Original Minds

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Wounded by the stigma of being in 'special ed' the five teenage protagonists of ORIGINAL MINDS struggle to articulate how their brains work.

Kerrigan is a deep thinker, often seeing connections between disparate ideas and concepts, but when it comes to telling you what you've just said he hasn't a clue.

When Nee Nee writes her fingers have a hard time keeping up with her thoughts.
People often get annoyed with Nattie because she doesn't know when to stop teasing and kidding around.

Marshall spends a lot of time in the bathroom, where his parents can't bug him about homework. He says he wants to 'turn over a new leaf' but he's lost nine of his last fifteen math assignments.

Members of Deandre's family tell him he is not college material. He's determined to prove them wrong.

Parents, teachers, friends, therapists, and coaches all weigh in, sometimes with conflicting views, but it's the kids who become the experts in this film, as they work intensively with the filmmaker to tell their stories and discover that they are smarter than they thought. Their narratives reveal the unique approach to learning that each must discern and claim as his or her own if they are to succeed in the world. ORIGINAL MINDS eschews the confusing thicket of labels for learning disorders and reveals universal truths about how we all acquire and process information.

'With each scene, viewers realize this is genuine. From the raw emotions of tears and frustration, to the joys of belonging and acceptance, we see the students take a measurable level of control over their own lives. More importantly, this film takes into account the students themselves and sees the world through their eyes...It breaks new ground in LD studies. Original Minds avoids the 'overcoming' theme in disability studies and presents LDs as differences, embraces them, works with them, understands and adapts to them. By doing so, it avoids the adversarial nature of overcoming and focuses on the frame of bettering oneself and one's community--a genuine goal for us all.' Craig A. Meyer, Ohio University, Disability Studies Quarterly

'A compelling first-person account by young people who reflect movingly on their experiences with learning disabilities. The film deftly avoids becoming just another attempt to package experts trying to explain learning disabilities, and keeps a laser-sharp focus on the experiences of these youngsters. Even the most experienced, perhaps dispirited, clinicians and educators will find their empathy strengthened, and maybe find that their sense of pride in the importance of their work has been rejuvenated. Those with learning disabilities and their families will welcome this reflection on their own lives, and that they are not alone.' Dr. Joseph Blader, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Stony Brook University School of Medicine, State University of New York

'This is one of the most insightful and inspiring videos I have reviewed on learning and attention disorders in adolescents. It provides an exceptional insider's view of what it is like to have learning difficulties as described so well by these five teenagers. Through their case histories and in their own words one learns of their struggles to be understood, to be accepted, and to find pathways in life, often in nontraditional interests, in which they can capitalize on their talents and contribute to their own livelihoods and to society. I recommend this video highly for anyone seeking supplemental material to use in counseling students with learning disorders about their difficulties and to show them how others have been able to deal successfully with those disorders.' Dr. Russell A. Barkley, Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Medical University of South Carolina

'An important film for all educators and anyone interested in understanding individuals with learning disabilities. A few students in every classroom struggle daily with hidden brain-based disorders--perplexing, easy to misinterpret, frustrating to live with, and challenging for all. This important, insightful, highly recommended film enables viewers to better understand the world of kids with learning disabilities, what it takes to overcome the obstacles, and achieve success. The program the five featured teens participated in should be replicated in every high school--enabling students with LDs to become self-aware of their unique brain differences and effective strategies that work for them, and to capitalize upon their many strengths and talents to achieve their goals.' Sandra F. Rief, Educational Consultant, co-Author, The Dyslexia Checklist and How to Reach and Teach All Students in the Inclusive Classroom

'What if school were different? What if everyone had to first excel at art, dance, music and sports? If that were the case, these young people would not be disabled at all...Original Minds can be used in teacher preparation programs, for teachers professional development and among school administrators as a discussion point about what is worth knowing and the importance of developing strengths. The stories in this film provide valuable insight into the things that matter most in life: the unique gift that each of has to offer. I can think of 101 practical uses for this film as an educator.' Jenifer Fox, Leader of the Strengths Movement, Author, Your Child's Strengths, Discover Them, Develop Them, Use Them

'As the title implies, the teens in this film have original ways of learning and perceiving the world. Viewers get a chance to experience the often frustrating and heartbreaking, but at times inspiring and exhilarating, world of youth who live in the maze of special education, as they come of age and learn to struggle, cope, and adapt. In its portraits of true individuals, it is a welcome antidote to textbook accounts of learning, emotional, and behavioral disorders.' Steven Hinshaw, Professor and Chair, Department of Psychology, UC Berkeley, Author, The Mark of Shame: Stigma of Mental Illness and an Agenda for Change, Co-author, The Triple Bind: Saving Our Teenage Girls from Today's Pressures

'Original Minds captures the voices and insights of five high school students with LD. While too many in this population are losing their academic battles and dropping out of school, the youth in this film have the empowering opportunity to study themselves, to deepen the self-understanding that is so critical to healthy adult adjustment. They poignantly articulate their struggles but also share their coping strategies and proudly recognize their gifts. They come to see that LD is only a piece of who they are; they are also athletes, dancers, poets, cooks, painters, composers - all trying to capture their strengths to help them cope with their challenges and successfully transition into adult life.' Dr. Arlyn Roffman, Professor, Department of Special Education, Lesley University, Author, Guiding Teens with Learning Disabilities: Navigating the Transition from High School to Adulthood

'Finally, a view into the minds and hearts of teens who are more often then not misunderstood. Original Minds allows us to feel what it's like to grow up struggling to be seen, heard, and appreciated for our differences and creativity. A must see for all who care about kids!' Rona Renner, RN, temperament specialist, host of Childhood Matters radio show

'The media has, historically, had difficulty presenting 'learning problems' to the public. Nearly every approach has been tried: talking heads, cartoons, documentaries, dramas and scholarly treatises. But--despite these efforts--no project has allowed the viewer to see this problem through the eyes of kids. Enter Tom Weidlinger. Tom uses his unparalleled skills as a filmmaker to explain school difficulties in an empathic, sensitive and effective way...The most outstanding aspect of this project is the utter respect with which these students and their stories are handled...Kids go to school for a living--It's their job, their workplace. When a child struggles in school, this frustrations impacts on his self-esteem, attitudes, behavior and emotional health. The 'stars' of this program explain this in a unique and creative way. As I watched this program, there were several 'aha' moments as the students offered insights into their problems, their affinities, their attitudes and their feelings. Original Minds does not merely 'put a human face' on learning problems--it gives these struggles a heart and a soul.' Richard Lavoie, Author, It's So Much Work to Be Your Friend: Helping the Child with Learning Disabilities Find Social Success

'The movie does the best job I have ever seen of taking people inside the minds of learning disabled children. Instead of having adults talk about LD kids, the children to speak for themselves; it makes the movie pretty special, even magical. I loved how the story moved past the children's disabilities to their strengths, and showed them at their best.' Dr. Michael Thompson, Co-author, Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys

'What a good and useful film for educators and parents. By the end, I was deeply involved with these young peoples' future, their hopes and aspirations, and the tremendous support and encouragement they received.' Summer Brenner, Author, Ivy, Homeless in San Francisco and Richmond Tales, Lost Secrets of the Iron Triangle (forthcoming)

' Original Minds opens up the lives of high school students with learning disabilities. This riveting documentary is essential viewing for educators, parents, teens with learning issues, and all of us who care about them.' Beth Samuelson, Founder and Director, Student Organizational Services (SOS)

'Original minds paints a poignant and thought-provoking portrait of what it's like to learn in ways different from those valued and supported in typical classrooms...provocative and inspiring...The take-away message of the film--all people are, first and most importantly, individuals.' Journal of Educational Controversy

'The stories of these five teens are inspiring and uplifting. In turn, each student takes the audience into their internal world as they understand it. The difficulties, differences, and disabilities are not sugar-coated. But neither are they catastrophized. It is as if, in the telling of their stories, the students discover their strengths...This would be an excellent film for students who are studying to become educators, psychologists, or counselors. The film would also serve as an encouragement to high school students and their parents experiencing similar kinds of challenges. Recommended.' Jane Scott, George Fox University, Educational Media Reviews Online

Citation

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Main credits

Weidlinger, Tom (film director)
Weidlinger, Tom (film producer)
Weidlinger, Tom (screenwriter)
Weidlinger, Tom (film editor)
Weidlinger, Tom (cinematographer)

Other credits

Camera, Tom Weidlinger; original music, Ed Bogas.

MARC Record See Worldcat record

Keywords

learning disabled, special ed, learning difference, special education, child development, therapists, education, high school, self esteem, learning disorders,"Original Minds",Bullfrog Films,doc; sociss

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[MUSIC PLAYING]

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Over one million students drop
out of high school every year.

00:00:24.330 --> 00:00:27.783
More than a third are diagnosed
with learning disabilities.

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This is a film
about five students

00:00:38.420 --> 00:00:41.700
with learning
disabilities who are

00:00:41.700 --> 00:00:45.860
fighting the odds against them.

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Three are from public school.

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Two are from a private
school for students

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with learning differences.

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I have asked the students
to make this film with me.

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Over a period of
five months, they

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will learn to observe the
workings of their own mind.

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We started out with a model
of how our minds work.

00:01:20.260 --> 00:01:22.505
In order to learn,
our brains use

00:01:22.505 --> 00:01:25.120
a set of tools that
must work together

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like the instruments
in an orchestra.

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The basic idea is that we're
all strong in some areas,

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and weak in others.

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It's hard for me to
understand what I read.

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C.

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I don't like to read.

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I have trouble remembering
where I left things.

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A.

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I can listen well in school
without moving around

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or fidgeting.

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E.

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Early on in our time
together, the students

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interviewed each other
on how their minds work.

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Their answers to 128
questions provided a profile

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of their neurodevelopmental
strengths and weaknesses--

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which was the beginning
of a deeper understanding.

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That's the task I gave
the five protagonists

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in this film-- understanding
and articulating

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how their minds work.

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Here is what we
learned together.

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If I introduced
myself to another me,

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I would probably think, well,
he has very low self esteem.

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I was at Albany High School.

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That was disastrous,
I guess you could say.

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I was someone who was completely
different from everyone else,

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and when that sort
of thing happens,

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everyone is either staying
far, far away from you,

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or trying to get back at you
just for being different.

