What if we teens could get over the pressure of being cool, and get on with the fun of being ourselves? What if our culture’s story of peer bullying, the plugged in/zoned-out teen, and the pressure to conform to narrow stereotypes could be replaced with the alternatives of community, being REAL, and giving voice to your passion?
Teen Rising is a weekend workshop for teenagers who want to be part of a new story; one where love, loneliness, social pressures, sexuality, the joys and stresses of navigating relationships, and the fear of being judged just for being ourselves are all topics up for discussion. Teen Rising is about defining what it means to rise – not against, as the cultural assumption would have it, but for – for our own growth, for people we love, and for issues we care about.
Join Teen Rising’s duo of young workshop leaders Eliza Reynolds and Josh Smith to subvert the norm using music, spoken word poetry, discussions of gender, friendship, body image, and much more—along with spontaneous dance parties and the Hero/Heroine’s Journey—to weave a teen circle where love, trust, authenticity, and passion rank as the new cool.
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Teen Rising is a weekend workshop for teenagers who want to be part of a new story; one where love, loneliness, social pressures, sexuality, the joys and stresses of navigating relationships, and the fear of being judged just for being ourselves are all topics up for discussion. Teen Rising is about defining what it means to rise – not against, as the cultural assumption would have it, but for – for our own growth, for people we love, and for issues we care about.
Join Teen Rising’s duo of young workshop leaders Eliza Reynolds and Josh Smith to subvert the norm using music, spoken word poetry, discussions of gender, friendship, body image, and much more—along with spontaneous dance parties and the Hero/Heroine’s Journey—to weave a teen circle where love, trust, authenticity, and passion rank as the new cool.
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Teen Rising's pilot program is coming to New York for A WEEKEND WORKSHOP for teens ages 14 - 17 at the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, NY (1.5 hours north of New York City)!
Join Eliza, Josh and their team of teen teachers at a beautiful retreat center in the Hudson Valley for a weekend of serious fun: spontaneous dance parties, shooting hoops, dropping beats, planning how to save the world, story writing, and a heart-filling community where it's safe to get over being "cool" and start the fun of just being yourself.
The question is, what do YOU want to rise for?
Cost: $250.
Schedule: Friday arrival by 6pm. Sunday end by 12pm.
Registration is open with the Omega Institute while space lasts!
Eliza Reynolds is a 22-year-old workshop leader, author, speaker, and “professional big sister.” She is a certified teen mediator, SOS trained counselor by Planned Parenthood, and has taught with The Wayfinder Experience.
Eliza leads Mothering & Daughtering workshops for mothers and their preteen and teen daughters with her mom, Sil Reynolds. Her book, Mothering & Daughtering: Keeping Your Bond Strong Through the Teen Years, co-authored with her mom and inspired by their workshops together, will be available in April 2013. Eliza is also the co-founder and co-director with Josh Smith of Teen Rising, a workshop for teens that explores the values of authenticity, community, creative self-expression and the balance of masculine and feminine in the individual.
Eliza Reynolds is a student at Brown University, where she is studying gender, psychology, political science, religion, and dance. She is currently at work on her second book, examining the cause and cure for the teen girl body image epidemic.
www.motheringanddaughtering.com
www.elizareynolds.com (almost there, folks! going live March 31st, 2013. Hold your breath.)
Check out Eliza's book trailer for Mothering & Daughtering: Keeping Your Bond Strong Through the Teen Years, a flip-book for mothers and their teen daughters, co-authored with her mom, Sil Reynolds. Coming to stores/Amazon Prime/a kindle near you on April 1st, 2013 (just in time for mother's day!).
Sil & Eliza Reynolds - Mothering & Daughtering from Sounds True on Vimeo.
Early fashion statements. Wondering if Eliza is cool? Look no further.
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Josh Smith is a 24-year-old youth educator, workshop leader, music journalist, poet, and hip-hop artist based in Brooklyn, NY.
He has taught performance poetry classes and youth empowerment workshops at a variety of schools and arts centers, as well as with The Wayfinder Experience. In 2012, he facilitated a poetry apprenticeship for middle school students at Urban Assembly Academy of Arts & Letters in Brooklyn and coached the Wesleyan University Slam Poetry Team to an award-winning season. With Eliza Reynolds, Josh is also the co-founder and co-director of Teen Rising, a workshop for teens that explores the values of authenticity, community, creative self-expression and the balance of masculine and feminine in the individual.
Josh is a graduate of Wesleyan University, where he earned a degree in English with a concentration in Creative Writing. He is currently teaching a poetry course at Hommocks Middle School, serving on the editorial board of PEN America literary journal, and working on his next hip-hop album.
Check out Josh on SoundCloud.
Take a look at Josh's latest music video with Mel Hsu, and their album together.
Mel & Josh - Analogue from Reid Hildebrand on Vimeo.
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