#my school is only like 2 buildings so there's a limited amount of classrooms

[apollolewis]

I've Registered for my fall semester and they really do shove all of the history Classes in one room, and the room that every single history class is in never has the wifi working properly, or the ac/heating working properly.

[legitimatesatanspawn]

Something I can't stop thinking about: Present Mic's work bullshit schedule.

His three jobs are teacher, pro hero, and radio show host. Now to be fair pro and radio can have different hours but...

Radio Shows have set times. Even if we assume he just has the prime time hours because hero, that's still 3 or 4 hours that day on top of whatever prep or office stuff or paperwork has to be done.

UA's schedule seems to follow the standard 8-ish to 4 pm just for homeroom and classroom stuff, not even getting into faculty meetings or grading homework or if he helps students with a club or anything like that. There's also basically April to next March minus August and like... I want to say a week or two for the winter break? So let's lower it down a little to 10 months, not counting the different hours for Saturday or the absence of Sundays. The hours at the start of this paragraph doesn't include getting to work or leaving for one of his other jobs.

And then there's the Pro Hero job which has god only know what hours and how he does it. Does he have set patrols? Does he only do nights and Sundays now because of his schedule?

But you know what set it off my thoughts this time?

The CD Drama.

Hizashi gifted All Might the complete 4 terabyte set of his show's broadcast. "100,000 hours" or so he claimed. Much like Aizawa in the clip I heard, I was baffled. The math doesn't work out by any stretch of the imagination.

Even if we assume that Hizashi has done his radio show for the full 11 years of his being a hero, whether it's just Prime Time hours or if he had different slots to keep enemies on their toes, that's 3-6 hours a day for upwards to the full 11 years. Which by math is 12,045 to 24,090 hours. The 100,000 hours meanwhile is about 11 years and 5 months of nonstop 24/7 chatter.

By every aspect that is physically, temporally, and practically impossible.

I know it's just a joke but this is why I should not be given math and existing structures.

Present Mic's schedule is difficult if feasible but the CD Drama's hours are genuinely impossible. Unless the "100,000 hours of my show" are padded out 87% to 76% with music and other stuff.

But what if I'm more charitable with the time?

Let's say Hizashi's done the thing as part of a UA school project that he got approval for - in half hour segments - starting in Year 2. And let's say he managed to do six hour segments before getting into UA as a teacher. Let's... go with him being a teacher for 6 years of the 11 he's been a Pro for, to give him a long enough time on the job to be comfortable but short enough that he had an established name before it. And as a teacher he limits himself to 3 hour segments aside from holidays or school breaks where he does 6.

And because I don't feel like giving the full math on it for sick days or Sundays off or him doing actual breaks, we're going the full maximum on time just to show off how bad the schedule still is. But keep in mind UA students have about... remember the time? So that's 45 days out of 365 where he'd be at 6 hours (teacher) or 0 (student).

UA Student: 2*(0.5*(365-45))=302

Pro Hero: (11-6)*(365*6)=10950

Teacher: 6*(( (3*(365-45))+(45*6)))=7380

302+10950+7380=18632

So instead of the rough estimates of 12,045 to 24,090 hours, we have a more precise maximum estimate of 18,632 hours across a show's 13 years run. Without the subtraction of Sundays, vacations, sick days, and so on because doing the show nonstop like that would build up stress and burnout and all kinds of health risks.

But as you can see it still isn't enough time to make the claimed 100,000 hours. Which would require 24/7 Awake Nonstop Talking Ever to be possible. ... I forgot the leap years but that'll just add like a negligible amount, like 18 hours?

If there is actually that much harddrive space eaten up, I really wanna know what the rest of it really is.

tldr: Present Mic's radio show is likely around 12,045-24090 hours or an estimated max of 18,632 hours of playtime. 100,000 hours is literally impossible as that's about 11 years and 5 months of 24/7 talking.

[rbaksa]

Readerly Response #2

Due date of assigned readings: Monday, September 18

Title of assigned course reading: “Enriching and Assessing Young Children’s Multimodal Storytelling” 

Big takeaway: Students in a K-1 class successfully told multimodal stories with the help of teachers who facilitated story-telling workshops and peer reviews, demonstrating how teachers should avoid assessing children solely on their written story-telling ability. 

Nugget: I enjoyed reading about the story-writing process students engaged in. The mini-lessons taught essential story-telling skills that traditional literacy lessons do, such as character development and setting. However, I was impressed with the amount of freedom and hands-on experience the children who received multimodal story instruction had. They could access many materials and make their stories as creative as they wanted, with fun characters and surprise endings! Not only did this unit teach children how to tell stories, but it also taught the process of doing so. For example, children practiced peer review when classmates shared stories. I would never have considered introducing the peer review process as early as kindergarten and first grade, but the students did a good job with it from what I have read in the article. For example, the peer's comment about changing voices for each character is a helpful suggestion based on a previous lesson. I learned that children are more capable of expressing their creativity than I had thought, as evident through their scripts, performances, suggestions, or the school’s museum night. 

Title of assigned course reading: “Why Children Need Play” 

Big takeaway: When children partake in dramatic play that enables them to formulate engaging themes, delegate roles, and use symbolic props, they practice skills conducive to learning and school readiness. 

Nugget: I did not realize there was a difference between unproductive and productive dramatic play. I learned that quality dramatic play happens when children play together, formulate rules, assume different roles, and use props as symbols for other objects. When I become a teacher, I should facilitate this high-quality dramatic play. Instead of having students play with iPads during free time, I should provide open-ended toys and materials so they can make their own games or props to play with. 

Title of assigned course reading: “Building Language and Literacy Through Play” 

Big takeaway: Dramatic play is essential for child development, as it enables children to practice the language they have learned, social-emotional skills such as empathy, and the ability to problem solve. 

Nugget: I learned that roughhouse play can benefit the frontal lobe’s development. I have always negatively perceived roughhousing as being “inappropriate” play. I had not realized that, when responsibly supervised, it can help foster self-regulation skills. To support these self-regulation skills, I think it is important for parents to talk with their children about expectations for this play so children can practice explaining when roughhousing is acceptable and when it is not. 

Readerly Exploration Task: For this week’s task, I formulated three questions and researched one of them. First, I read all three readings and wrote the big takeaways and nuggets. Then, I reread them and formulated my questions, which I documented in the multimedia portion. Since incorporating play in the literacy classroom is not something I had thought about before, coming up with questions was not a challenge since there is still a lot I would like to explore. After reading the article “Kindergarten Scores, Storytelling, Executive Function, and Motivation Improved through Literacy-Rich Guided Play,” I unexpectedly realized I was limiting my perception of play used in instruction to games teachers create to make learning fun (Cavanaugh et al., 2017). Cavanaugh’s article made me realize that student-driven play can teach core concepts in addition to social skills, even though I had previously wanted to limit this play to recess. This article describes how students partook in a teacher-driven letter sorting activity where students sorted items into the corresponding letter bin (for example, a valentine into the “v” bin). The control group only completed this activity, while the experimental group had the opportunity to create an additional letter-sorting game. I was surprised by how creative the students’ games were. Some students designed a shopping game where they pretended to purchase toys to sort into the correct bin. Other students created a story using all their objects. Before reading this article, I assumed that to be effective for learning literacy content, the teacher needed to have a more active role in children’s play, like how the teachers in the “Enriching and Assessing Young Children’s Multimodal Storytelling” article provided instruction and templates for students to use to create their stories. However, the article I found reported that students in the experimental group outperformed control group students on the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills assessment. Researchers determined the effect size of incorporating student-driven literacy play to be .57, demonstrating moderate effectiveness (Cavanaugh et al., 2017). I learned that students should have the opportunity to engage in self-driven play during core subjects such as literacy, with the teacher serving only as a guide. Students only had fifteen minutes to create and engage in their invented games, but it still impacted their literacy development, and this finding surprised me. I realized that children learn more core content from their play than I had thought, as the article reported that most students enjoyed creative freedom and used it responsibly without getting off task. In other words, I can trust students to engage in self-driven productive play, so I should not limit this to just recess. 

Multimodal Documentation: These are the three questions I came up with: 1) Have other classrooms adopted a similar multimodal approach to literacy explained in the “Enriching and Assessing Young Children’s Multimodal Storytelling” reading? 2) How have elementary teachers incorporated play in literacy instruction when it is not already a part of the curriculum? 3) How can teachers respond to misconceptions about incorporating play into the classroom as a legitimate form of learning?

I chose question number two to research. When conducting preliminary research, I read the article cited below. 

Cavanaugh, D. M., Clemence, K. J., Teale, M. M., Rule, A. C., & Montgomery, S. E. (2017). Kindergarten Scores, Storytelling, Executive Function, and Motivation Improved through Literacy-Rich Guided Play. Early Childhood Education Journal, 45(6), 831–843. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-016-0832-8

[theskyexists]

scholomance 2

The first half of this book was a bit slow and not so crunchy, the second was very very crunchy, and the twist worked out pretty well.

things that don’t make a whole lot of sense:

1. why is there a weight limit (this could be explained by saying it takes gallons of mana to bring mass in that way thus weight capped)

2. why does failing the exams literally maim or kill you. i would protest that shit if i were a fucking parent.

3. why the fuck would you need to reach some damn gates to get out when the kids get IN via induction spell and the way out is via unspooling that same spell

4. why didn’t they use the goddamn COMPLETELY FREE healing spell again

5. why not use a reviser to phase mals (MAWMOUTHS) out of the graduation hall.

6. so why exactly does the school KEEP good spells from students and fuck them over so much with exams and languages if it actually IS aiming to keep them all alive. what a weird twist. would have made much more sense if it was simply the biggest mal yet. like why the fuck would it have encouraged El NOT to go after the mawmouth going after the freshmen if it was trying to keep students safe???

