Connection With No Translation | Aaron Holmes | TEDxKitchenerED

This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences. In this inspiring talk, high school teacher Aaron Holmes focuses on what often stands in the way of making true, authentic connections with others. He shares his experiences with taking students on international development trips and how even with language barriers, it's possible for both sides to feel accepted, wanted and loved.

Aaron Holmes is a secondary teacher at Huron Heights Secondary School within the Waterloo District School Board in Ontario. He is also the founder and director of the OUTREACH program at HHSS, an international development course, aimed at providing students with an opportunity to experience poverty through interaction in class, community service work in the Kitchener-Waterloo region and development projects internationally. He has led development trips for the last 7 years to Costa Rica, Cuba, and Chile leading over 350 students in that time.

Aaron challenges his students to live meaningful lives, dedicating their skills and abilities to the service of other people, and believes that human connection and relationship is at the heart of development work. He has presented his work at the Ontario Association of Geographers (OAGEE).

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