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And I was just having a terrible
time with all of my classes,

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really.

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He had very good verbal
skills, yet very low-percentile

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ability to just
analyze information.

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Frequently kids with what
Kerrigan has are never caught.

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The experience they
have is that they

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know something is going
on, but no one else

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knows because they
can talk well.

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I started noticing that the
teachers would kind of single

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me out, in that I was not
necessarily paying attention

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all the time.

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Sometimes my assignments
wouldn't even get done.

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I would say eighth grade
was the moment when

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things just kind of collapsed.

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I would try to do something
just as I'd been told to,

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or just as I was certain
I was supposed to.

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And many, many times
after doing that,

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everything would
just fall apart.

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I feel like trying is not
useful whatsoever when

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that stuff happens.

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A good majority of the kids
detested me simply for the fact

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that I wear makeup.

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At first, I just
thought it was something

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that I felt I could be good
at if I tried hard enough.

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And there weren't many
things that were like that.

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I started to realize that I did
this to make myself look really

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different from the
person that I really was,

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so that I could hide myself
from people when I was really

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depressed about something.

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I'm pretty short
for a 16 year old.

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I was diagnosed with
Noonan's syndrome.

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It includes weak thigh
muscles and trunk.

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It's actually also
cardiomyopathy,

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which is like a murmur.

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I have a slight
murmur in my heart.

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And it's also
astigmatism, which I have.

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And learning disabilities.

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When it comes to reading social
cues, like physical cues,

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it's hard.

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Sometimes I've had a hard time
being in a group of friends--

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just reading their
body language.

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And when I'm talking somebody
and they're like, OK,

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we're done-- but they
don't say, we're done.

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And so I'll just keep
talking about it.

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It's really interesting
to watch her,

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because she really
does have sort

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of these two personalities.

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And when she is focused,
she's wonderful.

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And then the other person
can be just really silly--

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just not being aware
of social boundaries.

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[LAUGHTER]

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Oh, my god.

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All right, Natalie, calm down.

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Nattie, once again.

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Just-- respect other people.

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I don't know, I just think
that sometimes she'll

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say really-- things that
people could take offensively.

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Or things that are
just kind of like,

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why the hell did she say that?

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Or maybe I'll trip and say the
wrong thing at the wrong time.

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And it's the kind of thing where
it's like-- I don't want to,

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but I do it anyway.

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No one trains you how to know
when another person is getting

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impatient, or when another
person is tired of listening

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to what you're
saying, or what it

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means when somebody
moves a certain way.

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People just naturally
pick that up.

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But if you don't
pick that stuff up,

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and you don't know what people's
expectations are of you,

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that's a pretty intense
thing on a daily basis.

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And I don't think I had
never really understood

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that that was
Nattie's experience.

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I don't have my days
organized very well,

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but I do have specific times
of when I have to be somewhere.

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[ALARM CLOCK BEEPS]

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To go to school, I wake up
at 7 o'clock in the morning.

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I always put on the sleep
button for at least 20 minutes.

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Take about a 17-minute shower.

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And then put on clothes.

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Pack up my stuff.

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Go downstairs.

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Eat some fruit.

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Come on, Marshall.

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Come on, let's go.

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Mom, we do have time
to get a coffee.

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Because I don't have
to be there 'til 9:30.

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It's too late.

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Awww.

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Have a good day, Marshall.

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OK, you too, Mom.

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I'm a very shady
person sometimes.

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Get home, usually, around--
between 6:30 and 7:00.

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Hey, Mom.

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Tell my tutor what
I want for dinner,

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then she'll make it while
I'm taking a shower.

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Come on, Marsh.

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What are you doing?

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Eat my salad.

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And start my homework.

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And then usually
I'll finish around--

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between 8:30 and 9 o'clock.

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When my schedule changes,
all hell breaks out.

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I cannot remember anything.

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It's like a chess
board in front of you,

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and you have all the
pieces set up on each side.

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And then you give a quick jolt.

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That's basically
what it is for me.

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Ain't gonna treat you right and
I ain't gonna treat you wrong.

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That's my word.

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They don't know
what's true or not.

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The first time I kicked it
with Nee Nee, we hit it off.

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Like, buddy-buddy
laughing up a storm.

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Nee Nee's the type of person--
you ain't got to know her,

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you ain't got to never see
her again in your life.

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She be like, hey!

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How are you?

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We're just going to
have heck of a-- heck

00:10:08.762 --> 00:10:10.710
of a-- hell of a-- skating.

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You look gorgeous.

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You look hella pretty.

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And Lexi--

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Daddy, do you have any
words for the camera?

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It's kind of strange,
our understanding

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and dealing and loving.

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I've never been
worried about her

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getting into trouble
with anything.

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She's always been
such a good kid.

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In the third grade,
I was held back

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because they didn't
understand my learning.

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Like in school, I
get it easy a lot,

00:10:43.890 --> 00:10:46.250
because of my
learning disability.

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And I don't like sometimes
necessarily like it.

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Because I feel like an outcast.

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Because I'm like, the
oldest in my class.

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I didn't come to
school on my birthday.

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Because I just don't like
them knowing how old I am.

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Because I know that
they'll talk about me.

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I just started to cry.

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And every time somebody
would call me and tell me

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happy birthday, I
would cry even harder.

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I didn't understand why,
but I was just-- sad.

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I'm missing some stuff
that I should've learned.

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It's that gap in middle school,
I think, that jacked me up.

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He basically was held back,
because he got segregated

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from the regular classroom,
and put into this special ed

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classroom.

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I think it's hell.

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Because you know what everybody
thinks a learning disability

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is.

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I might want to say something
about something that we're

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talking about, and I
don't do it because I

00:11:47.710 --> 00:11:50.220
don't want to hear
another person-- you

00:11:50.220 --> 00:11:51.664
know, just insult you.

00:11:51.664 --> 00:11:53.330
After you asked that
question-- actually

00:11:53.330 --> 00:11:54.830
curious about what does
it mean-- they'll be like,

00:11:54.830 --> 00:11:55.534
are you serious?

00:11:55.534 --> 00:11:56.950
You don't know
what that-- I mean,

00:11:56.950 --> 00:11:59.390
stuff like that, that
happens through the years.

00:11:59.390 --> 00:12:05.220
That makes my confidence
level go up and down.

00:12:05.220 --> 00:12:08.440
I met Deandre when he
was about five years old.

00:12:08.440 --> 00:12:11.240
And he was almost
like a twin to my son.

00:12:11.240 --> 00:12:14.510
They were just inseparable.

00:12:14.510 --> 00:12:17.830
His mother and I got
to be close friends.

00:12:17.830 --> 00:12:21.710
I pretty much think I play
the godmother-type role.

00:12:21.710 --> 00:12:26.360
And I think that when his mother
died, he became very depressed.

00:12:26.360 --> 00:12:29.760
And he was being beaten
at home by his uncle.

00:12:29.760 --> 00:12:33.950
And his grandmother was not
very positive in her messages.

00:12:33.950 --> 00:12:37.890
And I think that it
destroyed his confidence.

00:12:37.890 --> 00:12:40.700
I've been living with my granny
for the past five or six years

00:12:40.700 --> 00:12:41.540
now.

00:12:41.540 --> 00:12:44.590
I've got to buy my own
food, buy clothes--

00:12:44.590 --> 00:12:48.550
because I support
myself financially.

00:12:48.550 --> 00:12:51.530
He's a very good-hearted person.

00:12:51.530 --> 00:12:56.440
I guess my worst nightmare
is that people will hurt him.

00:12:56.440 --> 00:12:59.400
I want him to trust
somebody, but I am afraid.

00:12:59.400 --> 00:13:05.360
What if he does trust someone,
and they don't treat him well?

00:13:05.360 --> 00:13:08.300
In the first weeks of
working with the students,

00:13:08.300 --> 00:13:12.560
I become frustrated with
their lack of focus.

00:13:12.560 --> 00:13:14.790
Kerrigan is one example.

00:13:14.790 --> 00:13:20.130
I ask him to leave the project
after he misses two classes.

00:13:20.130 --> 00:13:24.930
I think a lot of the reason that
I'm in sort of a bad situation

00:13:24.930 --> 00:13:27.330
here is because I messed up.

00:13:27.330 --> 00:13:30.930
But I'm willing to work really,
really hard to bring everything

00:13:30.930 --> 00:13:34.210
back, and try to
get it together.

00:13:34.210 --> 00:13:39.170
I guess even if you were
deciding to discard me

00:13:39.170 --> 00:13:43.640
from the class curriculum, I
wanted to at least make sure

00:13:43.640 --> 00:13:45.990
that you knew that I
wasn't deliberately being

00:13:45.990 --> 00:13:47.365
disengaged from the process.

00:13:55.850 --> 00:13:59.390
My teachers always commented
on my attention span.

00:13:59.390 --> 00:14:01.970
How that works is-- if someone's
talking about something--

00:14:01.970 --> 00:14:04.470
-But he grew up for the first
five years of his life without

00:14:04.470 --> 00:14:04.969
shoes--

00:14:04.969 --> 00:14:07.230
Then they say something
that I acknowledge--

00:14:07.230 --> 00:14:08.920
-Wait, to not wear shoes?

00:14:08.920 --> 00:14:12.410
And then it triggers a
thought process in here.

00:14:12.410 --> 00:14:14.670
Then I'll be stuck on
that thought process.

00:14:14.670 --> 00:14:17.040
And it'll be go back
to memories, or images,

00:14:17.040 --> 00:14:19.400
or thoughts that are
related to that subject.

00:14:19.400 --> 00:14:19.920
And then--

00:14:19.920 --> 00:14:23.930
I'll just completely blank
out in the middle of class.

00:14:23.930 --> 00:14:27.230
Sometimes I forget that
I'm even in the classroom.

00:14:27.230 --> 00:14:31.860
He's just-- he's not really
even that grounded down

00:14:31.860 --> 00:14:34.370
into reality, because
he's still kind

00:14:34.370 --> 00:14:36.390
of living in the
world he constructs

00:14:36.390 --> 00:14:38.430
with his imagination.

00:14:38.430 --> 00:14:40.764
I need you to
shift to a planner.

