A gift, this student with Asperger’s syndrome left for his instructor, translated…
Once in Class, He’d Kept Coloring in His Notebook, I’d, Moved Closer, He Wasn’t Taking Notes, Instead, He Was Drawing the Interface of the Computer Screens, from Turning on in Windows, to Entering onto the Desktop………
“Mr. I enjoy your class very much.” That was what Hong told me repeatedly, and no matter how I’d, interpreted it, I’d, felt, good about myself.
First time I saw him, he had a smaller frame, with round eyes, a mole by his lips, he’d smiled so innocently. The first time we’d entered into each other’s lives, it was because he’d stayed in the middle school’s classrooms, that was how I’d, deducted he was in the middle school years. From then on, I’d, remembered him as being “cute”, although he’d hated it when I called him “Cutie”, but every time I saw him, I’d, felt compelled to carry on in conversations with him longer, because of how youthful he’d, appeared to be.
Hong wasn’t really focused in class, but, he didn’t distract anybody else. The homeroom teacher rarely mentioned him, and even if she’d had, she’d, focused on his angelic face. Once, he stayed after class, for me, to readminister an exam to him, after the students are all done and got up to leave, he’d, walked up to my desk, and, flashed that shameful look, and, didn’t look me in the eyes, and, all the questions I’d had for him, he’d, given me the most basic replies.
Hong had often put his head down on the desk, not because he wasn’t popular in class; in my class, he’d made a ton of funny outbursts, and, he’d gotten along quite well with everybody in class, but it’s, weird, that during time between classes, he’d, liked it more, to put his head down on his desk.
illustration from the papers online…
Once in class, he kept, doodling on his notebook, and as I’d, walked closer, it wasn’t the lecture notes from my class, instead, it was, the interfaces of Windows, from when the computer gets turned on, to the desktop, then, to opening of the files, he’d, managed to show the entire process quite clearly, linearly, with the notes added to the side, from what I’d seen, I could tell, he was, very interested, and, maybe, an expert in computers………as the classmate sitting next to him saw, the students urged me to take away his sketches.
I’d, stared at him, his eyes, immediately, shifted gazes from me, like he’d not minded, and I’d, taken his notebook away. After class was over, he’d, immediately come to my desk, without that normal smile of his. And, before he could make his requests, I’d, made mine, “If you stayed focused for one whole week, then, I’ll, give this back to you.”, he’d had that look of difficulty on his face, and, shifted his gazes again, but, didn’t, have anything to say.
From that day on, he’d, put his head down on his desk in my class, and, as I’d, reminded him, he’d, either intentionally, or unintentionally, ignored me, so many times, it’d, made me angered. After the punishment didn’t work, I’d, turned to his homeroom instructor, and, other than agree with what I’d, observed, she too, repeatedly, communicated with Hong on it, and notified his parents too. In the process of this coming and going, Hong’s attitude would be well, and bad constantly, and even as, I’d, wanted to return his notebook back to him, there wasn’t, any time that seemed, right for me to. Until the end of the semester, I’d, finally, used the name of semester being over, and returned the notebook to him. As he’d, gotten it back, he’d, stuttered to me, and said only one thing, “I’m, sorry!”, I still, couldn’t quite, let it go, but, seeing how he flashed his smiles again, I’d, felt glad for him too.
He had his emotional ups and downs, from the moment before, he’d, sat quietly at his desk, and, by the next, he’d, gone to, pick a fight with the classmates. The classmates said, that he’d, cursed and sworn like it was regular to him, and used that tone of voice that, angered them so, but, Hong’s homeroom instructor was, very patient with him, and was willing, to spend two, three periods, just to, deal with these issues, these problems, he’d, caused. Slowly, Hong seemed to, become, more accepting, to his homeroom instructor’s kindness toward him, and, as he’d, acted up in class, his homeroom instructor started, getting at why he’d, behaved in such a manner too, and, referred him to the counselor’s office. And yet, it’d, made Hong displeased again, and, every time he’d gotten, sent to the counselor’s office, he’d, become, standoffish.
Toward the matter of learning, he’d always, carried that attitude of whatever, and, the assignments were, mostly, copying the text, rote memorizations, but, he’d felt, intrigued of all the historical figures I’d talked about in class. Once, I’d come to introduce Steve Jobs to the class, I knew, that technologies had always been, a huge area of interests to him, before I got into the texts, I’d, asked him if he was willing to tell the whole class what he knew about Mr. Jobs? And, out of my expectation, he’d, said okay.
As he stood on the podium, a bit, nervous, with his gazes, shifting left to right like they usually would, but, his tone was steady, and, he’d, introduced the iPhones as if, it were, his area of expertise, he’d even, started, impersonating Steve Jobs, in the a little over ten minutes’ worth of introductions, he’d shown, no signs of any lack of knowledge. The students told me on their own, “Teacher, it’s like, he was, putting on a new iPhone!”, as my class is over, I’d, given him a biography of Steve Jobs, he’d, grinned ear to ear, and afterwards, I’d seen him, hugging on to that biography, working hard on it between classes.
“Teacher, I enjoy your class!”, a week ago, he’d come to me with the book, I’d pointed to the book, said, “You mean, you liked my present to you!”
He’d not said anything else, just told me that he’d almost, finished reading, I’d, given him some encouragements, he’d, flashed that smile, and, his eyes, seemed, a bit, more settled down.
As graduation approached, once, he’d taken out that notebook I’d, confiscated from him, I’d made fun of his attitude from back then, and, took up the notebook and started, flipping through it, that was when he’d, given it to me as a gift on his own. In it, there wasn’t just the pencil sketches, he’d, colored in all the interfaces of the desktop, it wasn’t, too delicate, but, the pages connected well, and, it’d felt, like I was, seeing a real computer desktop. On the final page, he’d used his own name, to set up a company, there was the website of his made-up company, products, and sales information, with the employees, the titles too, other than him being the C.E.O., everybody else in the class earned a spot in his company, I’m the only one who’s the exception, I was, the C.E.O. of his company. I’d, smiled, and took the notebook, as a gift from him.
“Teacher, I’d, enjoyed your class”, on the day of graduation, I’d, met Hong, he’d said this, as a sort of a goodbye to me, but he wasn’t, smiling anymore. I’d, given him some encouragements, and, wrote a few lines of wish-you-well on his yearbook too, but, through the entire graduation ceremony, he’d, sat dumbfoundedly, on the seat. As the ceremonies were, over, everybody went to say goodbye to the instructors and their classmates, and, carried that scent of nostalgia out of the auditorium, but, in the line, Hong remained, expressionless.
The very next day, his homeroom teacher told me, that he’d, left the yearbook in the class, that he’d only taken one thing with him as he’d left the school, “The Biography of Steve Jobs”.
So, this showed, how much this instructor had, left a mark, in this student’s life, by giving him that biography of Steve Jobs, and because this student has Asperger’s, he had difficulties relating to others in the ways that other’s may be, receptive, that is why, he’d, kept to himself, and, the sketches this student made, showed of his dreams, and making the instructor into the general manager of his made-up company showed the place of the instructor in his heart, and, this instructor had, made a difference in this student’s life.
Life, the Obstacle Course 