G.L. Roberts CVI focuses on relevant topics in education with TEDxOshawaEd
“Hosting TEDx here means that we can host something that speaks to the inequities of our society, and our Oshawa microcosm, in positive ways. It means there’s hope for the future,” says Basil Broumeriotis, Vice-Principal at G.L. Roberts CVI in Oshawa and Co-Organizer of TEDxOshawaEd.
Last year, Broumeriotis began the process to host an independently organized TED Talk. He recruited the help of G.L. Roberts CVI Principal Alison Evanoff and Karla Torrente, Vice-Principal at J. Clarke Richardson Collegiate in Ajax.
In order to host an independent TED Talk, also known as a TEDx event, organizations must submit a topic idea and apply for a license, “We submitted and re-submitted different topics about three times,” explains Broumeriotis. He adds, “And then it was like an early Christmas present. It was the week before the holiday break, when I got an email back saying we were approved for a license. That’s when it got real.”
The chosen topic was Intersections of Equity, Technology, and the Future of Education, and the title of the event became TEDxOshawaEd. The event was open to educators, students, and community partners at $100 per person. As part of the TEDx licensing agreement, attendance was capped at 100 guests/audience members. All of the money collected from ticket sales went directly towards covering the cost of the event.
After months of event planning and sourcing six of the most impactful speakers available, TEDxOshawaEd came to life in the newly renovated lecture theatre at G.L. Roberts CVI on November 21st.
Discussions with Impact
The six dynamic speakers included:
- Tabia Charles-Collins – Influencer, Fashion Designer, Entrepreneur, and Life Coach
- Christopher Warren – Durham District School Board (DDSB) Facilitator and Teacher
- Dr. Nouman Ashraf – Director of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion
- Dr. Nicole West-Burns – Educational Equity Issues Consultant
- Karly Church – Crisis Intervention Counselor and Social Service Worker
- Dr. Leeno Karumanchery – Chief Diversity Officer
Each speaker brought varying insights to topic of equity and marginalization in connection with technology, and how those factors can alter the future of education.
The audience listened intently as the speakers discussed: the power of representation (in school and in life), making meaningful connections with students and the impact of the digital divide, making education into a movement, re-evaluating how we approach education to make a difference, empowering youth, and taking context into consideration.
Dr. West-Burns shared her dream of a school environment without a history of colonization or enslavement, “How do we break the harmful habits? What is the thing you do as an educator that might cause unintentional harm to a student?”
She gave the example of a photo she saw online that was posted by a teacher. The photo depicted a class of students rubbing balloons on their hair to see the effects of static electricity. Almost every student in the photo was smiling with their hair floating, except for one black girl who was not smiling.
“My heart broke for that little girl. She was left out of a class experiment because her hair doesn’t react the same way the other kids’ hair does. A lot of us have been that girl.”
Dr. West-Burns adds, “Each of us has a sphere of influence. That influence is limitless. We need to make the commitment to see the change.”
The Future of Education
Broumeriotis hopes the impact of TEDxOshawaEd will have a lasting effect, “My biggest hope is that people will continue this learning process. I hope they look at the interactions, look at the intersections, and really start to galvanize new ways of thinking, new ways of doing things, and action plans when moving forward. I think that’s what TEDx is all about.”
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