00:14:40.764 --> 00:14:42.638
The problem is-- is that
your sketchbooks are

00:14:42.638 --> 00:14:47.334
going to get all cluttered,
and I'll be very upset.

00:14:47.334 --> 00:14:48.770
OK.

00:14:48.770 --> 00:14:49.930
Do you have it with you?

00:14:49.930 --> 00:14:50.450
My planner?

00:14:50.450 --> 00:14:50.950
Mm hm.

00:14:50.950 --> 00:14:51.920
Yeah.

00:14:51.920 --> 00:14:52.420
OK.

00:14:52.420 --> 00:14:55.650
You can imagine how
every teacher must think,

00:14:55.650 --> 00:14:58.320
oh my god, this student's being
totally passive aggressive

00:14:58.320 --> 00:14:59.390
right now.

00:14:59.390 --> 00:15:00.320
It's not like that.

00:15:00.320 --> 00:15:01.320
It just kind of happens.

00:15:01.320 --> 00:15:04.605
And I feel terrible when a
teacher really gets on my case.

00:15:09.410 --> 00:15:12.378
Testing, testing.

00:15:12.378 --> 00:15:14.170
There we go.

00:15:14.170 --> 00:15:16.960
It's easy for me to
find notebooks, papers,

00:15:16.960 --> 00:15:19.670
and other materials when
I need them for school.

00:15:19.670 --> 00:15:20.950
Oh god, no.

00:15:20.950 --> 00:15:25.740
OK, so my mom
continues to say, OK.

00:15:25.740 --> 00:15:28.970
You need to get a schedule
and write out your day.

00:15:28.970 --> 00:15:30.470
So what you do in
the morning-- what

00:15:30.470 --> 00:15:32.345
do you do at school--
what do you want to do?

00:15:32.345 --> 00:15:35.400
Write all your homework
down, and set aside times

00:15:35.400 --> 00:15:38.170
for doing certain things.

00:15:38.170 --> 00:15:40.520
It just feels like a
chore just to write it.

00:15:40.520 --> 00:15:42.770
Because I just don't want
to write it down my planner,

00:15:42.770 --> 00:15:44.144
and I know I have
to, but I don't

00:15:44.144 --> 00:15:46.990
want to-- but I know I have to
in order for me to actually get

00:15:46.990 --> 00:15:48.330
me to do it when I get home.

00:15:51.170 --> 00:15:54.370
It's just like,
holy hell-- is there

00:15:54.370 --> 00:15:58.620
anything I can do that-- It's
just all brought on my own?

00:16:02.700 --> 00:16:03.295
Mr. V?

00:16:05.941 --> 00:16:06.440
Sure.

00:16:09.120 --> 00:16:11.630
Man, darn it.

00:16:11.630 --> 00:16:16.330
I think I've lost a bunch
of assignments that we did.

00:16:16.330 --> 00:16:20.100
And I tried to turn over a new
leaf, and get that [BLEEP]--

00:16:20.100 --> 00:16:22.914
and get-- I couldn't, like--
we have a notebook coming up.

00:16:22.914 --> 00:16:24.580
I know I'm not going
be able to find it.

00:16:24.580 --> 00:16:26.010
Hell, no.

00:16:26.010 --> 00:16:28.446
It's hard for me to
understand what I read.

00:16:28.446 --> 00:16:30.320
Reading gets me
distracted a lot.

00:16:30.320 --> 00:16:32.280
I think about so much.

00:16:32.280 --> 00:16:35.140
It's really-- it's
really crazy, actually.

00:16:35.140 --> 00:16:37.170
It's just how my mind works.

00:16:37.170 --> 00:16:41.290
It makes connections--
for example,

00:16:41.290 --> 00:16:43.980
this girl I like a lot--
I think about her when

00:16:43.980 --> 00:16:45.680
I read some things.

00:16:45.680 --> 00:16:47.420
I just think about
my future life.

00:16:51.940 --> 00:16:55.990
And whenever I do homework,
I'm always eating.

00:16:55.990 --> 00:17:01.827
Which is a little distracting
to me, but-- I don't know.

00:17:01.827 --> 00:17:03.120
I just do it.

00:17:03.120 --> 00:17:07.730
It was unbelievably difficult
to get him to learn to read.

00:17:07.730 --> 00:17:10.160
And it was frustrating
for him, because he

00:17:10.160 --> 00:17:13.950
would start crying
because reading is easy,

00:17:13.950 --> 00:17:16.920
and reading was obviously
not easy for him.

00:17:16.920 --> 00:17:19.119
I remember when I'd
take baths and stuff,

00:17:19.119 --> 00:17:24.140
my mom would sit by the tub and
pull out these different cards,

00:17:24.140 --> 00:17:28.030
and ask me to read them--
while I was taking a bath.

00:17:28.030 --> 00:17:29.010
Yep, that's true.

00:17:29.010 --> 00:17:31.141
I absolutely hated those.

00:17:31.141 --> 00:17:33.140
But, you know, you had a
captive audience, and--

00:17:33.140 --> 00:17:36.300
Mom was convinced that I wasn't
going to be able to read.

00:17:36.300 --> 00:17:40.640
So she told my grandma that it
would be OK if I didn't read.

00:17:40.640 --> 00:17:44.810
I'd become a laborer
or something,

00:17:44.810 --> 00:17:47.080
and they would support
me financially.

00:17:47.080 --> 00:17:49.780
He's had tutors
since second grade.

00:17:49.780 --> 00:17:52.010
College women who've
worked with him

00:17:52.010 --> 00:17:55.110
hour by hour by hour by hour.

00:17:55.110 --> 00:17:58.070
And he was just
off in la la land.

00:17:58.070 --> 00:17:59.540
We'd call it la la land.

00:17:59.540 --> 00:18:02.140
And you'd try to bring him
back, and say, Marshall!

00:18:02.140 --> 00:18:02.775
Focus!

00:18:02.775 --> 00:18:04.150
I mean, that's
probably the words

00:18:04.150 --> 00:18:06.390
he's heard from
everybody his whole life.

00:18:06.390 --> 00:18:07.322
Hello, hello, hello!

00:18:07.322 --> 00:18:09.280
You bring him back-- you
know, get the fingers.

00:18:09.280 --> 00:18:10.740
Like, yoo hoo!

00:18:10.740 --> 00:18:12.385
My parents were
always curious why

00:18:12.385 --> 00:18:15.990
I'm in the bathroom for so long.

00:18:15.990 --> 00:18:20.528
When I was in the bathroom,
it was complete peace.

00:18:20.528 --> 00:18:24.740
[LAUGHTER]

00:18:24.740 --> 00:18:28.740
I still have to stop and
think about which is left,

00:18:28.740 --> 00:18:30.475
and which is right.

00:18:30.475 --> 00:18:30.975
OK.

00:18:30.975 --> 00:18:33.860
Mine is A. I get
lost all the time.

00:18:33.860 --> 00:18:36.550
I always-- like when
it's, you know, go

00:18:36.550 --> 00:18:39.200
right-- I always really think--
I have to literally put up

00:18:39.200 --> 00:18:45.380
my hands, since-- to me,
this is L-- your left hand--

00:18:45.380 --> 00:18:48.970
and I use a lot of
landmarks, because I

00:18:48.970 --> 00:18:52.060
get anxious I'm
going to get lost.

00:18:52.060 --> 00:18:54.500
She's not confident she
can get herself home.

00:18:54.500 --> 00:18:59.230
Because the visual
orientation is so unstable.

00:18:59.230 --> 00:19:00.690
When you look at
Nattie's ability

00:19:00.690 --> 00:19:04.190
to organize visual types of
information, it's a deficit.

00:19:04.190 --> 00:19:06.990
And it was pervasive
across most of the testing.

00:19:06.990 --> 00:19:11.170
But Nattie has exceptionally
superior language skills.

00:19:11.170 --> 00:19:15.100
So she sees visual
aspects of life-- Nattie

00:19:15.100 --> 00:19:17.600
is putting a lot of verbal
labels on what she sees.

00:19:23.670 --> 00:19:27.450
This is me, walking
to the bus stop.

00:19:27.450 --> 00:19:28.200
Here it is.

00:19:28.200 --> 00:19:29.380
See?

00:19:29.380 --> 00:19:30.020
13.

00:19:30.020 --> 00:19:31.970
Now I'm going to get on the bus.

00:19:31.970 --> 00:19:36.530
I am going to press the
button to make the doors open.

00:19:36.530 --> 00:19:39.530
We are walking down
the street to the BART.

00:19:39.530 --> 00:19:40.785
This is the escalator.

00:19:43.735 --> 00:19:45.715
That's probably my train.

00:20:02.050 --> 00:20:04.580
Math is really,
really difficult.

00:20:04.580 --> 00:20:07.020
It's just-- it's always
been difficult by lining up

00:20:07.020 --> 00:20:08.420
the numbers.

00:20:08.420 --> 00:20:10.990
Like when I've gone to
multiple-step problems--

00:20:10.990 --> 00:20:15.460
like algebra-- it's
just-- the minute details

00:20:15.460 --> 00:20:17.684
are so hard to keep track of.

00:20:17.684 --> 00:20:19.350
And having all the
numbers, and figuring

00:20:19.350 --> 00:20:22.320
out-- where did this
number come from?

00:20:22.320 --> 00:20:27.170
And Nattie-- she comes
with a lot of math phobia.

00:20:27.170 --> 00:20:30.840
She ha-- is very afraid of math.

00:20:30.840 --> 00:20:32.430
Just relax, Nattie.

00:20:32.430 --> 00:20:33.009
Just relax.

00:20:33.009 --> 00:20:34.050
We're going to get there.

00:20:34.050 --> 00:20:35.240
We're almost there.

00:20:35.240 --> 00:20:35.740
OK?

00:20:35.740 --> 00:20:38.060
We're almost there.

00:20:38.060 --> 00:20:40.040
She's very good at doing things.

00:20:40.040 --> 00:20:44.440
Has trouble imagining--
OK, what would come next?

00:20:44.440 --> 00:20:47.740
The inverse of
this power function

00:20:47.740 --> 00:20:53.990
is going to be the log base b--
hang in there, Nattie-- of y

00:20:53.990 --> 00:20:56.080
is equal to x.

00:20:56.080 --> 00:21:00.510
And so, a lot of times, I'll
be reading a math problem,

00:21:00.510 --> 00:21:03.360
and I get totally the opposite.

