Good evening. I am Jason Rush, VHHS Applied Technology Teacher, Libertyville resident, and the D128 Union Building Representative for VHHS. My Union Message tonight is about the EdX Professional Development Day that was last Monday, February 19th.
Our members would like to thank the administration for hearing our pleas to bring back the pre-pandemic EdX Institute Day. Started in our district in 2017, this day is modeled after the TED talks (Technology, Engineering, Design) that gained wide popularity about 2012. The TED motto is “ideas worth spreading”. Maybe you remember Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook COO, giving insight into leadership or Elon Musk initiating nationwide conversation about boring a tunnel under LA for more efficient travel? Both happened at TED conferences. A TED – – X event is related to the larger and more well funded TED conferences, but the emphasis is on local and grassroots dialogue about ideas worth spreading. The local organization for our event comes from the instructional coaches at both schools, who do a tremendous job.
So remove a single letter and TEDx becomes EDx. I remember being skeptical about the first D128 EDx event in 2017. Let me get this straight; I’m only going to hear from my colleagues about their ideas and practices? This was so different from my previous 20 years of professional development. My skepticism was quickly replaced with awe and wonder about the capable and qualified individuals who work in D128.
This year’s event had some 80 certified staff and a total of 90 with admin and ESP stepping up to provide educational ideas worth spreading over four 45-minute sessions. The topics ranged from managing a student-accessible Google Calendar (Vernon Hills’ Jim Pardun) to Streamlining Teacher Time (LHS’ John Taylor) to five different presentations on Artificial Intelligence. I attended a session about the roll out of the D128 student internship program given by Ben Rodriquez. Lest you think this concept is of interest to only tech teachers and counselors, I sat with LHS Physics teacher Mike Bush and Vernon Hills’ physical welfare teacher Dena Franci, who both were there to see how the push for multiple pathways will affect the students they care about.
Many of the sessions were presented by two or more educators, working cross-curricularly and combining different points of view. For instance, LHS’ Brenda Nelson, Kara Bosman, and Laura Brandt working together. Some of the presentations were for educator enrichment and understanding of the many interesting concepts that students get to learn in D128 every day. For instance VHHS French teacher Kristina Hauptmann and Chemistry Teacher Sara Zaher explored the myth that the breakdown of TIN buttons led to Napoleon Bonaparte’s defeat in Russia. Us teachers need to have our brains tickled by interesting ideas too! Lastly, the 4th and final sessions were well planned with a variety of physical and mental health activities, corresponding to the Health and Wellness strand of the Strategic Plan.
I’ll end my message with a truism that I am fond of repeating at the lunch table with my colleagues. Teaching is considered to be “the lonely profession”. Why? Because more often than not we are in our classroom managing teaching and learning, yes with students, but alone professionally. What a pleasure to see our colleagues expertly ply their trade and teach something they know well and feel passionate about.
Thank you for bringing back EdX.