The WhyTry Program
WhyTry began in January of 1996, when a professor asked Christian Moore how he had come so far academically despite his severe learning differences. At the time, Christian was fighting for a bachelor's degree at a large university with sixth-grade math abilities and seventh-grade reading and writing skills.
As Christian thought about this question, he wrote the words, “Why Try?” on the top of a piece of paper. Below the question, he wrote 15 principles that he used to overcome his challenges. Later, while in graduate school, Christian began using pictures to teach his "WhyTry" principles as a counselor at an alternative high school. He recognized that the youth he was helping were overwhelmingly visual learners, so talking to them was always going to have a limited effect. He presented his ideas and visual tools to a local school district, which used them to reduce truancy and failure in their most at-risk students.
The WhyTry Program is now in use in over 16,000 schools and 500 school districts in all 50 states and countries worldwide. Christian Moore has become an internationally renowned speaker, addressing over 100 conferences and workshops each year. The WhyTry organization he started is growing dramatically with the single aim of helping people overcome their challenges to achieve success in school and for the rest of their lives.