Watertown, MA - “I'll huff and I'll puff, and I'll blow your house down,” read Celtics guard Jason Terry to a group of Perkins students Thursday afternoon. Following a successful 14-point victory the night before versus the Toronto Raptors, Terry and newly acquired guard Terrence Williams visited the Grousbeck Center at the Perkins School for the Blind.
Thanks to Corrine and Wyc Grousbeck, Perkins students have a new state-of-the-art center that gives them access to the best technology.
Celtics host Molly McGrath kicked off the event, welcoming more than 40 deaf/blind students to the Perkins Read to Achieve event. The crowd became loud with cheers of excitement knowing that members from their favorite team were with them. After the introductions, Terry and Williams, along with several young Perkins students, read aloud the well-known book, Three Little Pigs to the student audience.
Using new iPad technology, Celtics guests read to students while a video of the book was projected on a large SMART Board. That allowed deaf students to follow along.
"Little pig, little pig, let me come in," read Terry.
One student read along, "No, not by the hair of my chinny, chin, chin."
Following the reading, McGrath opened the floor for questions.
One student asked, “Do you think the pig who built the brick house was the smartest?”
Terry replied, “I think the pig who built the brick house wasn’t necessarily the smartest but the hardest working. When the other pigs were out playing he was working on making his home safe and strong.”
Terry made his point that hard work pays off and emphasized to the students that work ethic is a key to success.
Another young student raised their hand while asking Williams how he likes the city of Boston since his recent arrival to the Celtics.
“Boston’s been unbelievable so far,” he said. “People have welcomed me with open arms both within the organization and in public. I’m thankful to be a part of such a great city and play for such a historical team.”
At the end of the portion of the event, students showed their guests their beautiful, modern facility. The tour began at an iPad station where students taught Terry and Williams how new Apple technology allows them to communicate through barriers of being either deaf or blind. Both Celtics players were impressed by the cutting-edge technologies.
The tour moved into the Perkins game room to show the Celtics players educational games that are played on SMART Boards and on Xbox Kinect. Terry and Williams gave the video games a try, participating in a Kinect bowling game.
After rolling a gutter ball, Terry told the crowd with humor, “Good thing I chose basketball as a profession!”
The tour finished at the Perkins Radio Show, where one student interviewed Terry and Williams live on air for all of the Perkins school to listen in to.
The student reporter asked, “How do you feel the season is going to this point? Do you think the team has met both of your expectations?”
Terry replied, “We have a great collection of players and as a unit we feel we play very well together. We have a great team and have dealt with a lot of adversity. We’re excited to finish the season strong!”
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