A high school dropout no more . . .
This weekend I returned to Houston for a special engagement. The Monarch School, a place I’ve written about before, decided to give me an honorary high school diploma. There were ten kids in the graduating class, and me. In this shot, we're all lining up for the official photo:
Here I am, with the leadership of the school, as a newly minted graduate:
Each of the kids had done a senior project. One made a park bench for the new campus. Another wrote poetry. Several did art. One did a special education project. One wrote an essay about his mom and her struggles coming to America and raising him. Two kids promised to return to school after graduation and help with programs, like sports.
And one kid, in a wonderful display of Aspergian eccentricity, made a multi-pane display for school yearbooks. As he said, it’s configured to be free-standing, hung from a wall, or used as an ornamental door.
I wished I had a project of my own to tell them about.
It was a remarkable display that showed why Monarch is unique, and shows the benefits of small schools in general. http://www.monarchschool.org/
After graduation, there was time for a trip to the Ship Channel, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston_Ship_Channel the highlight of any trip to Houston. The best place to see the channel is east of town, by the Battleship monument. If you go all the way to the end of the road you'll reach the Lynchburg Ferry, which you can ride for free till the service ends at dark.
There are two ferries, which swap sides every 15 minutes or so. I rode the William P Hobby. The photo above shows the Ross S Sterling as we meet mid-channel.
Here are some pictures of the traffic, which I watched till dusk. The towboat Elizabeth Bleiler passed close by, with two barges:
A lone biker rode watched the channel from his hog:
As the sun began to set, the tanker Stolt Creativity headed out to sea. Stolt Creativity is a 37,000 ton tanker that carries specialty petroleum products.
The light was too low to get the name on this one, my last tanker of the evening:
The refineries glittered like gold as the lights winked on at dusk:
After that, I drove back to the Galleria for dinner, where I encountered this van in the garage. The name truly says it all.
They’re online, for real, at http://www.texaslicesquad.com/
I’ve been scratching a bit since dinner.
Here I am, with the leadership of the school, as a newly minted graduate:
Each of the kids had done a senior project. One made a park bench for the new campus. Another wrote poetry. Several did art. One did a special education project. One wrote an essay about his mom and her struggles coming to America and raising him. Two kids promised to return to school after graduation and help with programs, like sports.
And one kid, in a wonderful display of Aspergian eccentricity, made a multi-pane display for school yearbooks. As he said, it’s configured to be free-standing, hung from a wall, or used as an ornamental door.
I wished I had a project of my own to tell them about.
It was a remarkable display that showed why Monarch is unique, and shows the benefits of small schools in general. http://www.monarchschool.org/
After graduation, there was time for a trip to the Ship Channel, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston_Ship_Channel the highlight of any trip to Houston. The best place to see the channel is east of town, by the Battleship monument. If you go all the way to the end of the road you'll reach the Lynchburg Ferry, which you can ride for free till the service ends at dark.
There are two ferries, which swap sides every 15 minutes or so. I rode the William P Hobby. The photo above shows the Ross S Sterling as we meet mid-channel.
Here are some pictures of the traffic, which I watched till dusk. The towboat Elizabeth Bleiler passed close by, with two barges:
A lone biker rode watched the channel from his hog:
As the sun began to set, the tanker Stolt Creativity headed out to sea. Stolt Creativity is a 37,000 ton tanker that carries specialty petroleum products.
The light was too low to get the name on this one, my last tanker of the evening:
The refineries glittered like gold as the lights winked on at dusk:
After that, I drove back to the Galleria for dinner, where I encountered this van in the garage. The name truly says it all.
They’re online, for real, at http://www.texaslicesquad.com/
I’ve been scratching a bit since dinner.
Comments
We are all proud of you.
Jan
PS did you go to the prom?
p.s. the pictures rock too
Don't forget: anniversary tribute to Miss Snark on Pat Wood's Blog starting May 20th.
John, we loved seeing you again. You bring us hope, joy and much laughter (especially about the Texas Lice Squad!) We love you, man!
John
Marty Webb
I wonder if the lice (like everything else) are bigger in Texas.
Hugs coming your way.....
:-)
Anyway, congratulations! You're proof positive that it's never too late to write a best selling book and get a high school diploma!
xxx
Kanani
I loved the comment about the refineries glittering like gold... oh that is true right now. They are great pictures by the way!
