say the least. I have been chosen to speak at the first annual TEDx event here in Chatham Kent. As far as I can tell, I am the only educator. Other speakers are all successful experts in their own respective field and I hope to make some good connections.

From the TEDx website:

Every day we are presented with new ideas that are changing how we work, how we raise our families, the communities we live in, and the way we perceive the world around us. Advances in technology and in thinking are causing massive change in the world.

These ideas are born from the minds of innovative people from all walks of life. Many of these world-changing ideas come from people in the most unlikely of places. Small towns. For an idea to be good, to be life-changing, doesn’t require being surrounded by a critical mass of people. Great ideas find a way to spread in spite of their surroundings. They connect people regardless of where they originate and grow to global scale. They can come from an artist, an engineer, a doctor, or a politician. They can start with a mother, a daughter, or a friend.

Quite often, the best ideas originate from a small town. Disconnected from the hustle of the metropolis, a small town provides the benefit of filtering out the noise. Ideas that could be drowned out in the noise of the crowd and never see the light of day are given the ability to be nurtured and flourish before being unleashed on the world.

Where these great ideas begin is not important. Where they end up is incredible.

Welcome to TEDxChathamKent.

I feel more excited for this event than some of the educational conferences I have attended. I hope to meet some great people who are thriving in their industry. I want to learn about the skill sets they are looking for when hiring new, young people. I want to know how much emphasis they put on things like collaboration and perseverance. I think that we as educators attend our own educational conferences with a lot of assumptions about the working world. This time I hope to get some insight into such a place.  I especially love that our day has allotted time set strictly for making connections with those who are speaking. However, we won’t be talking about apps or best assessment practices. Instead, how to be successful in today’s business world. What it means to work with a team.

TEDx Chatham Kent will take place February 13th from 1:00 PM until 8:00 PM at the John Bradley Convention Centre in Chatham, Ontario. Tickets are $75 and include a meal. As of the time of this writing, tickets are still available.

More information can be found here: http://tedxchathamkent.com/