I’m going to share a clip with you and if it doesn’t give you goosebumps I’ll be surprised – here we go:
At around the 3 minute 30 seconds mark this YouTuber describes in vivid detail how a person with autism likely experiences the world. For those not familiar with Mark Rober, he was a NASA bonafide and Apple engineer; I should have just copied his Wikipedia profile! The dude’s brain power is legit but the way he captures an audience is uncommon. More remarkable though, is his next gen Bill Nye-style connection on promoting science and I’ve blogged about him before. With over 18M subscribers, chances are you may have heard of him too. And this evening he will be doing a livestream with Jimmy Kimmel and an A-list of celebrities to capstone Autism Awareness Month.
If you need a brain break (we’re in AP and SAT mode right now, with additional state testing on the way heading into these final weeks) I’m invoking all the tricks so check out this previous gem by Mark. He’s a physics guy and everything he shares has been formed by his study. But let’s be honest, how many people assemble an obstacle course for squirrels?! He’s just wicked smart and hilarious in his sharing of knowledge.
And now he is disclosing his son has autism and admits how fiercely protective he is of him. And later in the announcement there is a reference to a young man named J-Mac featured in the clip playing basketball (it’s worth the wait I promise). I perked up quickly because I know J-Mac – and much of what I know I’m not going to blog other than he was a remarkable student in the school system I once served and he brought a community together. He was like no other – he also was a Y guy and we ran into each other often at the gym while he was there with other students from the local high school.
I have never subscribed to the one up game (and I will continue to challenge that dogma) but I think this past year hopefully has taught us we don’t have time for the debate and we best get on board with the we up game. We need less self-promoters and way more selfless servers. I attended a meeting earlier this week that gathered basically our district’s brain trust and it was clear we still had some fuel left in the tank. One principal shared out on a particular initiative and I sent her a follow up note – her leadership is the type we need to clone. She’s always struck me as genuine and sincere and honest. She’s not telling me what she thinks I want to hear.
As you head into the weekend on this final day in April, I hope all school folks can get some rest and begin to reflect on this lifetime year. There is still much work left to be done but overall it’s definitely been a winning season. And if you are up for some inspiration, check out that livestream I mentioned.
Friday, April 30th | 8PM EST / 5PM PST
What if? Why Not? 