00:21:03.360 --> 00:21:05.980
And they'll have to explain
it two or three times for me

00:21:05.980 --> 00:21:07.630
to really understand it.

00:21:07.630 --> 00:21:11.210
But she very easily
goes to-- I'm confused.

00:21:11.210 --> 00:21:12.490
I'm confused.

00:21:12.490 --> 00:21:13.600
I'm confused.

00:21:13.600 --> 00:21:16.739
Without-- it's almost like
a natural reaction for her.

00:21:16.739 --> 00:21:18.905
To the point where I won't
let her say that anymore.

00:21:25.610 --> 00:21:28.950
I have good ideas, but I can't
remember them while I write.

00:21:31.880 --> 00:21:36.970
B.

00:21:36.970 --> 00:21:39.210
He struggles with both
reading and writing.

00:21:39.210 --> 00:21:41.990
But writing using
the conventions

00:21:41.990 --> 00:21:45.050
of standard English--
that's still something

00:21:45.050 --> 00:21:46.760
that he's really working on.

00:21:46.760 --> 00:21:49.510
I can be thinking of something,
and I'll be thinking of it,

00:21:49.510 --> 00:21:51.510
and I'll be trying to
write it at the same time,

00:21:51.510 --> 00:21:52.270
and I can't do it.

00:21:52.270 --> 00:21:54.301
Which makes me give
up on it sometimes.

00:21:54.301 --> 00:21:56.050
Because I can be
thinking about something,

00:21:56.050 --> 00:21:57.790
and it could be really good.

00:21:57.790 --> 00:22:01.320
But I can't write
it down fast enough.

00:22:01.320 --> 00:22:03.790
And I don't know
how to fix that.

00:22:03.790 --> 00:22:05.770
He also is really,
really stubborn.

00:22:05.770 --> 00:22:12.840
And I think that he wants to
prove that he can do this.

00:22:12.840 --> 00:22:16.300
I think people in his
world have told him--

00:22:16.300 --> 00:22:18.960
directly and indirectly-- that
he's not college material.

00:22:18.960 --> 00:22:23.220
And that really, really
bolstered his commitment

00:22:23.220 --> 00:22:27.300
to getting into college.

00:22:27.300 --> 00:22:30.360
But he still has to
graduate from high school.

00:22:30.360 --> 00:22:32.310
And in order to
receive his diploma,

00:22:32.310 --> 00:22:37.310
he must complete a long research
paper called an I-Search.

00:22:37.310 --> 00:22:39.770
For my independent project,
what the seniors have to do

00:22:39.770 --> 00:22:41.280
is this big old I-Search.

00:22:41.280 --> 00:22:44.450
And it's a 23-page
I-Search, or whatever.

00:22:44.450 --> 00:22:48.220
And so I'm doing it
under how a record

00:22:48.220 --> 00:22:50.190
label is managed and ran.

00:22:50.190 --> 00:22:53.765
And I should've started it a
long time ago, and I didn't.

00:22:58.210 --> 00:23:00.950
He got about halfway
through of a rough draft,

00:23:00.950 --> 00:23:03.130
and then he thought
that he was done.

00:23:03.130 --> 00:23:04.910
It's like he was so
pleased that he'd

00:23:04.910 --> 00:23:07.530
gotten that far, he says, oh,
there's hardly anything left

00:23:07.530 --> 00:23:09.629
to do.

00:23:09.629 --> 00:23:11.110
Yeah.

00:23:11.110 --> 00:23:15.250
He doesn't necessarily want to
admit that there are weaknesses

00:23:15.250 --> 00:23:19.310
that he needs to tackle in a
very conscious, direct way.

00:23:19.310 --> 00:23:20.930
So I guess the
question I have is-- I

00:23:20.930 --> 00:23:24.910
know some people are concerned
about you graduating.

00:23:24.910 --> 00:23:26.303
Graduating?

00:23:26.303 --> 00:23:27.250
Yeah.

00:23:27.250 --> 00:23:28.920
But if I can do it?

00:23:28.920 --> 00:23:35.350
Lately, I've been doing my
best-- to my ability, I think.

00:23:35.350 --> 00:23:40.550
In order to apply for college,
he needed to have some testing.

00:23:40.550 --> 00:23:43.140
And this person who
I really trust-- she

00:23:43.140 --> 00:23:45.930
said that she really thinks that
he has a learning disability,

00:23:45.930 --> 00:23:49.660
and that I should get
to know more about it.

00:23:49.660 --> 00:23:51.600
The testing that
I did with Deandre

00:23:51.600 --> 00:23:56.670
was to measure his
intellectual abilities

00:23:56.670 --> 00:23:59.650
using a standardized IQ test.

00:23:59.650 --> 00:24:00.630
I don't like her--

00:24:00.630 --> 00:24:01.130
Oh.

00:24:01.130 --> 00:24:01.970
--job.

00:24:01.970 --> 00:24:02.840
Oh, OK.

00:24:02.840 --> 00:24:05.550
At first I didn't like her
because she's doing the job.

00:24:05.550 --> 00:24:08.080
But I really just--
I hate the fact

00:24:08.080 --> 00:24:13.190
that she tests people to
tell them how they learn.

00:24:13.190 --> 00:24:15.140
Can't nobody tell
you how you learn.

00:24:17.840 --> 00:24:21.390
When I write, my ideas
seem to go too fast

00:24:21.390 --> 00:24:24.260
for my fingers to keep up.

00:24:24.260 --> 00:24:29.460
I would say that is
very true for me.

00:24:29.460 --> 00:24:31.760
It was the Europeans
who thus discovered

00:24:31.760 --> 00:24:34.920
the rest of the world
between 1450 and 1600.

00:24:34.920 --> 00:24:39.630
I don't know why I can't write
and listen at the same time.

00:24:39.630 --> 00:24:42.680
I'm constantly looking up and
down and trying to listen.

00:24:42.680 --> 00:24:45.390
But I can't get it.

00:24:45.390 --> 00:24:48.500
So I'm just looking at
the board and writing.

00:24:48.500 --> 00:24:51.580
And my hearing is just gone.

00:24:51.580 --> 00:24:53.160
I can only do one
thing at a time.

00:24:53.160 --> 00:24:56.110
If I'm writing, I can
write, and just write.

00:24:56.110 --> 00:24:58.520
If I'm listening,
I can just listen.

00:24:58.520 --> 00:25:00.450
--sea captain named
Christopher Columbus.

00:25:00.450 --> 00:25:04.765
He journeyed no longer as an
explorer, but as an empire--

00:25:04.765 --> 00:25:06.980
--explorer, Pedro
Alvares Cabral,

00:25:06.980 --> 00:25:08.760
reached the shores
of modern-day Brazil,

00:25:08.760 --> 00:25:11.010
and claimed the land
for his country.

00:25:11.010 --> 00:25:12.038
Nee Nee.

00:25:12.038 --> 00:25:13.870
Nuh-uh.

00:25:13.870 --> 00:25:14.380
Nee Nee.

00:25:14.380 --> 00:25:14.880
Uh-uh.

00:25:17.950 --> 00:25:20.410
Bico, no!

00:25:20.410 --> 00:25:24.780
And I'll get so nervous
that I'll just screw up.

00:25:24.780 --> 00:25:29.660
It's hard to sit there and
think that I've got this.

00:25:29.660 --> 00:25:32.520
And be wrong again.

00:25:32.520 --> 00:25:39.990
And I'm like, how could this
be so wrong when I try so hard?

00:25:39.990 --> 00:25:42.550
And it's not coming out right.

00:25:42.550 --> 00:25:45.175
So sometimes I just
feel like giving up--

00:25:45.175 --> 00:25:48.640
like why am I doing this?

00:25:48.640 --> 00:25:50.640
People can look
at me and be like,

00:25:50.640 --> 00:25:53.320
I can tell you're a smart girl.

00:25:53.320 --> 00:25:56.510
And I'm like, I'm not smart.

00:25:56.510 --> 00:25:57.840
I may look smart.

00:25:57.840 --> 00:26:00.610
I may carry myself
as a smart person.

00:26:00.610 --> 00:26:03.490
But if you give
me a test, my test

00:26:03.490 --> 00:26:06.370
is going up like,
this girl's stupid.

00:26:06.370 --> 00:26:10.700
So it's a really common thing
that kids have an understanding

00:26:10.700 --> 00:26:13.310
that they're not able
to show in tests.

00:26:13.310 --> 00:26:14.810
And there are certain
things that we

00:26:14.810 --> 00:26:17.674
can do to kind of
change that for kids.

00:26:17.674 --> 00:26:19.590
Because if you're having
an issue with memory,

00:26:19.590 --> 00:26:21.840
we can take open-note tests.

00:26:21.840 --> 00:26:24.520
If it's a stress
and anxiety issue,

00:26:24.520 --> 00:26:26.280
sometimes more time helps.

00:26:26.280 --> 00:26:29.320
And just know that you
can be relaxed about it.

00:26:29.320 --> 00:26:31.100
While you still
get the experience

00:26:31.100 --> 00:26:32.350
of learning how to take tests.

00:26:32.350 --> 00:26:35.790
Because it does matter.

00:26:35.790 --> 00:26:38.220
With Leah Katz's
help in arranging

00:26:38.220 --> 00:26:41.970
special accommodations for Nee
Nee, we hope she'll do better.

00:26:44.650 --> 00:26:46.710
But there's another
problem in her life

00:26:46.710 --> 00:26:49.570
that we only discover when
we talk to her friends

00:26:49.570 --> 00:26:53.050
and visit her at home.

00:26:53.050 --> 00:26:56.145
It's not something that
fits into the model

00:26:56.145 --> 00:26:59.430
of neurodevelopmental
functions but we are using.

00:27:02.950 --> 00:27:03.710
Family.

00:27:03.710 --> 00:27:06.190
I think family is a big one.

00:27:06.190 --> 00:27:10.440
I think she stresses over a
lot, like things with her mom,

00:27:10.440 --> 00:27:16.276
and making sure her mom is OK,
and she got everything she got.

00:27:16.276 --> 00:27:20.180
Because I start calling her old
mother, because she's just--

00:27:20.180 --> 00:27:23.250
she be working so hard.