7. i still dont understand where mana comes from and why it comes from horror terror annoyance pain

things that don’t make sense to me narratively:

1. why have El go on and on about enclaves and reading and studying and the scholomance is in essence an enclave and not capitalise on that (maybe next book but like...)

2. why was Precious such a bitch about El getting together with Orion? like jezus, they were just dating, just kissing and having sex and falling in love and shit. whats wrong with that my god. yeah shes gonna be devastated and everything bc he lied. he doesn’t love her more than killing mals (a very late dramatic twist bc for the longest time El didn’t even understand he genuinely loves it)

steps forward now:

just keep doing this shit ey? make an enclave type thing as a trap, lure em all in and boot the bit of matter into the void. BAM. exterminator supreme, El!

Like i was like, well now the chances are 50/50 for wizard kids, let’s build a new scholomance, and have the kids come down the maintenance shaft every week to burn the new ones out in teams (new freshman handbook rules, seniors do this so graduation goes way smoother) and especially kill the agglos and re-ward the mortal flame machines. if a mawmouth shows up just revise it out of existence with the revisers you put under everybody’s pillows. since this was never said to cost too much mana - why not.

but now theres a much better option. just boot em out into the void. just do that shit! hope the debris doesn’t bump into some enclave also out in the void.

incomprehensible liveblog:

is she gonna be a teacher???? to these freshman kids?

scholomance is so damn hard on these kids but it does also sometimes act in their best interests....probably to keep them coming

ok so the scholomance is trying to kill her even more desperately. by playing on her protective instinct, by assigning her the worst ever seminars and classrooms

why doesn’t she ASK CHLOE OR ORION FOR MANA OH MY GOD. WHY DOESN’T ORION OFFER IT TO HER

‘Sure, the story is, the enclaves put in some mana, and our parents all put in some mana if they can afford it, and we put in mana with our work, but we all know that’s a story. The single biggest source of the school’s mana is us. We’re all trying to save mana for graduation; everyone’s working on it all the time. The mana we grudgingly put into our schoolwork and our maintenance shifts is nothing compared with the amounts we put away for that rainiest of rainy days. And when the mals tear us apart, of course we grab for all that nice juicy power we’ve desperately been saving up, and they suck it out of us, only built up more by all our terror and final agony and struggles to live. The Scholomance gets the spillover, and then thanks to all those wards, it kills off a good healthy number of the mals, too, and it all ends up in the school’s mana stores—where it goes to keep the rest of us luckier ones alive’

So when an enthusiastic hero—read, Orion—shows up and starts saving lives, and the mals start to starve, the school starts to starve, too. And at the same time, has more of us alive in here, breathing and drinking et cetera. It’s all a pyramid scheme, and if there aren’t enough of us on the bottom being eaten, there’s not enough for the ones at the top.

an explanation!

so in other words, the only thing that comes into this closed system is the kids, and teh mals. and teh scholomance can only grab teh spillover of mana when the mals or kids are killed, or the kids deliberately put mana into maintenance/schoolwork. somehow. i guess there’s a huge loss on the energy when it’s used to kill though. somehow. i guess because the mana is transformed into something else by spells. thus it cannot be sucked up by the school. but it’s happy with Orion killing teh small mals. won’t it be happy with El doing the same?

EXACTLY. ASK CHLOE. REMIND HER WHAT EL CAN DO. FOR GOOD OR BAD.

YES!!!!!!!!!!! FINALLY SOMEBODY GOT THEIR WITS TOGETHER AND REALISED THAT EL IS THE ONE TO GIVE THE RESOURCES

NOW THE WHOLE SCHOOL’S GOT A POWERHOUSE

won’t the new york enclave be upset with Chloe’s alliance?

pretty sad to have el’s work always (still!) be attributed to orion

AAHH there’s a freshman handbook.... which el read ofc but orion didn’t.

Well fucking finally people realised that El’s a catch. I mean - jezus christ. She really could have shown everbody from the start.

what i dont get is if her mother had 7 spellbooks why doesnt she know more of her spells

why the fuck aren’t they inviting orion on their team

Why the FUCK would they stop working on the honeypot if the lute plan mostly worked and apparently Orion has just found the key component of wizard blood. It's essential that Orion pours in more mana into the pool!!! Wtf???

Why think it normal that's 1. Scholomance has it out for El 2. THUS the mals come after her. Just cos the school lets them through or what?

The finals literally main students. SURELY wizards didn't think of that part???? Surely thats the scholomance operating as much within its parameters to weaken the weak further?

Why the hell would El consider all the killing spells she gets useless? The whole point is to kill mals. She could become a literal exterminator outside too.

It really does seem like the wizards have lost control of the school. Why else couldn't they sneak in adults with induction?

How the fuck can I ship Orion and El if he doesn't even get anything ever about her. But I guess his dumbness strengthens her

What are the mouse familiars about...

You're telling me that there's NO magic to keep you from getting pregnant???? Hello??? Aha. The spell gets confused....that doesn't make any sense lol. It's not like a shield spell gets confused when you walk into a gout of flame deliberately to get to the other side of the graduation hall, now does it?

The obstacle course stuff implies that wizards can still adjust things inside the scholomance. So why would they allow the Scholomance to maim those who fail their exams.

I thought seniors got access to way better spells? But El's gotten nothing. Also that reviser trick is great. Why not dump patience and fortitude out into the void like that? And reading so much about enclave spells, I feel like that should give her a way with the reality and unreality of the scholomance.

Why the fuck would El say that mature wizards are the real apex predators. In what sense. What do they hunt

Oh only NOW does El ask the invincible hero in love with her to join her team. What the fuck. And he doesn't say yes? And she was asking him for his safety?

What I don't understand is why they don't share spells. I understand keeping mana for yourself but why not spells??

They actually use the spells they're gonna use at graduation? I mean...isn't that wasting mana. And the obstacle course can kill you. I mean....that's only going to lower everybody's chances right

They're all bloodied up. So let's do a circle spell again? THEY DONT DO THE COMPLETELY FREE HEALING SPELL

Right - ok that explains the casting. If the course fakes the effect then either it's an illusion and illusions are cheaper or the ffect comes out of the general mana pool and we know why the scholomance is always so hungry

Why the fuck would her wither spells not work but khamis firepotion would? Lol

Ahhh now she realises that she must save them all. But! How can she save them all - right?

She should take everybody with her on this course. Yep she is. But she should do it all together maybe.

El is so FUCKING stupid. She never tells people anything. 'oh they won't believe I'm powerful without proof :(' 'oh they won't believe I'll help people :('

Just TELL THEM. Ok just going for it was effective. And now ALL the teams are becoming more and more tightly knit.....

It's funny. El's got the INSTINCTS for bringing people together but she hasn't got the rational thinking for it. That's gotta be her friends dealing with her.

AND she keeps thinking : yeah I'm not doing that, but then doing it anyway. MAWMOUTH here she comes.

Orion is such a dumb brick Jezus Christ. He's really gone down in attractiveness

The SECOND half of this book is actually picking up

El keeps yammering on about how unfairly Orion was treated in the enclave but I genuinely do not see it. She makes deals all the time and thinks them fair. All the wizards do all their lives - and the enclave made the deal with Orion that he'd kill mals - which he instinctively loves to do - and they'd give him whatever. Which I think is pretty damn fair. Just because Orion is SO extremely lucky that he doesn't need any protection and wouldn't have had to come to the scholomance at all to survive - well, that's HIS EXTREME LUCK - which El used to despise in anyone. But if it's natural not social it's fine apparently.

YES!!! LIESEL!!!! ARMY GENERAL!!!!

Since they can't keep more than 300 alive, they're gonna somehow have to go one after the other. But how?

God theyre good. Kept their whole generation from getting eaten much. And now they're tackling graduation like no one else. What about the kids who come after...?

Liesel is so fucking right and El is almost as much an idiot as Orion. Idiot could have told and shown everyone and they could have prepared for FOUR years together.

What's up with this mouse trying to force El to stay away from Orion like she's the manifestation of Gwen's message.

LOOK AT WHAT THEY CAN ACCOMPLISH TOGETHER!!!!!!!!

And look how enormously useful El's death spells are. Should have written some more

EXACTLY. HAH. HERE IT COMES. Thanks sudarat. She's getting them all out. Alllll of em. Yep. All of the seniors. But what about those poor freshmen.....

The title is a bit of a hint. Her friends are gonna pissed when she stays behind.

'im so stupid' yeah El you're smarter than Orion but stupider than most others.

El my dear - you could make it better. You could improve the wards, burn out the mals, teach the children, defend defend defend, for as long as you stay

What would happen on the outside... More and more wizard kids. The lucky ones all survive in scholomance. The others die outside. And the wizard population grows... There really was something to the throwaway comment about wizards being the predators. Ecology ecology.

Maybe.....yeah the scholomance does want to be better. So.... It was nice to Orion because he was protecting kids. And it was hard on El to attempt prod her into action... After all....it gave her the sutra book, and kept her in the aisle. Not to keep her from helping Orion but to allow her to get the book. And it tried to get her out of the aisle when the mawmouth was there. Because it wasnt sure she could kill it. It put her with freshmen and led mals there to test her and to prepare her.

Thing is, if what's in the graduation hall is just so horrible - then them repairing the burners probably didn't work, and all those seniors died.

Oh right. It probably did work, and that's why the mawmouths are now desperately hungry.

Oh what. Oh no. Oh what the fuck. Where are they.

If the induction spell can drop you into your new room, and graduation is actually the reverse. WHY EVEN HAVE GATES.

'what do you want me to do?' she asks. And precious thinks it's obvious?

So the school made her care about everybody and told her look: you can.

Hmmm. But this is a very strange narrative twist. I was really getting into the whole army preparing to survive together by helping each other. And now there's nothing?

why the FUCK would the narrative go this way wtf.

