Terry Born

Dreamer in Charge

<p>I always dreamt I'd be an artist. I always believed I had a unique vision and way of seeing the world, but institutions I belonged to, didn't always see it that way. So, I followed a pretty conventional, conservative path as a young woman growing up in the sixties- I became a housewife, a teacher, and didn't make much noise.</p> <p>Teaching in a South Bronx middle school was interesting. I coped by painting my room orange and being the first felmale to wear pants. One day, my chairman asked me to teach a theater class. I resised, but gave in and my life changed radically. I learned how giving kids the stage made them care how they appeared to others. I learned that applause is more powerful than reprimand. I learned that you could get kids to do anything if they owned it, if they finished it, if they knew you'd stand behind them and give them the stage. They really wanted to shine, quality was important and many of the myths we cling to around adolescence and apathy, resistance and poor citizenship were just that- myths.</p> <p>So I started an interdisciplinary program, Bongo, that had kids do deep reading, writing and produce 3 original plays each year. I started a school that integrated the creative arts with the opportunities afforded by technology and continued to advocate for youth.</p> <p>When I retired from the NYC school system, I worked to start new schools around the country and mentored teachers and principals through the Middle College Consortium, an organization that promotes high schools on college campuses around the nation. Their students-who are first generation college goers, immigrants, low income, or underserved, graduate with up to an A.A. degree. But what I really loved best was working on the Student Leadership Conference. I developed a protocol based on Dave Conley's College Readiness research and tied it to the school team projects that kids did each year. I guided principals and teachers to approach their college partners and grant college credit for the amazing work, research, organization and execution that kids did.</p> <p>After 5 years and much revision it was evident that people needed to hear, see and understand the potential of youth today-if for no other reason than the world is in so much need and if youth doesn't fast track to fix things, we're in for a bumpy ride.</p> <p>So Walk With the Dreamers is my legacy, my dream and my art. Please help see it through.</p>

About Me

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