00:27:23.250 --> 00:27:26.100
And being that my
health isn't good,

00:27:26.100 --> 00:27:28.300
sometimes she has to help me.

00:27:28.300 --> 00:27:31.610
Because sometimes I can't
even get out of the bed.

00:27:31.610 --> 00:27:34.030
Because my mom-- she went
through breast cancer,

00:27:34.030 --> 00:27:37.110
and has arthritis--
and I've been

00:27:37.110 --> 00:27:38.940
trying to step back
and look at things

00:27:38.940 --> 00:27:42.930
and seeing how I
can make it better.

00:27:42.930 --> 00:27:44.780
I should've baked a cake.

00:27:44.780 --> 00:27:46.870
She's really the bank.

00:27:46.870 --> 00:27:48.390
I mean, the vault.

00:27:48.390 --> 00:27:51.180
OK, this has been
paid by April 18.

00:27:51.180 --> 00:27:53.564
And that's tomorrow.

00:27:53.564 --> 00:27:55.804
[SIGH]

00:27:55.804 --> 00:27:59.790
Like, even in this water
bill, saying it's past--

00:27:59.790 --> 00:28:01.790
Final.

00:28:01.790 --> 00:28:02.870
Can't argue with them.

00:28:02.870 --> 00:28:03.940
You have to pay it.

00:28:03.940 --> 00:28:05.395
Or they'll turn it off.

00:28:08.370 --> 00:28:12.860
It affects me going to
school a lot, actually.

00:28:12.860 --> 00:28:17.415
Like sometimes, I'm really
upset, or just depressed

00:28:17.415 --> 00:28:18.380
sometimes.

00:28:18.380 --> 00:28:21.120
And I just want to be
at home with my mom.

00:28:21.120 --> 00:28:24.210
This was due yesterday, but
I'm giving you an extension

00:28:24.210 --> 00:28:24.996
until Monday, OK?

00:28:24.996 --> 00:28:25.390
So you have a lot to--

00:28:25.390 --> 00:28:26.806
Her biggest problem
is attendance.

00:28:26.806 --> 00:28:28.770
And when you're learning
math, and everything

00:28:28.770 --> 00:28:31.310
builds on things,
it's really hard.

00:28:31.310 --> 00:28:33.800
And this is my second
time working with her.

00:28:33.800 --> 00:28:35.770
She failed the class
last year because

00:28:35.770 --> 00:28:37.795
of the same issues
of attendance.

00:28:37.795 --> 00:28:39.420
Now she's struggling
again, because she

00:28:39.420 --> 00:28:40.620
misses so much school.

00:28:40.620 --> 00:28:42.953
I mean, this is the first day
she's been here this week.

00:28:45.810 --> 00:28:48.930
There are no magic bullets.

00:28:48.930 --> 00:28:51.700
Not for Nee Nee, or
any of the others.

00:28:51.700 --> 00:28:54.730
But the kids are beginning to
learn that they are actually

00:28:54.730 --> 00:28:56.800
good at a few things.

00:28:56.800 --> 00:28:59.430
And this gives them
hope-- and a clue

00:28:59.430 --> 00:29:02.100
as to how to compensate for
their learning differences.

00:29:05.970 --> 00:29:08.000
I fell in love with
it my first practice.

00:29:11.970 --> 00:29:15.000
Come on, keep the pressure!

00:29:15.000 --> 00:29:17.563
If you're not in tune with
the person in front of you,

00:29:17.563 --> 00:29:20.190
and the person in back of
you's not in tune with you,

00:29:20.190 --> 00:29:23.500
it's going to completely
destroy the boat.

00:29:23.500 --> 00:29:33.000
[SHOUTING]

00:29:33.000 --> 00:29:37.240
If you win with crew,
it's just amazing.

00:29:37.240 --> 00:29:39.520
You're working with
other people to win.

00:29:39.520 --> 00:29:43.620
You're working against other
people, but you have teammates.

00:29:43.620 --> 00:29:46.020
This is his very
first team sport.

00:29:46.020 --> 00:29:48.800
So it's the first time he's had
to think about other people--

00:29:48.800 --> 00:29:51.840
to coordinate his
activities with other kids--

00:29:51.840 --> 00:29:54.770
and that's a whole new
way of thinking for him.

00:29:54.770 --> 00:29:56.480
It's a complete passion.

00:29:56.480 --> 00:29:59.930
And it's the only reason he gets
up in the morning at 5:30-- all

00:29:59.930 --> 00:30:01.850
by himself-- and says,
come on, guys, wake up.

00:30:01.850 --> 00:30:03.590
We've got to go.

00:30:03.590 --> 00:30:07.420
After crew, he's very focused,
and we get things done.

00:30:07.420 --> 00:30:08.990
I remember at the
beginning, I would

00:30:08.990 --> 00:30:10.825
have to sit there
every two seconds.

00:30:10.825 --> 00:30:11.324
Marshall.

00:30:11.324 --> 00:30:12.580
Marshall.

00:30:12.580 --> 00:30:13.080
Focus.

00:30:13.080 --> 00:30:13.579
Focus.

00:30:13.579 --> 00:30:14.430
Focus.

00:30:14.430 --> 00:30:17.260
And now it's just-- he gets
it done a lot more easily.

00:30:22.760 --> 00:30:26.510
The things that he's done
so far are really good.

00:30:26.510 --> 00:30:29.950
Mostly very enthusiastic
and a real hard worker.

00:30:29.950 --> 00:30:34.170
I think that, for a lot
of kids, being on crew

00:30:34.170 --> 00:30:37.800
actually forces them to
organize their lives.

00:30:37.800 --> 00:30:41.550
Maybe more than they
would otherwise.

00:30:41.550 --> 00:30:43.270
I daydream a lot in school.

00:30:43.270 --> 00:30:45.340
A.

00:30:45.340 --> 00:30:46.000
[CELLO MUSIC]

00:30:46.000 --> 00:30:51.480
A piece of a puzzle is
what I am looking for.

00:30:51.480 --> 00:30:56.270
A memory misplaced in
the cabinet of my mind.

00:30:56.270 --> 00:31:00.410
It must have fleck of
brown-- a streak of blue--

00:31:00.410 --> 00:31:04.610
to fill the empty space
in a mosaic of the past.

00:31:12.170 --> 00:31:15.390
When I have to trick myself
into paying attention

00:31:15.390 --> 00:31:18.520
for a really long time,
a thing that I could do

00:31:18.520 --> 00:31:25.240
might be like, drumming
on my legs like that.

00:31:25.240 --> 00:31:29.035
There has to be something
clicking-- something that I

00:31:29.035 --> 00:31:32.250
can focus on to keep me
from subconsciously focusing

00:31:32.250 --> 00:31:34.560
on something other than
that-- like a memory.

00:31:34.560 --> 00:31:37.490
I know that I'm not supposed to
wear headphones during class.

00:31:37.490 --> 00:31:40.890
But it doesn't block
out my thinking pattern.

00:31:40.890 --> 00:31:43.980
I'm a lot more
intuned inside myself

00:31:43.980 --> 00:31:45.750
if I'm listening to
music, which means

00:31:45.750 --> 00:31:48.170
that I can think a
little bit better.

00:31:48.170 --> 00:31:50.490
Even if I'm drawing--
if I'm doodling--

00:31:50.490 --> 00:31:52.270
I can totally pay attention.

00:31:52.270 --> 00:31:53.650
I know that's
really the opposite

00:31:53.650 --> 00:31:55.310
of what a teacher would think.

00:31:55.310 --> 00:31:58.580
Because usually any kids that's
doodling in class-- if you

00:31:58.580 --> 00:32:00.460
ask them, OK, what I just say?

00:32:00.460 --> 00:32:02.450
They'd be like, what?

00:32:02.450 --> 00:32:06.550
It's easy for me to get
started on school mornings.

00:32:06.550 --> 00:32:10.440
Uh-- um, D?

00:32:10.440 --> 00:32:12.680
So if I'm going to
school, I would make sure

00:32:12.680 --> 00:32:14.930
that everything's packed the
previous night, because I

00:32:14.930 --> 00:32:17.346
really don't want to spend
time doing that in the morning.

00:32:20.730 --> 00:32:21.340
I get up.

00:32:21.340 --> 00:32:24.640
I would probably have a
cup of coffee ready for me

00:32:24.640 --> 00:32:26.150
on my nightstand next to me.

00:32:26.150 --> 00:32:27.700
Because if I wake up in
the morning and I'm like,

00:32:27.700 --> 00:32:29.500
oh, I have to go make
my coffee-- that's

00:32:29.500 --> 00:32:31.000
not great motivation
for me somehow.

00:32:31.000 --> 00:32:33.440
So I'm just like, oh my
coffee is right there.

00:32:33.440 --> 00:32:36.230
So I can just pick
that up and chug it.

00:32:36.230 --> 00:32:38.910
And that starts to wake me up.

00:32:38.910 --> 00:32:43.010
And then I have to get the
appropriate clothes on.

00:32:43.010 --> 00:32:46.250
Something that looks good--
something that not tacky,

00:32:46.250 --> 00:32:48.686
or-- I don't really
have any tacky clothing,

00:32:48.686 --> 00:32:49.810
except for a couple things.

00:32:49.810 --> 00:32:52.050
But I try to make
everything work really well.

00:32:52.050 --> 00:32:52.880
Oh, no.

00:32:52.880 --> 00:32:54.810
I'm sorry, I totally
keep breaking off here.

00:32:54.810 --> 00:32:57.720
Because my mind's
kind of like that.

00:32:57.720 --> 00:32:59.760
I'll go a straight
line, and then

00:32:59.760 --> 00:33:02.290
there's a bunch of little
things that a branch off,

00:33:02.290 --> 00:33:05.640
and I have to go to those, and
then come back and keep going.

00:33:08.590 --> 00:33:11.380
I tend to take a
shower the night

00:33:11.380 --> 00:33:13.380
before, because
then in the morning,

00:33:13.380 --> 00:33:15.240
my hair's all
messed up and stuff.

00:33:15.240 --> 00:33:17.740
And-- I don't know, for some
reason, I like better that way,

00:33:17.740 --> 00:33:21.910
because then when I comb
it, it feels really fluffy.