I thought she would get everybody out, have to heroically fight patience and fortitude and then push Orion and Aadhya and Liu out with the sweep spell bc she'd stay forever to keep every generation safe.

But I guess that's....not it.

Ok but this is inconsistent because last year they were very much afraid of a full grown agglo coming through the doors down to graduation. (edit: that was an argonet apparently)

Ok I understand that a mawmouth is bad news but uhhhh El and Orion went down there and fixed stuff and didn't come across a single one. Like. Yeah yeah the little ones are faster but like...

But seriously why is there a graduation hall and not just a reverse on the induction spell

What WOULD work as a plan apart from dropping the whole school in the void is creating things that eat the agglos but which have a destruct button from a distance. Also simply reverse the induction spell to make graduation unnecessary. That having been built in really makes me feel like there's a hidden "lure all the mals to scholomance so they don't overwhelm all of wizard kind' agenda behind it secretly maybe perhaps.

So now I understand why the honeypot shit was in there. Don't understand why the narrative made it fail on small scale though.

Why make graduation only half an hour?

Also. Orion Lake leaking some sort of eldritch stuff out of his eyes certainly should have made an alarm bell go off in El's head perhaps.

OK SO. I think it's silly that a new mawmouth is given as an excuse that they can't keep killing the agglo's and repairing the mortal flame machine. Especially because the mortal flame took whole layers off of fortitude and patience. If you just dodged around the mawmouth /shielded enough - whichever came in in a couple of years, and you've got lots of space now - then you could easily keep it down if not kill it. Also - if the whole point was that Agglos are destroying the flame machine - specifically agglos - then I'm pretty sure that the narrative should have had El notice them chewing on the flame machine in the graduation hall when she was there. And a mawmouth is only a long term risk, they could improve odds for 5 years at least by regularly taking the maintenance shaft down and blasting any new mals to bits. Like every month. Or am I underestimating the presence of a single mawmouth? They really instantly want only a permanent solution.

More importantly, I'm a bit sad that instead of this development giving them space to create a whole new culture, one of all for one and and all for one, which will improve all of their odds enormously and make the experience hugely more pleasant - a culture they could pass on to the freshmen etc if they continue to root out mals together, perhaps hey, in teams from the start, patrolling,etc. but maybe the culture shift will happen outside as their whole generation is now in serious solidarity with each other.

This is one way I can see the prophecy working out in an unexpected positive way. El casts down the enclaves through true solidarity and reducing the desperate dependence that indie wizards have on enclaves. Also makes a mass killing in mals.

One more thing though is why don't they just let their kids get adopted by mundanes. Or idk invited mundanes into their house at all times? Whystick to the nuclear family. Grab your mundanes - grab homeless people off the streets and make them babysitters! Get a mundane nanny bodyguard! Jeeze. get four!

Two other ways I can see this plan go horribly wrong though and fulfilling the prophecy:

1. patience and fortitude are loose. Where did they go? More importantly - where did the Bangkok enclave go.... Can mawmouths traverse the void? Or...did the mawmouths simply roll out and go back hunting in the real world? Two huge impossible to kill mawmouths? Because Orion and El managed to deprive them?

2. There's a lot of ecosystem-type talk - reproductive rates, survival rates and predator Vs. prey. What if it was a good thing that all these wizard kids died? That is to say - it kept balance. This ties into one of my questions: how did wizards survive at all when 6 in 7 kids are normally eaten? It is said that mals used to be less powerful and hungry.... What changed so rapidly ? Or were wizards simply having loads and loads of kids to beat the odds? (seems unlikely to me)

El has often misinterpreted the Scholomance, and I think it's wrong to think it would evenhandedly keep kids safe. I'd say it absolutely does not - and picks off the weak to power itself so the strong can survive.

Im not into this romance anymore. El is so constantly worried about Orion - and yes he's shown himself dumb as a brick, dumb enough to get himself killed almost a dozen times. But! He's so completely blasé. He's never ever shown himself to align with her sense of injustice about his serious desire to simply kill kill kill them mals.

They're literally going to escape like tomorrow. So just fuck already! Jesus! Ok finally.

EXACTLY. Jezus did they really need to have sex first for Orion to set El straight on how he's not been damaged by his parents and enclave? He's just LIKE THIS. he loves to kill and slurp up mana. That's who he is. Lol - but she really can't deal with it. She kept trying to blame the enclave but ITS JUST WHO HE IS.

SHE REALLY STILL THINKS THAT ORION HAS SIMPLY BEEN TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF. WHAT IS WRONG WITH HER?????

Please do NOT die Liu. DO NOT DIE.

Oh right ok that's the crux. He thinks he's weird. But he IS weird. But that doesn't mean he can't pursue happiness.

I do wonder.... HAVE THEY ACTUALLY TESTED THAT THE SONG WILL LURE THE MALS AWAY FROM THE WIZARDS ACTUALLY LITERALLY STANDING THERE IN LINE

Also I wonder.....whether she's gonna have to kill another mawmouth

An obstruction eh.....might....that....be...a....mawmouth....

Ok but if the induction point is where the kids go back, and it is ringed by adult wizards, and ringed by hungry mals, how are the mals getting past the wizards. And also...if they've lured lots of hungry mals to the induction points and the kids are going back there........

Are they expecting a mawmouth tho. Like there's two still HERE!!!!!

Lol finally El understands and BELIEVES Orion. Jezus when he tells you something El - LISTEN. STOP THINKING HES NOT RIGHT IN THE HEAD. now she understands.

Please tell me that the kids going out didn't all get eaten. This isn't that kind of book right.

Why did they not expect a mawmouth. And why was it able to get through the fucking refusalshield??? That doesn't make any sense???? Was Alfie already out???? Oh it wasn't UP to the gate.

Liesel is so damn smart lol. She's so much smarter than El. TAKE THE DAMN MINDPHONE EL OR YOULL NEVER BE ABLE TO CALL ORION THROUGH THE FUCKING GATE

What the FUCK Orion.

Jezus Christ. He can't even fucking kill it! Oh my god.

[theeyesinthenight]

College Tips for Neurodivergence and Chronic Illness

Hey Everyone!I just wanted to talk for a minute about the stuff that I do to make college slightly easier to get through, and ask around for if anyone else has any advice.

Physically going to class:

1. Physical Calmness: Make a small physical maintenance travel bag that you carry with you EVERYWHERE. Include things like moisturizer, chapstick, cough drops/sucking candy, nail clippers, hair ties, eye drops, pain relief meds, sunglasses- anything that you frequently need to maintain you and your body’s ability to be calm. Sensory overload frequently becomes a thing on campus, and frequently overstimming on campus can make it really hard to want to go to class every day. I carry 6 ponytails, 2 chapstick, 4 advil, 4 sucking candies, 2 tampons, emergency ear plugs and earphones, gloves, moisturizer and sunglasses every day and I swear they make the difference between wanting to run crying out of my classroom and being able to hold on some days.

2. Make Checklists: Especially if you deal with executive function issues (like me!) you can build checklists for every day, repetitive tasks as well as normal to-dos to help you manage everything at once without forgetting anything. Don’t feel obliged to make the list pretty or perfect, just keep adding and refining the lists as you notice stuff you’ve forgotten or usually do. Write lists for literally everything. There is no shame to writing everything down. That being said, if you end up scheduling your days, always leave yourself an hour or two a day and like 10-15 minutes before crucial junctures so you aren’t stressed about running late and can actually unwind sometimes.

3. Eat: Some people will have meal plans, some will cook at home and bring stuff to school, but it’s absolutely fucking critical to chemical homeostasis (especially if you do what I do and wind up in class from like 10 am to 7 pm) to plan when and what you’ll eat- either by scheduling adequate meal breaks to go buy it, or packing it ahead of time. This is when lists can help: I remember to pack my lunch and snacks every morning or prep food for consumption when I get home only because I leave it on sticky notes on my phone when I go to sleep.  Just drinking coffee nearly made me have an anxiety related melt down my freshman year before I realized that the constant feelings of a racing heart were only partially because of anxiety and were also because of the sheer amount of caffeine in my system. Eating healthy is also important, and will make you feel even better than just eating, but now is not the time to put yourself on a starvation diet just to lose 10 lbs. Eating high protein has helped some of my snacky issues as well as generally gives me more energy, and making my own mealprep at home- even my own muffins and cookies- generally are more healthy for my than what I get in the store. Fruit, cheese, lunch meat (or sliced cooked meat) and pickles or olives in endless combination work great for me as mindless snacky food, as does homemade popcorn (either in a skillet or costco bags) because it’s dirt cheap and you can put anything from seasoning salt to furikake and shredded dried pork on it. If you need help figuring out recipes, feel free to pm me! I’m good at working with nutritional and budgetary restraints. Pancakes are kind of a universal good.

4. Give yourself permission to leave: If you’re triggered, or seconds away from panic, GET UP AND LEAVE. College classes are not the same as high school classes, and most teachers are perfectly fine with you getting up to get water, or go to the bathroom, or cry in the bathroom. Try to make sure you go back to class most of the time, but if you’re really that stressed, also give yourself permission to leave. 

5. Find a backup note system: There will be days that you cannot go to class. Accept this. Therefore, it is critical to find a way to make sure you always get the notes. Some colleges offer note taking assistance, some allow you to audio record lectures (check 1 and 2 party consent states first), and some leave you to your own devices, in which case, make a casual buddy to get notes from. You do not need to be besties with this person, Try to make sure you know how many days you actually have to go, and minimize grade damage when you can’t.

6. GET ENOUGH SLEEP. I cannot emphasize this enough; whether or not you’re taking medication, getting enough sleep is critical to pretty much everything that might be going on in your head- hormone issues, depression, autism, whatever. Your brain is going to be stressed out by the new environment and the additional, new problem solving that it has to do; help it make its best decisions. I literally wake up on less than 7 hours of sleep and consider selling my siblings on the black market. Don’t do it. 

