Like I said before, change is hard. Of course, at the time, I not knowing I had Asperger’s, so I didn't know any different...except, change is hard for me. God bless Mr. Rogers, my former Principal, because he really saw a lot in me and how much potential I had. Again, Pierce City was a small town, not as small as Alton, but still at least there was a larger town nearby called Monett. However, we tried to do the same thing we did in West Plains, try to find a house in the larger town and I would commute to school. Well...it didn't quite work out as well this time around. The only house we were able to find was an old (literally) square box house. (The spider house I called "The House of Horrors", this one I called "The Crackerjack Box House.) After three months, we decided that this wasn't going to work out, so we were able to surprising find a house in Pierce City and only just a block or two from the school.
For much of the time, I would walk to school but, there were some times a car was needed. The school itself was a little bigger than Alton, so it seemed like I might have more opportunities to grow as a teacher. My first year there, not only did I do a middle school play - Wizard of Oz, but I got acclimated in Speech and Debate competition. Alton really didn't have a program and they didn't seem interested at the time. To be honest, I never really knew a lot about the competitions; only through college did I take a debate class so I had a little prior knowledge. Pierce City was close enough to other schools that took this competition very seriously, many of them were willing to help me as a coach...but, not too much. Some of the students did pretty well for their inaugural season and that’s including both the high school and middle school. There were no medals or trophies, but the kids had a good time and I learned a lot along the way; plus I got to be an assistant coach for middle school football. After the first year had come and gone, unfortunately; so too my principals both decided to leave (Middle and High school). It's amazing how big of a difference there is when there is a change of principals for a school year. For my second year, I started talking with other coaches while I was at Speech and Debate tournaments to get an idea of what might be out there in the way of a change. I met with a coach in Seneca and she told me that they are looking for help for the next school year. Of my whole time teaching, I have to admit that my last year with Pierce City was one of the most challenging...a large part due to the fact that I had no idea I was autistic! I can't go into detail, but just take my word for it...it was tricky. Nonetheless, Thanks to the Seneca coach, my family was moving on to Seneca. [Note: Tragically, Pierce City's downtown was destroyed by a tornado several years after I left. Thankfully, the town is recovering.]
The Song of Inspiration [Check it out on iTunes!]:
Song: "Avalanche"
Artist: Manafest
Album: The Chase
This was the house we lived in during our time in Pierce City.
For much of the time, I would walk to school but, there were some times a car was needed. The school itself was a little bigger than Alton, so it seemed like I might have more opportunities to grow as a teacher. My first year there, not only did I do a middle school play - Wizard of Oz, but I got acclimated in Speech and Debate competition. Alton really didn't have a program and they didn't seem interested at the time. To be honest, I never really knew a lot about the competitions; only through college did I take a debate class so I had a little prior knowledge. Pierce City was close enough to other schools that took this competition very seriously, many of them were willing to help me as a coach...but, not too much. Some of the students did pretty well for their inaugural season and that’s including both the high school and middle school. There were no medals or trophies, but the kids had a good time and I learned a lot along the way; plus I got to be an assistant coach for middle school football. After the first year had come and gone, unfortunately; so too my principals both decided to leave (Middle and High school). It's amazing how big of a difference there is when there is a change of principals for a school year. For my second year, I started talking with other coaches while I was at Speech and Debate tournaments to get an idea of what might be out there in the way of a change. I met with a coach in Seneca and she told me that they are looking for help for the next school year. Of my whole time teaching, I have to admit that my last year with Pierce City was one of the most challenging...a large part due to the fact that I had no idea I was autistic! I can't go into detail, but just take my word for it...it was tricky. Nonetheless, Thanks to the Seneca coach, my family was moving on to Seneca. [Note: Tragically, Pierce City's downtown was destroyed by a tornado several years after I left. Thankfully, the town is recovering.]
The Song of Inspiration [Check it out on iTunes!]:
Song: "Avalanche"
Artist: Manafest
Album: The Chase
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