00:33:21.910 --> 00:33:25.230
Then I have breakfast,
and-- well, I

00:33:25.230 --> 00:33:27.160
mean material breakfast.

00:33:27.160 --> 00:33:29.430
Like bagels and stuff.

00:33:29.430 --> 00:33:30.570
I just had one, in fact.

00:33:30.570 --> 00:33:31.640
It was very good.

00:33:31.640 --> 00:33:33.209
It had peanut butter
and brown sugar.

00:33:33.209 --> 00:33:34.500
It actually tastes really good.

00:33:34.500 --> 00:33:38.410
If you put brown sugar on
a bagel with peanut butter,

00:33:38.410 --> 00:33:41.120
it's nice.

00:33:41.120 --> 00:33:43.570
Unless you're on a diet.

00:33:43.570 --> 00:33:46.120
Never mind.

00:33:46.120 --> 00:33:49.300
And then, I make sure
that I have everything.

00:33:49.300 --> 00:33:53.470
If I don't have something,
I always know it.

00:33:53.470 --> 00:33:55.532
Every single time
I've had that feeling,

00:33:55.532 --> 00:33:56.990
I've always been
missing something.

00:33:56.990 --> 00:33:59.406
So I've-- which is nice, because
I'll know if I'm actually

00:33:59.406 --> 00:34:00.170
missing something.

00:34:00.170 --> 00:34:02.205
It bothers me.

00:34:02.205 --> 00:34:04.980
Like a splinter in my
mind, driving me mad.

00:34:04.980 --> 00:34:05.780
Sorry.

00:34:05.780 --> 00:34:06.280
I'm a geek.

00:34:13.130 --> 00:34:15.500
Dancing is easy for me.

00:34:15.500 --> 00:34:17.836
Dancing is easy for me.

00:34:17.836 --> 00:34:46.570
[MUSIC PLAYING]

00:34:46.570 --> 00:34:49.170
But once you get to
Destiny, you get a voice.

00:34:49.170 --> 00:34:49.969
And it's heard.

00:34:49.969 --> 00:34:51.620
You're never in the back.

00:34:51.620 --> 00:34:55.130
Well, you may be in the
back-- for a while--

00:34:55.130 --> 00:34:58.630
because you haven't built up the
courage to move to the front.

00:34:58.630 --> 00:35:00.880
But once you get
that courage enough,

00:35:00.880 --> 00:35:03.020
people will be like, come
on, come to the front.

00:35:05.940 --> 00:35:09.650
I want to give a prop to
Lena, because she always

00:35:09.650 --> 00:35:10.290
boosts me up.

00:35:10.290 --> 00:35:12.330
She's like, come on, girl,
it's time to be gone.

00:35:12.330 --> 00:35:17.662
And then she always gets
me into my funny mode.

00:35:17.662 --> 00:35:40.820
[MUSIC PLAYING]

00:35:40.820 --> 00:35:42.470
We cry together.

00:35:42.470 --> 00:35:43.590
We hold hands together.

00:35:43.590 --> 00:35:46.260
We go through our UPS
and downs together.

00:35:46.260 --> 00:35:49.534
If you have a problem,
we have a problem.

00:35:49.534 --> 00:35:51.200
And we're going to
work it out together.

00:35:51.200 --> 00:35:54.110
And you shouldn't feel ashamed
about what happened to you.

00:35:54.110 --> 00:35:59.020
Because whenever we say in this
circle, stays in this circle.

00:35:59.020 --> 00:36:00.250
And that's Destiny to me.

00:36:00.250 --> 00:36:12.202
[APPLAUSE]

00:36:12.202 --> 00:36:13.696
[LAUGHTER]

00:36:18.690 --> 00:36:21.680
After the show,
my teachers came.

00:36:21.680 --> 00:36:26.340
And they were very
excited and happy.

00:36:26.340 --> 00:36:28.078
And they really supported me.

00:36:28.078 --> 00:36:29.950
That was amazing!

00:36:29.950 --> 00:36:34.440
And I felt like I
should make that change

00:36:34.440 --> 00:36:38.360
to come to school every day.

00:36:38.360 --> 00:36:40.990
I promise to come
to school every day

00:36:40.990 --> 00:36:45.467
on time for the
rest of this month.

00:36:45.467 --> 00:36:47.800
This month, I'm going to shoot
for the rest of the year,

00:36:47.800 --> 00:36:49.299
but I'm going to
try for this month,

00:36:49.299 --> 00:36:51.840
and then I'll shoot higher.

00:36:51.840 --> 00:36:53.460
In my imagination,
I've always known

00:36:53.460 --> 00:36:56.090
that you knew how to
learn and love something.

00:36:56.090 --> 00:36:59.890
So how we can apply that
work ethic to school

00:36:59.890 --> 00:37:01.010
is going to be great.

00:37:01.010 --> 00:37:03.490
I think the best
thing for us to do

00:37:03.490 --> 00:37:07.840
is to try to figure
out what about what

00:37:07.840 --> 00:37:10.170
we've learned about
you through dance

00:37:10.170 --> 00:37:13.540
can apply to being more
successful in school.

00:37:13.540 --> 00:37:17.600
And that was the
beginning of what

00:37:17.600 --> 00:37:20.420
seems to be a real good thing.

00:37:20.420 --> 00:37:23.660
So this week-- the
week went by so fast,

00:37:23.660 --> 00:37:26.500
getting up on time--
being at school on time

00:37:26.500 --> 00:37:29.700
before the bell
rings-- in my seat.

00:37:29.700 --> 00:37:31.560
The day goes by so fast.

00:37:31.560 --> 00:37:37.720
I can't believe I was in school
for a whole week on time.

00:37:37.720 --> 00:37:39.140
It don't seem like it happened.

00:37:41.960 --> 00:37:43.590
It's hard for me
in math when you

00:37:43.590 --> 00:37:47.740
have to remember certain
steps in the right order.

00:37:47.740 --> 00:37:53.130
B. Therefore, if I
take the log of 125--

00:37:53.130 --> 00:37:57.900
if I take the log base 5 of
125, my answer's going to be 3.

00:37:57.900 --> 00:38:00.664
Wait, wait, wait, no.

00:38:00.664 --> 00:38:04.510
I'm con-- I'm kind of--
what are we doing now?

00:38:04.510 --> 00:38:08.990
My way of trying to help
her is to break things down

00:38:08.990 --> 00:38:13.820
into the overall expectation
of-- let's say-- a lesson.

00:38:13.820 --> 00:38:16.300
And then the sequence
of steps that it's

00:38:16.300 --> 00:38:20.400
going to take for you
to get to that outcome.

00:38:20.400 --> 00:38:26.200
And allow Nattie to move through
those steps-- over and over

00:38:26.200 --> 00:38:30.690
and over again-- in such
a way that it becomes

00:38:30.690 --> 00:38:33.980
natural to walk along that path.

00:38:33.980 --> 00:38:34.982
OK, last one.

00:38:34.982 --> 00:38:35.940
Ooh, I know the answer.

00:38:35.940 --> 00:38:38.020
I just figured it out.

00:38:38.020 --> 00:38:40.090
Nattie.

00:38:40.090 --> 00:38:41.370
This is a little tricky.

00:38:41.370 --> 00:38:42.000
Right?

00:38:42.000 --> 00:38:47.620
So it's going to be
log-- 2 to-- base 2

00:38:47.620 --> 00:38:50.380
to the 1/8th equals negative 3.

00:38:50.380 --> 00:38:51.030
Right.

00:38:51.030 --> 00:38:52.570
It really is like walking.

00:38:52.570 --> 00:38:54.910
And those first few
steps, I think, are hard.

00:38:54.910 --> 00:38:58.880
But if you do it enough
times, it becomes natural.

00:38:58.880 --> 00:39:01.610
I often think up
tricks or methods

00:39:01.610 --> 00:39:05.190
to make it easier to
remember what I'm learning.

00:39:05.190 --> 00:39:07.340
Um.

00:39:07.340 --> 00:39:08.795
B.

00:39:08.795 --> 00:39:09.295
All right.

00:39:09.295 --> 00:39:18.110
[MUSIC PLAYING]

00:39:18.110 --> 00:39:21.000
My teacher taught me a sequence
when I was in third grade,

00:39:21.000 --> 00:39:24.180
and it sort of stuck
with me the whole time.

00:39:24.180 --> 00:39:25.310
It's an anagram.

00:39:25.310 --> 00:39:29.780
So it stands for does
McDonald's sell cheese burgers.

00:39:29.780 --> 00:39:37.340
But it also stands for divide,
multiply, subtract, compare,

00:39:37.340 --> 00:39:38.360
bring down.

00:39:38.360 --> 00:39:43.280
And those are the steps to
do a long division problem.

00:39:43.280 --> 00:39:46.730
So let's get to do a
long division problem.

00:39:46.730 --> 00:39:53.440
Divide, multiply, subtract,
compare, bring down.

00:39:53.440 --> 00:39:53.995
Thank you.

00:39:53.995 --> 00:39:54.710
[MUSIC PLAYING]

00:39:57.790 --> 00:40:00.280
Nattie has always
liked cooking shows.

00:40:00.280 --> 00:40:01.930
I love cooking shows.

00:40:01.930 --> 00:40:04.010
And when she cooks, she talks.

00:40:04.010 --> 00:40:05.480
I talk it all out.

00:40:05.480 --> 00:40:07.150
It's almost like
she's pretending

00:40:07.150 --> 00:40:08.520
like she was on the show.

00:40:08.520 --> 00:40:10.940
But she's actually
telling herself

00:40:10.940 --> 00:40:12.590
how to follow the recipe.

00:40:12.590 --> 00:40:14.930
Because it's how she
instructs yourself.

00:40:14.930 --> 00:40:17.561
We'll hear her talking around
the house-- talking her way

00:40:17.561 --> 00:40:19.060
through the things
that she's doing.

00:40:19.060 --> 00:40:20.640
Because she's very
verbally oriented.

00:40:31.840 --> 00:40:37.340
I was in a painting class,
and the woman was like, OK,

00:40:37.340 --> 00:40:38.840
just draw it.

00:40:38.840 --> 00:40:40.030
Just draw what you see.

00:40:40.030 --> 00:40:42.680
I was like, well I need
to talk out what I see.

00:40:45.890 --> 00:40:48.340
That's green.