7. Be careful about Caffeine; Some people are more or less sensitive to caffeine, or forms of caffeine, don’t develop a coffee addiction just because it’s in vogue. Matcha seems to have the most stabilizing caffeine affect on my brain of all the caffeine options, though tea still works universally better than coffee.  I also make my own “lattes” and cold brew at the beginning of the week and keep them in my fridge; a 2oz jar of matcha powder may cost like 60$ but it will make me about 90 cups of tea and last me two semesters especially if I mix in other kinds of cheaper teas in my morning; it’s certainly cheaper than starbucks- cups of latte come out to 95c and have about a third of the calories (which means I can drink more of them!) Which ties into;

8. Budgetting. You might be stressed out about money or make tons of tables and charts to try to deal with that stress; there are a lot of ways to cope with it, but my favorite method (and I still use a combination of these) for dealing with food and consumable stuff you need regularly like shampoo and soap or socks are: separate that money from everything else that you need to buy, then at the beginning of a semester 

Go to Costco, a particular kind of “exotic” grocery store, or a farmers market. Buy and then freeze meat, vegetables, and fruit (if you use them in baked goods or in yogurt) or get prefrozen meat- make sure you’re checking the price/lb or K for the cheapest, and bags of either rice, flour, boxes of pasta (cheap carbs) and oil- i recommend having canola, it’s utilitarian for frying with a high flash point. If your budget isn’t tiny, this is a great time to also get dried (or canned but I don’t like the texture) beans, and canned meat or sauce if you actually eat it. The key is to get cheap bulk things that will last for a semester or five, and that are always on hand.

Take the rest of your food budget out in cash. Separate it into bundles for “each week”, put them in your wallet, and return the change to the jar when you’re done. It was always easier for me to visualize how much spending money for food that I had when I physically had the cash; it meant I didn’t overspend and it also meant that I started making better “investment” decisions; I’d buy cinnamon sticks one week, or good olive oil the next, instead of dropping a couple hundred dollars on ingredients I might have never used.

Do a similar bulk buy of products you know you use, and then leave the rest of that money- also in cash!- in a separate jar with a stickynote on top. When you have to use money for stuff from it, just stuff the receipt in the jar with the cash and do your accounting When You Have Brainspace.

I deal with other bigger accounting stuff over cards, but I try to limit one card to rent, insurance, school payments, big regular stuff that I autopay and always pay off, and one card to “emergency” stuff that I’m always working on paying off- think emergency dental work, car broke, etc. That one I do gig labor to cover when I can.

Anyone else, feel free to chime in! It’s super useful to have lists of tips and tricks!

[lov3nerdstuff]

Wicked Game

~Professor Hiddleston AU~

*Tom Hiddleston x reader*

Part: 1/30

Words: 3.3k

Warnings: Professor x student (college AU), possibly language and maybe even smut in later chapters idk

Summary: After transferring to a new university for the last year of your master's, you meet Professor Hiddleston and soon find yourself unable to stay away from him.

A.N.: I really suck at summaries, I'm so sorry 🙈 basically, this is a slow burn romance with lots of pining and yes, I like naming my stories after songs. Wicked Game by Chris Isaac is gonna appear quite a bit in the story I think, so you might just give it a listen now!

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] ...

All Parts can be found on my Masterlist!

_______________________________

If someone had told you on your first day of college that you would have to live through the whole thing again a few years later, you might just have quit and called it a day after breakfast. But now, multiple years after your actual first day, you were the new kid once again. Transferring colleges had been a hard decision, but there was no turning back now. You didn't yet know where the classrooms were or how you'd get to yours, but you still had fifteen minutes to go before your first class would start. So you walked through the hallways of your new school trying to find your room, taking in the overwhelming amount of people passing by. First day of class for you also meant first day of classes for everyone else and so the whole building was completely overcrowded. The close proximity made you nervous and combined with the uncertainty of where you needed to go, you felt yourself starting to panic. You stood in the middle of the hall, frozen to the spot and unable to move while people pushed past you, shoving and talking too loudly. The urge to run and hide grew stronger and stronger until you finally bolted, opening the first door you found unlocked and rushing it. It shut with a loud bang and you found yourself leaning against it from the inside. With closed eyes, silence and the returning ability to breathe deeply, you calmed down a little. 

"Hello there." A smooth voice said, making you jump and rip your eyes open in an instant. The sudden movement made your bag slip from your shoulder, spilling half of the contents on the floor.

"Woah, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you…" The man in front of you said as he set his to-go cup down and walked over to you. With a gentle hand he led you to a chair and made you sit down.

The adrenaline decreased slowly and you could finally take a serious look around. You were in an office, it was crowded with books but larger than most dorm rooms. In front of you stood a man who was currently looking down at you worriedly. He was beyond handsome and even though your heart was racing because of utterly different reasons, you couldn't deny that he had that effect on you as well.

"Are you alright?" He asked in a quiet voice, careful to not scare you again.

"Yeah, uhm… sorry." You replied, finally able to think straight again. It was pretty dumb, you realized, having just walked into the first room that had been open.

"It's alright." He gave you a small smile and sat down in the chair opposite to you. "I assume you aren't here for my office hours?"

You shook your head. "No, I'm sorry. I was just looking for my class… But somehow I ended up here in your office." 

"I'm Thomas Hiddleston, professor for literature and cultural studies."

"Y/n… Y/n L/n." You smiled back at him. "I'm doing a master's in cultural studies. And one in literature. Double degree..."

His eyes light up ever so slightly upon hearing that and he smiled even more brightly. "What a coincidence. How come we've never met up to this point? The group of students in both degrees is very… limited, unfortunately. And I'm very sure I would've met someone doing a double degree in my fields of study."

"Oh, I just transferred here. It's my first day." You bit your bottom lip, looking into his incredibly blue eyes. How a man such like him could be a college professor was a riddle to you, a miracle even. 

"Ah, I see. I'm sure we will see a lot more of each other then!" He rose from his chair and went to pick up your bag from the ground as if it was the most natural thing. With a blush creeping to your face you rushed to his side and dropped on your knees to collect your belongings. "Oh, please don't, I can do that, it's fine." 

He took a step back and held his hands up in defeat, laughing lightly. "Just wanted to help."

Still blushing furiously, you pushed everything back into your bag as quickly as you could and got back up. "You're being very nice and I'm… well…"

"Don't worry about it. Everyone has a bad day sometimes." He hooked his thumbs into the pockets of his black jeans and just looked at you with an expression that had you melting into a puddle within seconds.

You nodded slightly, finally remembering how to human. Not looking at him helped greatly, so you found yourself looking at the folded paper in your hands. After a short moment you remembered the circumstances under which you had burst into his office. "Uhm, I'm very sorry for just coming in here, Mr. Hiddleston. I got overwhelmed by the crowds outside and then I couldn't find my class and… you don't even want to hear about that. Sorry." 

You turned on your heels and made for the exit as quickly as possible. 

"Miss L/n!" He stopped you before you could open the door, making you turn around once again. 

"I would like to help you, if you don't mind." His voice was very gentle as he walked towards you, stopping just at arm's length. "Which class are you trying to find?"

You silently handed him the printed schedule you had been clinging onto for dear life and he took it from you, unfolding it. His eyes flew over the page as if he was trying to memorize the whole thing and you couldn't help but watch him.

"You're taking two of my classes!" He said cheerfully and beamed at you. "Tuesday morning and Friday evening."

Your heart skipped a beat at the prospect of seeing him every week. Twice, even. He was being really nice to you, despite being a professor and you still a student; nothing like the professors at your old uni. You appreciated that and sincerely looked forward to seeing him in class. 

"Your first class is in this building, that's good news!" He said, coming to stand next to you to show you what he was pointing at on the paper. "It's in the E tower, fourth floor, third corridor."

You frowned involuntarily, giving him a polite but desperately confused smile. "Thank you?" 

He bit his bottom lip to suppress his own smile. "You have no idea where that is, right?"

You shake your head, letting out a breathy laugh. "No, not at all."

He gave you back your paper and walked over to his desk, shoving a few items into a leather bag. "I'm going to show you to your room."

You felt the heat returning to your cheeks immediately. "Oh, that's very nice of you, but I'm sure I can just ask my way around. You really don't have to…"

"Nah, it's my pleasure. I have to teach a class in the same tower anyway, it's no big deal." His shoulder brushed yours as he walked past you, sending a pleasant shiver down your spine that you made your heart race again.

He stopped, holding the door open for you. "After you, Miss Y/n." 

You smiled and walked out of the office, staring at his backside while he locked the door. The hallway had cleared almost completely and there were very few people still hurrying to get to their classes. 

You walked behind Mr. Hiddleston, eyes on the ground. This was embarrassing for so many reasons… first you had stumbled into his office without even knocking, then you had spread the contents of your bag all over his floor and finally you had been too dumb to find your room and now you didn't even dare to walk next to him. That and the fact that he was beyond friendly... and handsome; the most attractive, attentive man you had ever met.

"You don't have to trail behind me like a lost puppy, you know…" He chuckled and turned around to look at you over his shoulder. With more confidence, your steps quickened and you walked next to him.

"What class are you teaching now?" You asked after a while to break the silence that was falling between you. It wasn't any of your business, but the only question you could think of. 

"Intro to lit." He sighed, answering as if this chatting between you was a normal occurrence. "It's nice to inspire young people to study literature, but the first classes are always quite exhausting."

"Hmm." You crossed your arms in front of your chest. "What's making it exhausting for you?"

"It's just the freshmen classes mostly… They don't listen, I have to repeat everything a million times and then a million more." He sighed. "But I shouldn't be complaining to you."

