I'm here to open your minds.
Can anyone guess what I have in common with this drawing of an elephant?
Maybe the eyes, the ears, the posture?
The true message I'm trying to connect with this drawing of an elephant
is a child with a learning disability.
Many people see the colors or patterns,
but from what I connect
is how a child with a learning disability thinks or reacts to life.
Attention deficit disorder, or ADD,
which I was technically born with,
but at the age of nine, I was fully diagnosed.
Now, the real topic at hand
is children in classes right now with learning disabilities,
molded into the idea of the "perfect student."
Now, my idea of perfect is not having to attend class
or do homework.
But there's no such thing as perfect.
(Laughter)
One in seven Americans is noted to have some type of learning disability.
Now, facts are facts,
but what I'm trying to talk about is more than just stating facts,
it is supporting creativity.
Creativity such like art, cooking, dance, theater, and so much more.
What I have noticed is
that kids with learning disabilities have creativity oozing out of them.
Well, not like physically oozing, but like mentally oozing.
We, as a society, should not try to fix a child with a learning disability.
We, as a society, should try to support a child with a learning disability.
It is scientifically proven that people that allow their creative powers to flow
are, actually, happier in life.
Creativity wants to come out of kids with learning disabilities,
but they have never had the proper understanding or teaching
that allows them to grasp who they really are.
Now, I might sell myself a little bit here,
if that's alright with all of you guys.
So, may I please have a drum roll?
(Applause)
Now, this is what I truly got on my ACT.
A little old 19.
Now, in order to be "average," they say, you have to have at least a 21 or higher.
So, I guess I'm not average.
Much like the elephant with its curves, colors, and patterns,
I can't be labeled by one thing.
I've always told lies about my score on my ACT,
but why be scared of the talent that I know I have inside myself?
That elephant tells more about myself than any grade or score can ever do.
I'm a senior that's been through a lot of crap,
but next year, this elephant is going to DePaul University.
(Applause)
Now, I know DePaul isn't Harvard, but it's my Harvard,
because I know a score doesn't determine my own success in life.
I determine my own success in life.
(Applause)
Times have changed in major ways.
We need to think outside the box of education for children.
The younger generation needs to see the classroom as a map over a jail cell.
Teachers should support and celebrate children who learn differently,
support the mistakes, encourage the failures.
That's the only way to truly learn.
Creativity is in our future.
Are you guys open to it?
Thank you very much.