00:40:48.340 --> 00:40:51.215
That slope is like a semicircle.

00:40:55.980 --> 00:40:57.960
And then on the other
side of the river,

00:40:57.960 --> 00:41:00.065
there's going to be some hill.

00:41:00.065 --> 00:41:04.876
And it's lined with
trees to show the hill.

00:41:04.876 --> 00:41:09.860
Tree, tree, tree, tree, tree,
tree, tree, tree, tree, tree.

00:41:09.860 --> 00:41:12.410
I think saying it helps
me see it in my brain.

00:41:30.160 --> 00:41:35.030
[MUSIC PLAYING]

00:41:35.030 --> 00:41:37.400
I can write a new song.

00:41:37.400 --> 00:41:38.780
Oh yeah.

00:41:38.780 --> 00:41:45.040
B. No, A.

00:41:45.040 --> 00:41:48.320
Deandre's aptitude for
sequencing and higher-order

00:41:48.320 --> 00:41:52.040
cognition contributes
to a musical talent.

00:41:52.040 --> 00:41:54.410
And the structure
of music provides

00:41:54.410 --> 00:41:55.990
a way of working with writing.

00:41:58.740 --> 00:42:00.095
Check this out.

00:42:00.095 --> 00:42:02.470
[MUSIC PLAYING]

00:42:02.470 --> 00:42:03.600
Hi.

00:42:03.600 --> 00:42:04.270
I'm the rap man.

00:42:04.270 --> 00:42:08.210
I need a black pen
up in math class.

00:42:08.210 --> 00:42:10.257
Nick Bateman, stop faking.

00:42:10.257 --> 00:42:12.340
Come over here and show
me your problem statement.

00:42:16.350 --> 00:42:18.630
There's certain boundaries
that you have to follow.

00:42:18.630 --> 00:42:19.654
Critical thinking?

00:42:19.654 --> 00:42:20.820
Man, that's hard to swallow.

00:42:24.850 --> 00:42:27.470
Because he struggles with
a lot of the formal aspects

00:42:27.470 --> 00:42:31.410
of writing, we did a
lot of drafts in poetry.

00:42:31.410 --> 00:42:34.880
Just a way of getting his ideas
going, and then reconfiguring

00:42:34.880 --> 00:42:36.380
it into more an essay format.

00:42:36.380 --> 00:42:37.845
That's been really helpful.

00:42:46.260 --> 00:42:47.830
One of things that
I found out is

00:42:47.830 --> 00:42:50.610
that you've made a lot of
improvement since the last time

00:42:50.610 --> 00:42:55.960
when I tested you-- when
you were 11, going on 12.

00:42:55.960 --> 00:43:00.400
On the comprehension one, your
scores were way above average.

00:43:00.400 --> 00:43:06.470
Meaning that you're doing
better than probably 90 to 95%

00:43:06.470 --> 00:43:08.000
of the people your age.

00:43:08.000 --> 00:43:08.890
Oh.

00:43:08.890 --> 00:43:11.310
And I think because some
of the academic things

00:43:11.310 --> 00:43:13.380
have been hard
for you, maybe you

00:43:13.380 --> 00:43:15.190
felt that you weren't as smart.

00:43:18.260 --> 00:43:19.183
True?

00:43:19.183 --> 00:43:20.170
Yeah, that's true.

00:43:20.170 --> 00:43:20.730
Yeah.

00:43:20.730 --> 00:43:23.995
So now we have tests to
prove that's not true.

00:43:23.995 --> 00:43:24.495
Hm.

00:43:24.495 --> 00:43:26.860
OK?

00:43:26.860 --> 00:43:28.510
There was a few
areas where you're

00:43:28.510 --> 00:43:31.550
doing a little bit lower.

00:43:31.550 --> 00:43:36.504
Most of that has to do
with speed on that part

00:43:36.504 --> 00:43:37.920
where you're reading
the passages.

00:43:37.920 --> 00:43:40.250
A standard time is
20 minutes, and it

00:43:40.250 --> 00:43:42.750
took you 40 minutes--
so exactly double.

00:43:42.750 --> 00:43:47.470
But you can answer the questions
just as well as anybody else.

00:43:47.470 --> 00:43:50.380
And when it comes to
being successful in life,

00:43:50.380 --> 00:43:54.730
it's not really so much about
how fast you read, but really

00:43:54.730 --> 00:43:56.650
how persistent you are.

00:43:56.650 --> 00:43:58.770
So is there anything
that I said that was

00:43:58.770 --> 00:44:01.510
surprising or unexpected to you?

00:44:01.510 --> 00:44:04.540
No, actually it wasn't.

00:44:04.540 --> 00:44:07.322
Which kind of
makes me irritated.

00:44:07.322 --> 00:44:11.860
Because I really was under the
impression that taking a test

00:44:11.860 --> 00:44:13.930
is not going tell you--
somebody how they learn.

00:44:13.930 --> 00:44:14.580
You know?

00:44:14.580 --> 00:44:15.515
Uh-huh.

00:44:15.515 --> 00:44:17.818
But apparently,
it's dead on, so--

00:44:21.280 --> 00:44:23.790
The practical day to
day of how to get his--

00:44:23.790 --> 00:44:27.940
using his strengths in a
conscious way-- that, I think,

00:44:27.940 --> 00:44:30.300
is still a challenge for him.

00:44:30.300 --> 00:44:33.230
I'm-- scared, actually.

00:44:33.230 --> 00:44:38.000
I feel like this I-Search
is a very big thing,

00:44:38.000 --> 00:44:40.650
and that I might not
be able to do it.

00:44:40.650 --> 00:44:42.830
I really need to
figure out somebody

00:44:42.830 --> 00:44:45.620
who's willing to go
with me through this.

00:44:45.620 --> 00:44:47.840
You know, stick with me
with this final stretch

00:44:47.840 --> 00:44:49.300
through high school.

00:44:49.300 --> 00:44:52.730
See how you got to where
you put this quote in?

00:44:52.730 --> 00:44:53.690
Yeah.

00:44:53.690 --> 00:44:56.050
Keep writing on
that, and then give

00:44:56.050 --> 00:44:57.580
an example of a business plan.

00:44:57.580 --> 00:44:58.330
Right.

00:44:58.330 --> 00:45:01.411
So I have to write an
example of my business plan?

00:45:01.411 --> 00:45:01.910
Mm-hm.

00:45:01.910 --> 00:45:02.884
Yeah.

00:45:02.884 --> 00:45:04.360
OK.

00:45:04.360 --> 00:45:04.860
Whoops.

00:45:10.788 --> 00:45:12.770
[SIGH]

00:45:12.770 --> 00:45:15.460
Deandre, do you think
you'd be writing anything

00:45:15.460 --> 00:45:18.700
if I wasn't here?

00:45:18.700 --> 00:45:20.040
I got this far.

00:45:20.040 --> 00:45:22.380
You should really just
get through the paper.

00:45:26.300 --> 00:45:31.200
Basically what I do is
I make mini-outlines.

00:45:31.200 --> 00:45:32.680
So by doing that,
you already know

00:45:32.680 --> 00:45:34.070
what you have to write about.

00:45:34.070 --> 00:45:37.280
So by the time your outline
is done, writing the paper

00:45:37.280 --> 00:45:39.400
is just going to
like-- [FINGER SNAP].

00:45:39.400 --> 00:45:43.940
After being taught to
use an outline by Andrew,

00:45:43.940 --> 00:45:46.810
and then actually using it
without him being around,

00:45:46.810 --> 00:45:49.730
and it actually working, it gave
me a little bit of confidence,

00:45:49.730 --> 00:45:52.176
and I was able to do it well.

00:45:52.176 --> 00:45:54.050
Well, that looked like
my thesis right there.

00:45:56.900 --> 00:45:57.790
I finished it.

00:45:57.790 --> 00:46:00.700
And I was psyched
because it was 19 pages.

00:46:00.700 --> 00:46:02.280
I ain't never wrote 19 pages.

00:46:02.280 --> 00:46:05.917
I wrote 8 pages before,
and 19 was cool.

00:46:05.917 --> 00:46:08.839
[APPLAUSE]

00:46:08.839 --> 00:46:25.614
[MUSIC PLAYING]

00:46:25.614 --> 00:46:27.606
Come on, family!

00:46:27.606 --> 00:46:28.602
This way.

00:46:28.602 --> 00:46:29.598
Come on, Uncle David.

00:46:29.598 --> 00:46:32.088
Come on.

00:46:32.088 --> 00:46:36.422
This is my cousin Bovie and
Darnell and my brother, Ronnie.

00:46:36.422 --> 00:46:36.922
Yeah.

00:46:36.922 --> 00:46:38.297
I want to say I
love you so much.

00:46:38.297 --> 00:46:39.826
She's my sister.

00:46:39.826 --> 00:46:41.278
And my Uncle David.

00:46:41.278 --> 00:46:43.750
Folks, this is a
beautiful, beautiful night.

00:46:43.750 --> 00:46:45.911
I have never seen so much
family in one building.

00:46:45.911 --> 00:46:46.910
Give it up for yourself!

00:46:46.910 --> 00:46:51.580
[APPLAUSE]

00:46:51.580 --> 00:46:54.344
And please give it up
for Nee Nee Franklin.

00:46:54.344 --> 00:47:00.250
[APPLAUSE]

00:47:00.250 --> 00:47:00.886
Obstacles.

00:47:00.886 --> 00:47:03.140
Hard.

00:47:03.140 --> 00:47:05.190
I just can't get out of it.

00:47:05.190 --> 00:47:07.200
It's like a maze.

00:47:07.200 --> 00:47:09.285
Every time I take
a step forward,

00:47:09.285 --> 00:47:12.330
I gotta take a step back.

00:47:12.330 --> 00:47:15.110
But I can overcome it.

00:47:15.110 --> 00:47:15.940
It takes time.

00:47:19.930 --> 00:47:21.820
I have to really work it.

00:47:21.820 --> 00:47:24.350
Try not to let it get me
down-- or frustrate me.

00:47:31.524 --> 00:47:59.680
[MUSIC PLAYING]

00:47:59.680 --> 00:48:15.170
[APPLAUSE]

00:48:15.170 --> 00:48:17.640
When you have a
learning disability,

00:48:17.640 --> 00:48:21.390
it's so easy to become silenced.