"No, it's fine… I mean I don't mind." You said with a shrug. "It's not like I enjoy first day of class either."

"Why not?" He asked in return.

"Same as you, I would say. Most professors don't start with the contents right away, they talk on and on and on about the bureaucracy and explain the assignments a million times because some person wasn't listening." You said as the two of you started climbing the staircase towards the fourth floor. 

"What would you suggest to do differently?" He asked, his voice a mix of humor and sincere curiosity.

You thought for a moment, humming quietly. "I mean the outlines have to be covered, but that doesn't mean that the teachers have to keep repeating themselves if the students aren't listening. I always find it helpful to get the syllabus, talk it over real quick and then have five minutes for questions."

He smiled. "Yeah, that would be ideal. It usually doesn't work like that, unfortunately. Questions follow upon questions and some students try to stretch this by asking the most ridiculous things."

"Maybe you could start straight with the first topic and only have fifteen minutes at the end of class reserved for syllabus talk. So you can use most of the class for input and only go over the basics quickly at the end. That way you'll have a limited amount of time for questions and no one leaves before class is over. If the questions are all answered by the end of class you're good, if not you can always offer to answer further questions per email or in office hours." You rambled, not knowing when it had become a good idea to give a professor teaching advice.

"Interesting idea." He mused, pushing his glasses up with a single, slender finger. "I'll have to try that."

Your cheeks were still heated and you nervously played with the zipper of your sweatshirt when you reached the fourth floor. Was he always this nice to his students? If he kept on being so… him, you knew you'd be in serious trouble. But it had only been a few minutes you'd spent alone with him and next time you'd meet in class with a bunch of other people. The thought calmed you down a little and you dropped your arms to your sides.

"So… Advanced German?" He asked with amusement.

"What?" You were a little slow, dragging your thoughts from his person to the class you were walking to. "Oh, the class… yeah." 

"How many languages do you speak?" He inquired further, but you didn't mind at all. He was just being polite and making small talk, after all.

"Well, I know English of course, then German, Spanish, and some Korean. I can read Latin, but I guess no one can do more than reading it really… I can also understand a tiny bit Danish and Dutch."

He smiled a little, shaking his head to himself, but didn't comment on it any further. You just took it as an acknowledgement of your answer, for you were sure that he didn't sincerely want to know more about you. A moment later he stopped in front of an open classroom door.

"Here we are." He said calmly and pointed to the open room.

"Thank you, professor." You smiled, looking everywhere but at him, trying not to get lost in his eyes once again. "I really appreciate your help. If there's anything I can help you with in return, please let me know." 

"Surely will do. Have a nice day, Miss L/n. I'll see you in class tomorrow." He said with one last polite smile before he walked back into the direction you had just come from, leaving you wondering if his class was really in this part of the building. 

As you sauntered into your classroom and sat down towards the front, you reflected on your encounter with the professor. He was extremely friendly, extremely handsome and you'd bet that he was extremely smart as well. Probably every girl in the whole university was crushing on the guy. As understandable that was, you were determined not to drool over him. He was your professor after all and he was probably being nice to every student. So you tried to focus on your class, and on meeting some of the students who all happened to be doing different degrees. Maybe Hiddleston had been right about the size of the degree then… damn it, now you were thinking about him again. Maybe because he was the first and only person you had met? Groaning inwardly, you shoved him to the back of your mind for a while and actually got work done. 

It was dark outside when you reached your apartment. You had moved in a week ago and yet, you couldn't imagine a worse place to live. Your roommate was an absolute disaster, he was messy and pushy and had absolutely no sense for personal space. At night, you locked the door to your bedroom because he might just walk in when drunk and lay in your bed with you if he wasn't hindered. So you had maxed out the time you spent at college today; after your two classes, you had spent the afternoon and the evening at the library. It was such a calming place, old and yet modern, filled with more books than you could ever read. There wasn't any work to be done yet and so you had read ahead for professor Hiddleston's classes. Somehow, you felt the need to impress the man, or at least regain the respect you thought you had lost this morning. So you had picked up a few books and read through some of them already. The others you had taken home. 

You dug through your bag in search of your keychain, frowning deeply. The damn things was not to be found, even after emptying your whole bag on the sidewalk. For a second you closed your eyes and prayed that you had only forgotten them in your room. But for now, all you could do was knock. To your not-really-surprise, a strange man with weird tattoos opened up and let you in without question. This was a regular thing now, strange men basically living in your apartment and calling themselves visitors of your roommate.

Once you were in the small space of your bedroom and hadn't found your keys, you remembered that you hadn't eaten at all today, so you made your way to the kitchen only to find that your foods were gone. Great… 

With a sigh you returned to your room only with a bottle of wine you'd kept hidden in a box of board games. After you'd locked the door, you opened the bottle and went to read on your bed in your PJs. But somehow the words wouldn't stick in your brain at all. At about midnight you gave up, put the book back on your desk and laid down in the vain attempt to sleep. However your roommate seemed to have different plans, as sounds of demolition and various voices shouting echoed through the whole apartment. 

Groaning, you just stared into the darkness around you until finally your body gave in and you fell into a restless sleep.

______________

Tom sat at the desk in his office at uni, his elbows on the tabletop and his head in his hands. For hours he'd been trying to finish preparing his classes for the following day and he just couldn't concentrate. When he'd come to work this morning, he had expected another normal first day of class. He had gotten some coffee, over at his favorite coffee shop close to campus, and then walked to his office together with his colleague and friend Benedict. Just when he had finally sat down to prepare for the first class he was giving, his door had been ripped open and you had entered his office. And thereby also his life. 

At first he hadn't thought too much about it, but as the minutes spent with you passed, he had felt drawn to you in a way he couldn't really put his finger to. While the rational part of his mind had told him you were just another student, he couldn't help but treat you… differently. Sure, he was always being nice to his students, but as he had walked you to your class he had felt the dire need to be around you for longer. To befriend you, maybe, he had thought. He knew it was wrong and after he had left you to your class, he had promised himself that from that moment on, he would treat you like every other student. 

The only problem was that throughout the whole day, his thoughts had returned to you whenever he had tried to focus on something else. So after his classes, when the time to prepare for tomorrow had come, he found himself thinking about your suggestion. Maybe he should indeed start the class with content and leave the formalities for the end. 

That's where he was at now, with his head in his hands, thinking about the class. He couldn't just ignore you, that wouldn't be fair to anyone. So maybe he would just have to put on a facade and hope that the wicked games his mind was playing with him would stop soon.

Sighing he got up and tiredly grabbed his bag to head out, knocking over a cup of pens in the process. With an exaggerated rolling of his eyes he knelt down and collected the pens that had flown everywhere. As he reached under the cupboard, his fingers didn't touch a pen, as he would've expected, but instead a small piece of metal. Then another, and another. With a frown he pulled the whole thing into the light, finding a ring with several keys attached to it, along with a small piece of metal saying 'And having thee, of all men's pride I boast'.

The smile came upon his lips before he could stop himself and he sat on the ground for a moment, just staring at the keys in his hand. You must've lost them here when you had dropped your bag earlier and missed them in your haste. He hadn't meant to make you uncomfortable by his attempt to help you… it was the polite thing to do but he assumed that it wasn't really the most professional. He quickly collected the remaining pens and then made his way to the door, putting your keys in his bag. Hopefully you had gotten into your home, somehow… he'd hate if something happened to you because of your little incident this morning. 

He would return the keys tomorrow in class, apologize once more for his behavior today and then return to a more professional behavior.

However as he lay in bed that night, restless and frustrated with himself, he wasn't so sure anymore that he would be able to stay away from you after all.

_______________

Tags:

@its-remy-not-ratatouille @just-the-hiddles @inmyworstlies @lotus-eyedindiangoddess @kinghiddlestonanddixon

If you'd like to be tagged in the series comment down below 💗✨💚

[solara-bean]

This is the very extensive and detailed rant of a fed up black, female student of class 2020

-You are free to scroll past this if you want. I really just needed to get this off my chest. But if you have advice or are experiencing a similar situation, feel free to message me-

So first off, I haven't liked going to school since I was 9. And highschool has only deepened my loathing of it. But maybe I don't hate school in general. Maybe I just hate the schools I've gone to ( 4 in total ). This rant is about highschool specifically. Perhaps what I'm about to type is normal and I'm overreacting. But I'm tired of not talking about my problems because I'm worried that I'll sound like an ungrateful brat. Typing/ writing about my issues makes me feel better. And I really need to feel better.

So here are the main points in order of severity: Low income, Advisory, Graphic Arts and Discipline/Work Ethic

Low Income:

I've only ever gone to low income schools in my neighborhood. I hoped high school would be different but thanks to the crappy education of my old school and an even crappier selective enrollment test score, I couldn't get into the schools I wanted. Then again my single mother probably couldn't afford those other schools anyway.

My highschool shares a building with another highschool. And unfortunately they called dibs on the best features and have control of the heating and ac. We don't even have our own gym. We also have the least amount of space with the smallest class being mine of 144 seniors. So there's a lot of packed classrooms.

Speaking of having way too many students, recourses are slim as a result. Our best equipment, chromebooks, need to be reserved weeks in advance by the teacher and even then they still may not be able to get enough of them for their class. Said chromebooks can often be missing keys, not work at all or be stolen easily because of their small size.

A few other issues are terrible lunches ( I've been bringing lunch from home since sophmore year), very limited field trips, mice infestation, very few clubs ( if we have any idk ) and teachers have to pay for just about everything class related.

Advisory:

Advisories were created to prepare us for greek life in college. I honestly think it's to keep everyone in check but ok. Even so I have absolutely 0 interest in anything frat or sorority related ( no offense to those who do ) as well as many of my classmates but advisory is mandatory.

