A Lesson on Judgement

I walked into my General Chemistry 132 class at the beginning of last January feeling apprehensive and unsure.  For those of you who don't know, I have humbly returned to UNCA to receive a post-baccalaureate degree in Health and Wellness, that I hope will lead me to a master's program in Nutrition.  The last time I had even thought about Chemistry was roughly ten years ago, when my freshly degreed (but not so pedigreed) high school Chemistry teacher was fired for inappropriate behavior-- she would wake up sleeping male students by slathering on red lipstick and giving them big smooches on the cheek.  Now that was the kind of Chemistry we can all get a handle on.

This day I was feeling intimidated, even though my Chemistry professor was wearing a bright Hawaiin shirt, bouncing around the room on his tippy toes, and enthusiastically repeating the phrase "Can you dig it?" I was annoyed.  Didn't he recognize the gravity of this situation?  "This is science, man, calm down."

Then there was this other guy at the back of the classroom who kept breaking into renditions of songs from the 80s and early 90s.  He kept raising his hand to every question and answering with some irrelevant pun.  It was serious pun-ishment and I caught the rolling eyes of many of my fellow classmates.  I hated this guy.  Instantly.  He was very much in the way of my "let's act like adults" take on college, round 2.

This continued for two more weeks, three classes every week...the interruptions, the strange comments, and this other thing he started doing-- he would countdown remaining time on quiz questions (there was a timer on the big pull-down screen) and shout "Happy New Year!"

Seriously?  Why was the professor not putting a stop to this?

Then I realized.  On the third week of class, the guy from the back of the class was standing at the front.  He had an announcement, "Would anyone be able to provide me with a copy of their notes every week?"  There was an organization, he continued, that would pay whoever volunteered.  An organization that helped people with autism.

Record screeches to a halt.  I sink deep into my seat.  Shame, shame, shame, shame, shame, shame...

I worked for the Autism Society of North Carolina (ASNC) for two years as a Community Skills Instructor (CSI) from 2006-2008.  This means that I had individual clients that I would pick up after school and work with, one on one, to encourage appropriate social behaviors.  It was a fascinating, rewarding, but also taxing and frustrating job.

And even with all that training, I didn't realize.  I judged without hesitancy.  I know my judgement arose from my own insecurities and fears, but there are no excuses for my behavior.

Now that I have a little perspective, a little less arrogance, and have quietly removed the stick out of my ass, I look forward to the guy at the back of the classroom's comments and interruptions.  I am grateful for his lesson to me on Judgement, a much harder subject to understand than Chemistry could ever be.

And in that light, I want to feature on my blog today, this amazing organization that offers yoga for people with autism.  How seriously, obviously a good idea!!!  The website, http://www.spectrumyogatherapy.org/testimonials, explains it all in more detail.