Originally published April 20, 2015 at the Georgia State University News Hub. Archived here.
By Jeremy Craig
Imagine being a child in school struggling with a learning disability, and being called “stupid” by a teacher.
Imagine you have learning difficulties that push you to frustration, leading to self-destructive behaviors, getting in trouble and being labeled as a bad kid.
At the age of 12, Chris McCord was headed down that path. But the Georgia State alumnus found an organization, Moving In The Spirit, where he learned how to thrive through physical movement.
“The first day I was at Moving In The Spirit, I was pulled to the side and told (by an instructor) I was smart,” McCord recalled. “I didn’t believe her, but the more she said it, the more I started to believe it.”
Everybody retains knowledge and learns in different ways. McCord found that by putting what he was learning to some sort of physical movement he learned better. He gave the example of dancing with movements to represent historical injustices such as the forced removal of Native Americans from north Georgia, called the Trail of Tears.
His grades improved. His teacher, the one who called him stupid, accused him of cheating.
“Not everybody knew about different ways of learning, but I learned that if I put things to movement, my retention rate went through the roof,” McCord said.
Now, as an adult with a college degree, he created a program within Moving In The Spirit. Men In Motion helps boys from disadvantaged backgrounds learn and gives them mentors.
McCord lacked a male adult mentor as a teenager. His father died when he was 14.
When he was young, McCord wondered where the men were.
“There weren’t too many men to learn from,” he said. “Most men learn from their fathers, but a lot of boys in the program don’t have fathers around.”
Just as he did in the main Moving In The Spirit program, McCord’s students in Men In Motion use movement to express themselves. They learn teamwork, how to speak up, share ideas and deal with conflict.
Heather Infantry, Moving In The Spirit’s development director, lauds McCord’s involvement, getting involved with the students’ families, schooling and overall well-being.
McCord is compassionate and has a passion for cultivating and molding young men, Infantry said. “He’s very intentional about how we really nurture the entire well-being of students, dance being a vehicle to that.”
Non-profit organizations such as Moving In The Spirit rely on the generosity of others to keep going. To help promote their organizations, they need printed and online materials to let potential donors know the value of the work they’re doing.
McCord’s alma mater helped him. A technical writing class at Georgia State created a small, business-card shaped document that folds out into a larger brochure to promote his program.
“A little, small folding card, that I’m able to stuff in the front pocket of my shirt makes things a lot more manageable,” McCord said.
Merima Mahmutbegovic, a Georgia State senior and interdisciplinary studies major, led a team of fellow students who created the business card, with Men In Motion as their group’s client.
“It was such a rewarding feeling to create this,” Mahmutbegovic said. “At the end of it, I’m very, very proud of our work.”
Moving in the Spirit is performing “The Wonder Years” at the Rialto on May 7 at 7 p.m. The show features Men In Motion and about 100 other students dancing to the songs of Stevie Wonder. Visit the Rialto’s website for more information.
Cover photo credit: Carolyn Richardson
Inside story photo credit: JD Scott Photography
Archived at jeremyscraig.com on 12/6/2020