My first 2 years of advisory were hell. Most of my advisory sisters were either people I'd never talk to because we weren't in the same class, had nothing in common or they were straight up terrible people. I should mention that freshman year has the worst students because about 30% don't make to the next grade or just transfer. Most of my advisory sisters I had problems with were in that 30% ( a few had already repeated ).

Since I kept to myself there were very few incidents were I was put into a tense situation with them. The main conflicts involved our advisor, who I guarantee you was not the problem. She was essentially a poor, white, optimistic, young math teacher from out of town that was thrown to the slaughter. And my cowardly self watched not wanting to be next.

She ended up leaving by junior year so what was left of my advisory merged with another and got a new advisor. The only downside is that our new advisor is a firm believer in " sisterhood " and no cliques ( even if you converse easier with a certain group of people and advisory is already a forced clique in itself ). Maybe I'd be more up for advisory events , which we rarely have , if my advisory experience wasn't sullied so early on.

Graphic Arts:

The reason I chose my school was because it had an art class. In seventh grade I knew I wanted to have a career in art and that my talent was lacking but had potential. So you can imagine my horror when I learned that the art teacher had left once I'd gotten there.

I was sad but stayed positive and even highly recommended them to get another art teacher. Then by sophomore we got an art after school program ( 4:25 to 6 twice a week ). I managed to keep my grades the same and take the classes every week for the entire school year. I only missed about 4 days total. For once I actually enjoyed staying after school.

The class taught me so much and I didn't have to wait for the summer to take an art class downtown. Even better I got to interact with other young artists of my race ( there was usually only one other black kid at the summer classes ). Everything was finally looking up.

Then the art galleries happened. The school hosted one per semester. I brought my art to display but I couldn't stay cuz of a shitload of math homework. I got complimented the next day but still regretted not staying. So I vowed to attend the next one with even more pieces than before.

The night finally came and I was hyped. Me and two seniors were in charge of doing caricatures for free ( one senior gave me a dollar tho ). I had fun with that but noticed something weird...none of our art was displayed.

Apparently they cut it out for time along with the theatre clubs performance. And I would've been fine with that. If my family hadn't come.

The icing on the cake was when they turned off the lights in the hallway where we were drawing the caricatures so they could start the show for the performing art groups. I couldn't contact my family until the show was over and booooiii were they pissed. Especially my mom. I was more sad than anything. I had a feeling my school valued the performing art more and this just proved that. At least now we have an actual art class. And my art teacher is awesome and supportive as hell.

Discipline/ Work Ethic:

These are together cuz they've equally fucked me up. Don't get me wrong. I have a 4.2 gpa and 0 detentions.

The problem is my classmates.

I have been to soooo many class/school meetings about behavior and grade issues over the past 4 years. One of which a staff member said " now i know all of ain't bs-in' but why aren't those people helping the ones who are."

Like wow! Thanks. I hate it.

I'd be happy to help my fellow classmates. It's just that their version of help is cheating off my tests and copying my homework.

So yeah my bad. I've been sooo selfish.

I can count on my hand the amount of times I've been told that I'm doing a good job directly and not in front of a class as a way to embarrass them.

This year behavior was so bad that they made a competition to see which advisory would get the least demerits. Big mistake. My heart goes out to all the poor well behaved students who lost because of a few advisory mates. It only takes one. The record for most demerits in a day was 30 I think.

I forgot the competition was going on at some point cuz I've only gotten 2 demerits in 4 years. My advisory won second and we played the waiting game for our prize only to have a pizza party with 17 other advisories. The winning advisory was salty as hell. But hey we got free lunch at least.

I managed to get good grades simply by doing everything on time and having no social life. This was by choice really. I promised myself I'd do better in college but now I gotta study for ap.

It was actually ap literature that gave me a new perspective on my classmates work ethic. We were given a lengthy reading assignment but the due date was stretched by two class days and the weekend. Even though I'd been mentally drained lately ( by lately I mean since the 1st week of school ) and had other work to do, I completed it with slightly less annotations.

Upon the due date I discovered that I and one other classmate completed the reading. Even the valedictorian didn't do it!!! And this wasn't a one time thing either.

In fact my class is notorious for never doing work on time. I'm talking completing-a-project-in-the-class before-the-it's -due- for bad. And some people I understand. Some of them really need help and resources. But every one else. Excuses excuses. The extended due dates gave me extra free time but it made the work I completed on time feel pointless. Like I could've just not done it and not face any consequences.

I tried that and was stressed out all day to the point of doing the work anyway. School's got me whipped I guess.

So if I hate highschool so much why do I go on time everyday, miss at most 3 days a year, do my work, behave myself and study??? Simple. I'm trying to get out. Having a good gpa and test scores will get me more scholarships cuz God knows my mom can't afford art college ( I got into my first choice so yeah:). Really highschool has just been a means to an end.

I've had my good days and have made some friends but I really just wanna run to hills with my diploma in hand. And thats what's kept me going. But now we're quarantined.

And my school has decided to make work optional.....and I have all A's......

Needless to say I've barely done any work at all. If we never have to go back theres a good chance I won't. I'm so numb at this point that I don't care that we may not have a prom ( aka the only dance I was ever going to go to ).

I'm just done. Done and fed up.

But thank you to my mom, family, bestie, teachers and my classmates that actually want to have a future for keeping me going. If I don't completely give up it's thanks to you. Future me, I hope you get everything you want at art school:)

[jamescrumpblog]

10 PROJECT MANAGEMENT TIPS FOR NON-PROJECT MANAGERS

Project management is an increasingly important business function, essential to organizations looking to increase the efficiency and timeliness of their work.

The official responsibilities of project managers typically include initiating, planning, executing, monitoring, and closing projects. They also oversee several key tasks in pursuit of successful project completion, including assembling a project team, monitoring project budget, setting timelines, overseeing deliverable, and communicating with stakeholders.

It’s not only project managers that are tasked these types of responsibilities, however. Even without the title of ‘project manager’, many professionals can still benefit from learning the skills and techniques project managers utilize every day. Read on to explore 10 tailored tips to help you improve your project management skills, even if you aren’t a project manager.

1. Begin with the End in Mind

Through his years in the industry, Joe Griffin—certified PMP and associate teaching professor in Northeastern’s Master of Science in Project Management program—has discovered that all successful projects have a specific starting and ending point. “Like a marathon runner envisioning the finish line, if you understand that arc and constantly envision your goal, you’ll remain true to it,” he explains. Envisioning your end goal is also impactful when keeping distractions at bay and remaining focused and on-task through the completion of your work.

2. Understand Your Goal

When you’re managing any kind of project, it is essential that you understand your overall mission before diving deeply into the many tasks required to complete it, Griffin explains.

During the process, for example, you may find yourself confronted by situations that aim to influence you to change the project’s direction. When situations like this arise, Griffin suggests asking yourself, “What do I need to produce for these influencers to meet their expectations?”

“These items are considered ‘mission critical’ and, ideally, you should feel comfortable declining other requests. Really,” he says.

Although it may seem daunting to say “No” to a request (particularly if it’s from a supervisor,) when you have taken the time to understand the vision of the project beforehand, what you’ve actually done is develop the tools and language needed to properly articulate the realistic goals of the work. In doing this, you will help keep everyone on track toward that predetermined objective.

3. Be Considerate

On the personal side of project management, it’s important to take time to communicate with family and friends about the scope of your work, your deadlines, and the amount of focus required to accomplish your goals. This will create a much-needed understanding of your limitations as you work toward the project’s completion.

“When you’re managing a project, it’s easy to get so bogged down that you forget life is actually going on without you,” Griffin says. “Come up for air and let your colleagues and family understand your needs.”

From an in-office angle, it’s important to communicate with your team members about your schedule, working style, and personal life in order to manage expectations.

“Keep your colleagues and classmates informed about your schedule,” Griffin says. “When do you work best? What time do you reserve for personal commitments? Be clear and firm.”

4. Manage Risks

“Risk management is hugely important to project management,” Griffin says, offering the example of an adult learner trying to go back to school while simultaneously balancing work and family responsibilities. He explains the importance of identifying what the risks are in this instance and developing a “risk response strategy” that can be implemented if things don’t go according to plan.

An example of a risk-response strategy within this scenario, “could be as simple as realizing you don’t work well at night,” he says. “Maybe you’re a morning person. Plan a classwork strategy that mitigates the risk of unproductivity. Set aside time in the morning for working and let people know that that is ‘your’ time. Set up a process that works for you—even if it’s at 2 a.m.—and stick to it.”

5. Avoid Perfectionism

It’s human nature to aim for perfection when taking ownership of a project or task, yet there are dozens of factors and unforeseen circumstances that have the ability to negatively influence outcomes. For this reason, Griffin explains that employees should forget about perfectionism and instead focus on simply meeting the predetermined project goals. If the completed project meets the overall expectations of its stakeholders, then you should feel as if your project was a success.

Rather than slowing down the process by focusing on every little detail that could be improved, Griffin also suggests concentrating on big-picture success instead. He provides this example from the classroom as a representation of this idea:

“Each week, my classes have discussion board questions, and students need to post three times. Some post three times, others post 15. You can get full credit either way. Maybe it matters to you personally whether you get a 3.7 versus a 3.4, but nobody else is going to know or care…If you’re balancing other priorities—work, family, and life—recognize that time management and restraint is a big part of success.”

6. Effectively Manage Your Time

Managing your time effectively is a vital part of successfully completing any project in any setting. There are several time management strategies you can employ in your personal and professional lives to help you achieve success.

Having a well-defined project plan is one of the most productive strategies for time management, as it affects every phase of a project from beginning to end. If you attempt to execute a project without a plan, you will ultimately spend more time throughout the process deciding what needs to be done and how it should take shape. On the other hand, creating a thorough plan ahead of time acts as a road map for the project and eliminates the common time wasters that would otherwise be encountered.

