Naperville Central was recently visited by a leading authority on animal science.
Dr. Temple Grandin
Dr. Temple Grandin is a professor at Colorado State University and world-renowned spokesperson for autism.
She discussed her own experience with autism, her life’s work with animals, and how specialized ways of thinking can be a strength.
“What I have found is people want the magic thing. Okay, ‘we’re going to give every kid an iPad, or whatever.’ That’s going to replace good teaching? No it doesn’t. I just want to see students get out there and be whatever you can be,” said Grandin.
Q&A Session
At the end of her lecture, Grandin answered questions from the audience.
It was a rare opportunity for all students in attendance, but especially those taking animal science courses.
“In my first class I ever took with my teacher, it was an animal science class, and we actually had the ability to watch the movie about Dr. Grandin and have basically an entire unit talking about her life and her experience as not just a woman in the cattle industry and the livestock industry, but also a person with autism in that field,” said Keely Wixted, a junior at NCHS and vice president of the school’s Future Farmers of America chapter.
Grandin also stuck around to sign books and take pictures with students.
In 2010, Grandin was named to the Time 100 list of the world’s 100 most influential people, in the “Heroes” category.
Naperville News 17’s Casey Krajewski reports.