00:48:21.390 --> 00:48:25.680
In my opinion, art is
really integral to keeping

00:48:25.680 --> 00:48:30.530
these students open-- keeping
their expression flowing,

00:48:30.530 --> 00:48:34.370
so that they are also open
in their other classes.

00:48:34.370 --> 00:48:37.760
And they're not shutting down,
because they have a stronger

00:48:37.760 --> 00:48:43.770
sense of who they are and
how to express themselves.

00:48:43.770 --> 00:48:47.880
I'm going to go about
teaching the lesson in a way

00:48:47.880 --> 00:48:50.990
that you guys can understand
how this stuff works, and not

00:48:50.990 --> 00:48:55.525
think of it as some foreign,
alien thing that only girls can

00:48:55.525 --> 00:48:56.510
know about.

00:48:56.510 --> 00:49:00.090
First I'll kind of show you guys
how it's applied to the eye.

00:49:00.090 --> 00:49:06.840
Usually you would apply
it just above the line

00:49:06.840 --> 00:49:07.960
of the eyelashes.

00:49:07.960 --> 00:49:10.440
It took me a long time to
figure out how you do that.

00:49:10.440 --> 00:49:12.710
Of course, I learned
it by myself.

00:49:12.710 --> 00:49:14.085
There was a lot
of experimenting,

00:49:14.085 --> 00:49:18.670
and a lot of bad makeup days
before I got everything right.

00:49:18.670 --> 00:49:20.640
Nowadays, I don't
wear it as much makeup

00:49:20.640 --> 00:49:25.110
as I used to, because I
tend to be a little bit more

00:49:25.110 --> 00:49:27.524
social than I was back then.

00:49:27.524 --> 00:49:42.150
[MUSIC PLAYING]

00:49:42.150 --> 00:49:44.710
All of a sudden, this
thing went through my head

00:49:44.710 --> 00:49:46.970
that I had never
thought of before.

00:49:46.970 --> 00:49:48.700
I was thinking, wow.

00:49:48.700 --> 00:49:50.540
I'm always thinking
about the past.

00:49:50.540 --> 00:49:52.510
I'm always dwelling in the past.

00:49:52.510 --> 00:49:55.420
And that's what
always depresses me.

00:49:59.200 --> 00:50:00.880
I should really just
try to appreciate

00:50:00.880 --> 00:50:04.630
what I have right now.

00:50:04.630 --> 00:50:07.010
It was this really
abrupt transition

00:50:07.010 --> 00:50:11.020
from being pessimistic
to a full-on optimism.

00:50:11.020 --> 00:50:13.410
I think that was a moment
of real happiness for me.

00:50:26.424 --> 00:50:30.070
Well, Marshall, these
are big questions.

00:50:30.070 --> 00:50:33.410
What you might imagine yourself
doing five years from now-- 10

00:50:33.410 --> 00:50:34.700
years from now.

00:50:34.700 --> 00:50:37.770
I have a penthouse
apartment with a recording

00:50:37.770 --> 00:50:39.620
studio for my band.

00:50:39.620 --> 00:50:43.870
A magazine-style
kitchen to cook in.

00:50:43.870 --> 00:50:48.230
And I'm married and have two
kids-- and a wife, of course.

00:50:48.230 --> 00:50:50.700
How about fears
about the future?

00:50:50.700 --> 00:50:52.615
Not getting through
freshman year of college.

00:51:03.380 --> 00:51:06.200
We won't be there to observe
it, but it's a little scary.

00:51:06.200 --> 00:51:08.790
And we hope that
we've taught him

00:51:08.790 --> 00:51:11.720
this stuff-- his tutors
have taught him what to do--

00:51:11.720 --> 00:51:14.780
and he'll be able to
perform in college.

00:51:14.780 --> 00:51:16.240
So what do you think?

00:51:16.240 --> 00:51:17.760
I like this campus a lot.

00:51:17.760 --> 00:51:20.340
The girls are pretty cute.

00:51:20.340 --> 00:51:23.460
It is the small sort
of school atmosphere

00:51:23.460 --> 00:51:26.750
right now, that,
basically, if I go here,

00:51:26.750 --> 00:51:32.610
and I do what I want to do, I'll
be a big fish in a small pond.

00:51:32.610 --> 00:51:36.890
I think that college
will be, probably,

00:51:36.890 --> 00:51:38.790
the funnest time in my life.

00:51:38.790 --> 00:51:40.460
The most rewarding, at that.

00:51:51.590 --> 00:51:53.590
I don't want to learn
through reading a textbook

00:51:53.590 --> 00:51:55.920
and taking notes and
getting lectured.

00:51:55.920 --> 00:51:57.144
That's just not cool.

00:51:57.144 --> 00:51:58.060
I don't want to do it.

00:51:58.060 --> 00:52:00.340
I don't learn anything that way.

00:52:00.340 --> 00:52:05.980
I'm good with things that are
physical-- that I can feel--

00:52:05.980 --> 00:52:10.320
that I can work with--
not sitting at a desk,

00:52:10.320 --> 00:52:12.600
writing stuff.

00:52:12.600 --> 00:52:16.380
My decision to join the
Navy is based on the fact

00:52:16.380 --> 00:52:20.110
that I want to do something
else with my life.

00:52:20.110 --> 00:52:22.490
I do not feel ready
for school right now.

00:52:22.490 --> 00:52:25.260
I proved that out of failing
out of two different schools.

00:52:25.260 --> 00:52:29.630
So I'm joining the
Navy to get discipline.

00:52:29.630 --> 00:52:33.370
Because in the Navy, if
you're not organized,

00:52:33.370 --> 00:52:35.460
you get busted by
your drill sergeant.

00:52:35.460 --> 00:52:37.950
And I've also-- I've wanted to
be organized for the longest

00:52:37.950 --> 00:52:39.740
time-- I just never
got around to it.

00:52:39.740 --> 00:52:43.860
And I think the Navy will
help me a lot with that.

00:52:43.860 --> 00:52:45.820
All those years
people said I wasn't

00:52:45.820 --> 00:52:47.680
going to announce
anything-- or go

00:52:47.680 --> 00:52:51.000
to college-- that's
my nightmare.

00:52:51.000 --> 00:52:54.170
If what they said
it was true, I'm

00:52:54.170 --> 00:52:57.195
going to feel
really, really bad.

00:52:57.195 --> 00:52:57.695
Yes?

00:53:02.920 --> 00:53:05.210
Well, I learned about
it through a counselor

00:53:05.210 --> 00:53:07.940
who suggested that to me.

00:53:07.940 --> 00:53:10.919
That you guys supply extra
help, and that you guys will

00:53:10.919 --> 00:53:12.460
be able to get me
caught up with what

00:53:12.460 --> 00:53:14.890
I need to be caught up with.

00:53:14.890 --> 00:53:16.670
And when I wasn't
really hearing good news

00:53:16.670 --> 00:53:18.170
from any other
schools, I was really

00:53:18.170 --> 00:53:20.330
feeling like, man,
I fought so hard.

00:53:20.330 --> 00:53:24.060
And now it's-- if this doesn't
go out for me, it's like--

00:53:24.060 --> 00:53:25.306
what was this fighting for?

00:53:25.306 --> 00:53:26.020
I don't know.

00:53:33.140 --> 00:53:36.470
I had got the letter on
Friday, and I didn't open it.

00:53:36.470 --> 00:53:40.020
And then see this big
congratulation thing on it.

00:53:40.020 --> 00:53:40.980
And I'm like, oh!

00:53:53.480 --> 00:53:57.970
I met the person of EOP--
the guy that runs that part.

00:53:57.970 --> 00:53:59.460
And he's really cool.

00:53:59.460 --> 00:54:02.925
He said, we're going to be in
your business the whole year.

00:54:02.925 --> 00:54:05.020
So I found that actually good.

00:54:05.020 --> 00:54:07.520
It is college, and you want
to be as serious as possible.

00:54:07.520 --> 00:54:10.506
It was nothing like high school.

00:54:10.506 --> 00:54:32.880
[MUSIC PLAYING]

00:54:32.880 --> 00:54:35.840
I got a tiny vision
of happiness,

00:54:35.840 --> 00:54:40.500
but I guess I have to find out.

00:54:40.500 --> 00:54:44.000
Overall, I've done
pretty well in school.

00:54:44.000 --> 00:54:46.270
I ended up applying
to three colleges,

00:54:46.270 --> 00:54:49.030
and I got into
all three of them.

00:54:49.030 --> 00:54:53.990
And I'm really striving
to get good grades

00:54:53.990 --> 00:54:55.470
throughout my senior year.

00:54:55.470 --> 00:54:58.314
Because it's the
most important year.

00:54:58.314 --> 00:55:00.534
-You see how they have
these little things that

00:55:00.534 --> 00:55:02.610
are just hanging down?

00:55:02.610 --> 00:55:06.520
My non-verbal skills-- I'm
trying to work on them before

00:55:06.520 --> 00:55:12.310
college -- just to appear
more normal-- like myself,

00:55:12.310 --> 00:55:13.970
and not like a young child.

00:55:13.970 --> 00:55:17.152
I try to think before I speak.

00:55:17.152 --> 00:55:17.860
-Those are sheep.

00:55:17.860 --> 00:55:19.000
All the white ones sheep.

00:55:19.000 --> 00:55:20.280
Yeah.

00:55:20.280 --> 00:55:23.640
I'm probably going to want
to go into disability rights.

00:55:23.640 --> 00:55:25.740
-You're welcome.

00:55:25.740 --> 00:55:28.920
Also being an early
childhood educator.

00:55:28.920 --> 00:55:31.860
-There we go. [INAUDIBLE].

00:55:31.860 --> 00:55:37.720
The first step that we need
to go through as a human race

00:55:37.720 --> 00:55:42.600
is to realize that people
who are in special education

00:55:42.600 --> 00:55:44.785
classrooms are not stupid.

00:55:47.900 --> 00:55:51.670
They can be the best
people in the world.

00:55:51.670 --> 00:56:49.058
[MUSIC PLAYING--SAM COOKE,
"WONDERFUL WORLD"]

00:56:49.058 --> 00:56:55.060
This program has been funded by
the Lillian Lincoln Foundation.