WEBVTT

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I'm here to open your minds.

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Can anyone guess what I have in common
with this drawing of an elephant?

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Maybe the eyes, the ears, the posture?

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The true message I'm trying to connect
with this drawing of an elephant

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is a child with a learning disability.

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Many people see the colors or patterns,

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but from what I connect

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is how a child with a learning disability
thinks or reacts to life.

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Attention deficit disorder, or ADD,

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which I was technically born with,

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but at the age of nine,
I was fully diagnosed.

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Now, the real topic at hand

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is children in classes right now
with learning disabilities,

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molded into the idea
of the "perfect student."

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Now, my idea of perfect
is not having to attend class

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or do homework.

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But there's no such thing as perfect.

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(Laughter)

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One in seven Americans is noted to have
some type of learning disability.

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Now, facts are facts,

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but what I'm trying to talk about
is more than just stating facts,

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it is supporting creativity.

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Creativity such like art, cooking,
dance, theater, and so much more.

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What I have noticed is

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that kids with learning disabilities
have creativity oozing out of them.

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Well, not like physically oozing,
but like mentally oozing.

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We, as a society, should not try to fix
a child with a learning disability.

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We, as a society, should try to support
a child with a learning disability.

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It is scientifically proven that people
that allow their creative powers to flow

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are, actually, happier in life.

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Creativity wants to come out
of kids with learning disabilities,

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but they have never had
the proper understanding or teaching

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that allows them to grasp
who they really are.

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Now, I might sell myself
a little bit here,

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if that's alright with all of you guys.

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So, may I please have a drum roll?

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(Applause)

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Now, this is what I truly got on my ACT.

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A little old 19.

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Now, in order to be "average," they say,
you have to have at least a 21 or higher.

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So, I guess I'm not average.

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Much like the elephant with its curves,
colors, and patterns,

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I can't be labeled by one thing.

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I've always told lies
about my score on my ACT,

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but why be scared of the talent
that I know I have inside myself?

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That elephant tells more about myself
than any grade or score can ever do.

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I'm a senior that's been
through a lot of crap,

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but next year, this elephant
is going to DePaul University.

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(Applause)

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Now, I know DePaul isn't Harvard,
but it's my Harvard,

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because I know a score doesn't determine
my own success in life.

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I determine my own success in life.

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(Applause)

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Times have changed in major ways.

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We need to think outside the box
of education for children.

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The younger generation needs to see
the classroom as a map over a jail cell.

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Teachers should support and celebrate
children who learn differently,

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support the mistakes,
encourage the failures.

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That's the only way to truly learn.

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Creativity is in our future.

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Are you guys open to it?

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Thank you very much.