Additionally, communication with stakeholders is an important aspect of time management. Delays in communication are some of the biggest time-related issues that project managers and other professionals encounter. To combat this, strive to keep stakeholders actively engaged throughout all stages of a project in order to maintain timeliness.

7. Avoid Multitasking

Although multitasking seems like the best way to get several things done in a fraction of the time, there is one problem: multitasking doesn’t actually work. In fact, our brains aren’t wired to handle more than one or, at most, two complex tasks at a time.

Research from the American Psychological Association found that switching between tasks can actually cause up to a 40 percent loss in productivity, as switching from one task to another causes us to lose focus, attention, and, most importantly, productivity.

Instead, there are strategies you can use to avoid multitasking and complete your work as efficiently as possible. For example, cutting down on interruptions of all kinds can help you improve your focus and boost efficiency, as doing so reduces the frequency of disturbances that can force you to split your attention.

8. Use the Proper Tools

In a world where efficiency is key, professionals need to take advantage of the tools available to them that can help make their jobs easier. Project management software tools can help managers, administrators, and other employees deliver projects as effectively as possible by offering features that allow you to manage tasks, track progress, and streamline communication.

When choosing which tools to use, it is important to analyze your needs and identify which options are able to meet your requirements. Having the right project management apps or software in your tool belt can help you adequately communicate with your team, stay organized, and deliver projects on time.

For those who want to explore the features and benefits of different tools before making a commitment, there are free project management software options worth considering.

9. Get Familiar with Project Management Methodologies

Regardless of whether or not you hold a formal project management position or see yourself pursuing one in the future, the core methodologies of project management can be valuable to virtually all professionals.

Project management methodologies are considered to be the tools, techniques, processes, and best practices that guide someone through a set of tasks efficiently.

10. Pursue a Degree in Project Management

One of the best ways to refine your project management skills is to pursue a degree in the field. Companies are challenged to deliver projects on time, on budget, and according to specifications, and without skilled project managers, these tasks are nearly impossible to complete.

If you are looking to build your project management skill set and advance your career, consider whether earning a master’s in project management is worth it in the pursuit of your goals.

[bunnyhani]

Safe Haven

Pairing: Platonic! Han Jisung x Reader, Romantic Hwang Hyunjin x Reader

Genre: Fluff and angst

Summary: You love your boyfriend Hyunjin, that was for sure. And somehow, because of the amount of love you held for him, you did some stupid decisions. Including holding your concerns and struggles to yourself, in order to become a safe haven to him. Thankfully your best friend is there to knock you out of that mindset and makes you talk to Hyunjin. You're going to be just fine.

Warnings: Cursing, angst.

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You quickly gathered your stuff into your backpack and dashed out of the classroom, where you had previously sat for two hours. Jisung was hot on your tail as the two of you ran across the campus to where the next class was held. Although Jisung was an idol, he too had his limits. When both of you reached the classroom's door, Jisung was leaning onto his knees, while you were panting and honestly ready to collapse. You had made it before the class started, so you had a minute to spare. Not either one of you said a thing, before the harsh beating of your heart had stopped and you didn't feel like you were on the verge of passing out. You got upright and stared at Jisung.

"Never again. Never running through the whole campus. I almost died!" You started deadpanning, but nearing at the end of your sentence, you had started to whine. Jisung took a breath and nodded, eyes wide.

"Yeah no kidding. This shit isn't worth it. I would rather just be late like a half minute rather than killing myself and you on the process of trying to get to lecture on time. Plus miss Kim is always late", he said. You nodded in agreement.

"Maybe dying would be better than sitting two hours with miss Kim, trying to understand and learn math", you muttered as the said teacher opened the door to let all the students in. You and Jisung exchanged glances and sighed, heads hanging low as you walked into the two hours of torture.

You rubbed your head and stared at the math problem that was right in front of your eyes, written neatly into your notebook. It just didn't make sense and you let your head fall against the surface of the wooden table. You whined a bit at the sharp pain that you felt on your forehead, but made no signs of moving what so ever. Jisung groaned beside you and you heard a similar thud, as Jisung copied your actions. You both just lied there, for 5 minutes and just cursing the person who decided that these equations were needed.

"Tell me, Jisung. Where in the hell would I ever need this equation? To absolutely nothing! So why on earth am I learning this?" You raged as you lifted your head up and slammed your notebook shut in anger and frustration. Jisung flinched at the loudness of your voice, but didn't protest against your statement.

You and Jisung have been friends for a longer while. Probably four or five years to be exact. You two had gotten to know each other, when the boy had came back from Malaysia to try and audition for some company. You were there just to support your cousin, who was also auditioning, when you had met Jisung. Your cousin had left to get something to eat and leaving you to keep an eye on how quickly the other auditioners went by. You weren't mad at all, knowing that the stores were packed, you rather had stayed at the building, in case your cousin's turn came quicker than expected.

Jisung was waiting for his turn anxiously, lower lip caught in between his teeth. He seriously looked like a scared squirrel. You were also very anxious and still a bit new to speaking korean, you still managed to say hi to him. He had greeted you back and the next few minutes was a bit awkward, but in 20-30 minutes, you two were talking about everything and anything. Jisung didn't make fun of your weird accented, broken korean, but tried to get you talk more. He was supportive and encouraging, in those 30 minutes that you had been talking with him. Of course, you were still self conscious of everything you said and did, but that was nothing new. You were just a ball of anxiety.

When your cousin came back, she was nervous for two reasons: 1. She was worried about her auditions. 2. Who were you talking to, so comfortably? After explaining briefly what was going on, she smiled softly and joined the converstation. When your cousin went to audition, you and Jisung waited with shaking hands and tension so thick, that it could be cut with a knife. Jisung tried to reassuare, that everything would go well. He proved himself to be a very nice emotional support.

At the end of the day, you and your cousin waited for Jisung's turn and waited for him to come back. Your cousin had to leave, as she had some plans with her family, but you were alone, so you just stayed and waited. You had nothing better to do either way. You were alone in a foreign country, your only relative also had some plans to do and just sitting alone in the dorms with your roommate (who you didn't know well) and awkwardly try to interact with her. Staying and waiting for Jisung was the best decision you had made right after deciding that you would move to Korea to study. Jisung smiled brightly, when he came back and noticed that you had kept your word and had stayed. You and him talked some more, exchanged numbers and also found out that you two were going to the same school. To say that you were excited was an understatement. After that, you have been basically glued to each other's sides. Well... As much as he could with his busy schedule.

Finally, when the two hours of math was finally over, you and Jisung sluggishly dragged yourselves out of the classroom. Your eyelids felt heavy and you yawned, so that your eyes watered. You just wiped your eyes tiredly and Jisung quietly said:

"I feel like my last brain cells just died." You tiredly snorted and said:

"I wasn't aware that you had any at all. But yeah same." Jisung just jabbed his elbow to your ribs and and you groaned, slapping his hand away from you. You glared at him halfheartedly and Jisung responded to it by smiling innocently.

"Jisungg... I'm so tired, that I feel like I'm going to... I don't know, faint", you said, voice suggesting that you were being sarcastic. You actually weren't. You just didn't want to worry Jisung too much, but you just had to get off of your chest. Jisung glanced at you, frown tugging his lips, eyebrows furrowed. He looked concerned and you felt bad for saying it. Jisung knew you well enough to know that you were actually serious and suggested:

"Do you want some coffee? We have a 20 minute break now, we can go get some." You just nodded. You knew that if you didn't get any caffeine to your system soon, you would collapse or start crying, because of how exhausted you were. Neither of those options sounded appealing. You usually didn't like to drink coffee, but right now, you didn't have a choice.

Jisung sat next to you, scrolling through his phone, but every so often peeking at you to make sure you were doing okay, as you drank the iced coffee, that you just bought from the grocery store near the school. Now you had returned and were sitting on the school benches. It didn't take too long, before you were done with your coffee (you actually loved iced coffees) and stood up to throw away the cup. You got up too quickly though. Your vision got dark, ears ringing and head pounding, you swayed on your feet. You didn't exactly understand what was going on or what were you doing, but you did realize that you had to take support of something. You tried to grab onto anything that could stabilize you and prevent you from falling and possibly injuring yourself. You presumably took a tight hold on Jisung's jacket and gripped so hard that your knuckles were white. You felt Jisung grab onto you. Finally, you got your vision back and your ears stopped ringing. Jisung's eyes were wide and the boy's hands were holding your shoulders.

"Jesus, Y/N. Are you okay?" He asked frantically. You nodded and breathed out deeply. Even though, you said that you were fine and that you had just stood up too quickly, he still insisted on walking with linked arms. The rest of the school day consisted of you snoozing on clases and Jisung being glued to your side, making sure that you actually didn't fall over. Your normally good observation skills were now severly lacking, due to tiredness, so the boy became also your eyes, pulling you away when you were about to bump into people. You did feel guilty for making him do this for you, but you just were so tired. Also, Jisung kept reassuaring that he really didn't mind doing this for you, saying that you would do the same for him. It wasn't a lie, your tired mind couldn't come up with any protests or comebacks so you decided to just nod.

The school day ended, you and Jisung made some plans that you would hang out in the dorms to do homework and work on your projects. The trip to the dorms went pretty quickly and you started to perk up. You were a bit annoyed that you were basically dead in school, where you were supposed to be awake and focus and now when you didn't need to focus your attention 100% to something, you started to feel normal. Jisung didn't mind. At all actually. He was just glad that you were feeling better. He comforted that now you can focus and catch up on the studies that you missed during the day. You agreed easily and walked to the Stray Kids dorms.