Sadly I missed seeing you and the honored Monarch graduates last weekend. I'm sure for everyone there, it was a memorable part of their ongoing journey.
I'm sending my son to Monarch because it is my dream that he live a self-determined life. Sincere congratulations to you for living such a life and inspiring others to do the same.
Regards, Leslie P.
Or just call it Asperger's?
The more functional one becomes, the less appear there is to being "disordered."
And I suggest it's sometimes a self-fullfilling kind of thing.
Thank you for coming to the graduation and being part of the graduating class of 2008.
I'm the one who gave the gift to be the sports manager for The Monarch School.
I thought your talk was really funny and interesting. We really want you to come back to the Monarch school and visit us.
Your friend,
Matthew
WOOF!
I liked your speech at the graduation. It was inspiring and new.
I enjoyed seeing you graduate because I think you deserved it.
Remember, me, it's Alex. I'm the kid who interviewed you on the radio and talked about KISS. I thought the guitars you made were awesome.
I went on the internet and found a video of one of the guitars that you made that Ace used. It was really cool.
See ya around,
Alex
I was honored to be able to graduate with you. The world needs more people to speak out like you do.
I was the one on your right side and we walked down the aisle together at graduation.
It's inspiring to see you be able to come back and graduate after how many years was it?
You've been a great help, helping us understand more about autism.
Thank you for showing us that we can have our own voice.
Sincerely,
Megan
This is Chris and I am a Monarch Challenger Student. (a junior)
I do not have autism, but I have bipolar and have symptoms of Asperger's Syndrome.
You made a comment about people with autism looking around like a caged animal.
This is true. It's misunderstood that it's behavior of autism. It's more of being socially cautious and aware of your surroundings because you don't know who's going to attack you next, like you said.
Without Monarch, I probably would have never made it through jr. high. In other schools I felt like an outcast. In Monarch there is a sense of belonging that I just never had before.
Funny enough, without being "socially challenged", I don't know who I'd be. You just learn to deal with it over time, and it becomes a part of you.
You finally graduated 20 something years after high school, because The Monarch School saw you for who you were, not as a burden. I felt like I was a burden before I came here.
It just goes to show, even though you have your weaknesses, there is always someone who will believe in you.
Congratulations,
Chris
I have a 7 yr old boy at Monarch now. He is doing very well, and every day we see that he loves to go to school. Just as you mentioned at graduation, he and his classmates no longer have that "trapped animal" look in their eyes. This is a safe environment to learn and thrive.
Thank you for your words at graduation, and your blog.
Regards,
R. Tebo
"I wished I had a project of my own to tell them about."
Uh, John? Do you have any idea how much that little LMITE project of yours has helped kids on the spectrum? And their parents? Not to mention all the education you are doing? Not to mention the brain wave you're doing now?
Woof!
i was thinking when you wrote, "I wished I had a project of my own to tell them about." about all the major accomplishments in your life that i've only read about here and in your book. i guess people tend to have higher expectations on themselves.
those pictures are gorgeous!
i was unaware of the lice epidemic in texas :)
Do you have any pictures of the multi-pane yearbook display?
I certainly hope, that as a graduate, you decide to do something with your life.
This is so cool.
Congratulations.
Check out the ComputerWorld front page for May 27th
Your book?
:)
As a non logical, intuitive/perceptive type, it was very helpful for me to read and understand your aspergian logical thinking process!
I used to be a learning disabilities teacher, and have worked with teens in foster care for almost 20 years now. A former resident, and now house mother, gave me your book to read, and I loved it.
I figured out that my own 14 year old is probably a high functioning Aspergerian too. Having recently figured that out, helped me understand and be more accepting of her "uniqueness." Knowledge is power!
On another note, I was fascinated to see you and i share some similarities such as both of us are Arieans, and are the same age too! I also have family in Springfield, MA; but have grown up closer to your grandparents, as I live in the FL panhandle.
Life is strange, but I believe we all are connected in some way, and have far more in common than differences. It's great you shared your story. We all can learn from one another, and you certainly have enlightened your readers. Thank you for sharing your life. It offers hope and understanding. Thank you! -APD
Thank you for your time.
Kind regards,
Jessica Fediw