After the first TEDxLangleyED two years ago, co-organizer and moderator Maria LeRose noticed something she had hoped for, but perhaps didn’t expect, from the full-day event focused on ideas worth sharing that are related to education.
“Something interesting happened after the first year,” she said. “Word got out that this was an event unlike any other.”
With twelve speakers and a pair of student performers, the third annual event set for Saturday Jan. 14, promises to be just as unique as the first. LeRose explained it’s a day where people feel inspired and are reminded of how exciting learning can be. They leave feeling optimistic about the future instead of worried.
Dubbed TEDxLangleyED: Courage and Curiosity, the event attracts educators, parents, grandparents and young people, LeRose said.
“It’s for anyone interested in ideas or sharing,” she noted. “It really is for anybody.”
The first speaker of the day is Bruce Cairnie who will challenge participants to dare to dream.
“He’s going to get people grounded,” said LeRose. “He has a way of helping people feel comfortable.”
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CAPTION: Maria LeRose is organizing the third annual TEDxLangleyED for Saturday, Jan. 14.
Following LeRose will be Brent Hayden, who as a Canadian, competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London and won a bronze medal in 100-meter freestyle swimming. While his life has been filled with victories and successes, he has certainly faced his share of challenges and failures. This is what he will share with the TEDxLangleyED audience.
“How he learned from failure is the topic of his talk,” noted LeRose.
Kathleen Forsythe, founding executive director of B.C.’s Knowledge Network will speak about the importance of imagination and wonder.
Other speakers will share ideas on learning to say no, exploring technology in learning, understanding the importance of family and observing empathy and language among many others. LeRose planned the day to flow through the topics in a particular order to maximize audience benefit.
“It’s really quite an exhilarating experience,” she said. “Sitting together with all those people with one exciting speaker after another. Most people stay all day. It’s a day that flows from 8:30 [a.m.] to 3:30 [p.m.].”
Tickets are $75 and are available through the event website at http://www.tedxlangleyed.com and include lunch on location at Chief Sepass Theatre at 9096 Trattle St.
LeRose explained that TEDxLangleyED was developed to engage our community both local and extended in a conversation about what education looks like in the future.
