The Journey Archetype
I spent several hours Friday evening staffing the Stern Center exhibit at a Family Expo. End of mud season, everyone emerging from our winter burrows squinting at the sun, eager to reconnect with friends, neighbors, the world in general. It was a busy place with lots of people. One theme struck me as people stopped to talk. Whether folks had established connections with the Stern Center or not, once they heard about our mission of helping all learners meet their full potential they had stories to share, stories of personal journeys through various learning challenges or obstacles. A woman who'd recently had a stroke, a young man who'd never quite figured out why reading was so difficult, a mother concerned about how to help the teachers figure out how her daughter learns best, a para-educator constantly searching for best practices to use in her work with students, a son-in-law describing the patriarch of the family business who'd become a successful entrepreneur despite (or perhaps in part because of) dyslexia. Great stories, eager for an audience.