On paper, those who don’t know Jonny would say that he is “behind.” That he is not performing at “grade-level.” That his academics “need improvement.”
To that end, Jonny has been working relentlessly and has come a LONG way since he had to leave his elementary school after 3rd grade because they simply “could no-longer support his academic needs”
But even if Jonny had not progressed at all academically, I would still be insanely proud of him.
Not all learning is academic.
Last fall, Jonny and a friend of his took it upon themselves to eat lunch as quickly as possible and spend the rest of their lunch time cleaning up trash all over campus. They do it every day they can. Nobody asked them to do it. Jonny never even told me about it. His teacher emailed me asking what kind of books he liked because she wanted to reward him for going above and beyond what was asked of him.
People have been inspired. People have been moved to act.
For Earth Day, the whole school is joining Jonny and his friend in a school-wide campus cleanup day.
It’s going to be in the yearbook.
What Jonny has done this school year is simply amazing.
It has been so much more than “academic learning.”
Jonny is learning how to make a difference in peoples’ lives and inspiring others to join him. Jonny is learning what it means to be a leader. He is learning what it means to be an example.
He is learning that despite being “academically behind”….
Despite the developmental delays…
Despite all the medical issues he’s had to work so hard to overcome…
Jonny is learning that he has all the potential, all the tools and all the ability to one-day change the world.
#kabukisyndrome
#Ausome