A TEDx that was definitely different
Copyright © 2015
About six weeks ago I received a phone call from a youngster (ninth grade) studying at a high school in north Tel Aviv (Ironi D). He asked whether I would be willing to talk at a TEDx event they were planning. I wondered whether he was for real.
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After all, TEDx events are difficult to organize. You need to request a licence from the folks at TED, read the gazillion rules, find a place, speakers, funding, audio visual, beg borrow or steal the huge red letters, and so many other components of a TEDx event. I asked him whether he was organizing a class event to simulate TEDx. “No, a real TEDx event”, he answered. “We have a licence.”
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I was quick to agree. On the one hand, my curiosity was piqued. What, kids organizing a TEDx event? I remember how much work was involved when Yifat and Roie organized the TEDx at HIT last year. I doubted that kids could pull it off, but why not give it a go? So I said yes and pretty much forgot about it.
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About three weeks ago they got back to me, with a request to change the topic. I did, choosing “Thinking Between Boxes” as the title of my lecture. I wrote a few lines about it and went back to my routine.
Thing is, I forgot that I had to deliver a talk to over 1000 people last week. As soon as that was done, I got down to preparing my talk. I wrote it from scratch. Several times. I prepared the powerpoint carefully, went over the talk many times till I was ready to deliver it. I must have said to myself “Just in case this turns out to be a real TEDx event, you had better give a decent presentation.”
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And it was a real TEDx event. Auditorium, big red letters, four video cameras, hosts, refreshments, music. The event was supervised by two teachers Doron Sherf and initially Ami Matalon, but the students carried out all the logistics.
The kids did not arrange mentoring of the speakers and rehearsals (they should have) so until I arrived this afternoon, I had never met them nor had I seen any preparations. “Was it going to be a real TEDx event?” I asked myself.
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It sure was. The kids ran the show, presented the speakers. I was blown away. Some of the talks were outstanding, in particular Chen Miller who talked about surmounting her difficulties as someone who was diagnosed as dyslexic and ADD as a child. She is now an actor and drama teacher, and it showed in her excellent presentation on what she went through. The past teacher of the organizing class, Ami Matalon spoke about changing education by taking control of the subject matter and creating a limited revolution within his classroom.
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The past teacher of the organizing class, Ami Matalon spoke about changing education by taking control of the subject matter and creating a limited revolution within his classroom. Naama Rosenhok suggested that we adopt the ‘school voucher’ system used in some other countries, in which parents decide which schools to send their kids to.
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I am in awe of these young people and what they have done. This was a grass roots event, not a national program, not a ministry affair, not a funded initiative. The kids had a big dream and saw it through. I am delighted to have taken part.
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Published: May 5, 2015
Latest Revision: May 6, 2015
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Copyright © 2015
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