The dorms were empty and silent, when the two of you got there. You shrugged it off, heading to the kitchen table. Jisung followed behind you and scattered your books to the table. You glanced at Jisung and nodded, with a determinded look on your face. You two worked effectively, coversing at the same time about the topics that you were working on. Jisung had always been easy to work with, at least to you. With him you could easily propose an idea without fearing that he might make fun of you. At least seriously. Slowly but surely, the pile of homework started to decrease, but so did your patience. You gritted your teeth, as you were faced with math problems again. Jisung was trying to understand the concept of it all, in order to help you both out. Suddenly, a light bulp went on in your head.

"I got an idea! If you try to figure out the concept of that bullshit, I'll try to learn how to teach you that one english assingment, that you have a hard time with", you said, with a bright smile. Jisung tapped his chin with his index finger and then pointing it at you, accusingly:

"Are you just trying to escape math homework?"

"Yes", you admitted easily. Jisung chuckled at your honesty, but agreed. For some reason, that one english grammar exercise just didn't make sense to him. After the little negotiation, you dove back to work.

In the span of next two and a half hours, you had managed to finish all the homework. In that time you and Jisung had the time to have 2 mental breakdowns and down maybe a few cups of coffee. To say that you were exhausted didn't feel like it was enough to describe how you were feeling. Jisung watched as you laid your head on the table and sighed. He observed your state. You looked absolutely wrecked and burned out. Only he had seen you in that state, he realized. Not even your boyfriend, Hyunjin had seen you like that. In fact, Hyunjin had seen you, when you were smiling and laughing. Or just... Blank, but never when you were truly having a hard time.

"Y/N... Have you ever realized, that you have never shown your weaker states in front of Hyunjin? Why? Do you not trust him?" He asked, straight to the point. He might be your friend yes, but so was Hyunjin. He wasn't accusing you, but he was curious. Your wide eyes told him, that he had caught you off guard. You were silent as you thought about it.

"I have kind of realised, that I tend to do that. I don't know... I feel like I need to be strong and not to burden him with my own problems. I'm his safe haven", you replied, eyebrows furrowed and lips tugged into a frown.

"You know you can trust him, right? He's understanding and wouldn't judge you, because you're a human too. And more importantly, he's your boyfriend", he said. You nodded in agreement.

"I guess I was trying to... I don't know.. Be something more than a human apparently. I feel like he deserved a space where he can be comfortably without any stress or anything", you replied, playing with your fingers. Jisung's frown disappeared and his eyes turned fond at your explanation. You truly were one the most selfless people he had ever met. He admired and hated you for it. You continuously ignored your own needs, emotions in favor to help others.

"You know that's not going to do any good to you if you keep doing this. Not to you, yourself or Hyunjin. What if one day he finds out that you've been bottling all this inside you and starts to question that do you trust him. Or what if you start lashing out?" he asked. Even though you didn't want to admit it, those thoughts had occurred to you too. It gave you the shivers and made you want to curl into a ball.

"Yeah I know... I just don't know how to open up about these things so suddenly. Like am I supposed to dump all my burdens and worries to him?" you asked, voice feeble. Jisung froze. Well, he hadn't thought about it that far. He smiled sheepishly and scratched his neck. You huffed out an amused chuckle and rolled your eyes. A calm, controlled silence settled over you two as you both got sucked into your thoughts. You thought about the ways how to open up about your hardships without overwhelming Hyunjin. You tapped lightly on the kitchen table, where your books were waiting to get picked up and put back into the backpack. Your mind was too far away from this world to even realize something like that. Your pondering session got interrupted by the very person, who you both were thinking about: Hyunjin. The front door opened and closed quite briskly and you heard the shoes clank to the floor as they were toed off. You and Jisung simultaneously turned to look at the kitchen entrance, only to your boyfriend march in with a tired smile, which only got larger at the sight of you. He loped the last few steps and captured you into his arms.

"Hello, baby", he whispered quietly into your ear and pecked your cheeks. You squirmed a bit and smiled happily. Jisung just eyed the two of you softly. You two cared about each other so much and people needed to be blind in order not to see it. You leaned against Hyunjin and sighed tiredly. Your face was a bit pale and eye circles started to resemble a raccoon's mask, Hyunjin noticed. The warning bells in his head started to go off at the sight of you, so tired and exhausted.

"Are you okay?" he asked as he craned his neck to look at your face. You made quick eye contact with Jisung, he nodded firmly. You swallowed thickly and said:

"Not really... School's crushing me currently." Jisung gave you pointed look.

"And today was really hard." Another pointed look.

"I dozed off in many classes." And Jisung  groaned and said:

"Y/N nearly passed out today." Your eyes widened and you reached forward over the table to swat him rather aggressively. You heard Hyunjin gasp behind your back, but you were focused on smacking the life out of your best friend. Jisung tried to block you, but his attemps were in vain. That was until Hyunjin decided to take a pity on Jisung and pulled you back, by wrapping his long arms around your waist.

"What happened?" Hyunjin asked, he sounded corcerned, terrified even.

"Jisung is being over-dramatic! I just got up too quickly!" You said while throwing death glares at Jisung. Jisung stuck out his tongue and crossed his arms. After awhile of thinking he finally opened his mouth.

"Yeah that too. But that most definitely wasn't the only factor that played a part in this. We've had exams, group projects and essays coming at us mercilessly so none of us have been sleeping nearly enough. You're tired, Y/N. It's okay", Jisung reasoned to you. You stared at your best friend in.. awe? Respect? You didn't know, but what did you know, was that your body relaxed at his words. Like you had been unconsciously tensed and his words were the key to let yourself relax. Maybe it was the fact, that you felt like now your feelings were justified. The feeling of exhaustion and getting reminded that other people still had it worse than you. Of course you knew that it was true, but it didn't mean that your feelings should've been just pushed aside. You just leaned against Hyunjin, who had been quiet this whole time, rubbing your arms comfortingly. Now when the tension was gone, your body was lax and the real tiredness started to make your eyes droopy.

"Okay, now we will take a nap and talk about this after. Okay, baby?" Hyunjin suggested. Well, it was more like command. You agreed easily, you were getting tired again.

"But what about you, Jisung? Will you be fine?" You asked, eyes scanning him. Jisung smiled gently and shook his head, replying:

"Yes, I will be fine. I'll take a nap as well, I'll just clean up the kitchen table. Just rest." And with that, you let Hyunjin drag you to the dorm's bedroom. He gently pushed you onto the bed and let you situate yourself comfortably on the bed, before joining you. He wrapped himself around you, cuddling tightly your back, then pressed his face into the crook of your neck. You usually were kind of awkward when people got close to your neck, but you made an exception with Hyunjin. You could feel his heartbeat against your back, his breath fanning across the skin of your neck. You felt the most comfortable, that you've felt in weeks. So you let your droopy eyelids close and fell into the dreamland. It wasn't haunted by nightmares this time.

The next time you opened your eyes, you noticed that you were actually facing Hyunjin. He wasn't wrapped around your back anymore, his nose was touching yours and you could almost count his eyelashes from this distance. You didn't have the heart to move from your position at all, he looked so peaceful like this. Sleeping, no signs of any stress or concerns. You smiled softly at him and let your hand wonder through his hair, after remembering that the boy could probably sleep through the apocalypse. His hair was fluffy, a bit rough from all the hair dye. You let your hand trail his features with light touch, just gently caressing the skin as you went by. Then his eyelids started to flutter, then those beautiful brown eyes opened. His gaze seemed a little out of focus for a moment, then they looked up to your eyes. Your breathing hitched a bit, but nobody needed to know that. Your lips lifted themselves into a smile, the corners of your eyes crinkling a bit. The amount of adoration you felt towards the boy, was almost too much to handle, so you kissed his nose. Hyunjin broke into a smile too.

"What was that for?" he asked, voice a bit hoarse from the lack of use. You just shook your head and mumbled something about him being cute. His cheeks flushed into a pretty pink color and laughed a little. You cooed at him again, this time lightly pinching his cheeks. He just let you do it, before pushing your hands away from his face with an adorable giggle. After that, there was a silence. Not an awkward one, not at all. You were just fondly gazing at each other. Then Hyunjin opened his mouth and said quietly:

"We should talk." There was a moment of confusion, but you soon understood what he was talking about. You sighed heavily, but nodded. It had to be done. You fiddled with your sleeves and looked around the room. Hyunjin sighed and took a hold of your hands, halting their movements.

"You're not getting interrogated here. I just want to hear how you've been doing lately", he said with a soft yet firm voice, not exactly leaving room for arguments. You nodded and said:

"I'm just going to spill everything. I don't want to drag this conversation any longer than it needs to be." The boy in front of you nodded and squeezed your hands.

"Yeah so... I might have been an idiot for the last few months. I may or may not have kept my struggles and concerns from you in order to become a safe haven for you. You've been so stressed and I just... I don't even know what was I even thinking when I made that decision. I guess I was just thinking about the amount of stress you already had about your job. I didn't want to be a reason for your concern. So that's how it went on", you told. In movies and in books they always said how relieving it felt to finally confess your long held concerns, but you just felt neutral. Calm. There was no wave of relief or tension. Just calm. You waited for Hyunjin to process it all, when he was done, he asked, stuttering a bit:

"I.. Okay... Is there a specific thing that's been bothering you?" You stopped to think about it. Only one reason popped to your mind, really.

"School. It's been trying really hard to bury me under. It's been stealing my sleep and by taking my sleep, it simultaneously made my focus.. Crap", you admitted bluntly. Hyunjin sighed.

"Is that why you nearly passed out today?" He asked seriously. You nodded, Hyunjin tut-tutted at you, making you lower your head sheepishly. Hyunjin grabbed your chin gently and lifted your head so he could look at you in the eyes. He took time to just observe you. He wasn't mad at you for your actions, because he understood why you did it and were glad that came clean about it to him. It just showed that you cared about this relationship.

"I'm not mad... I'm just concerned about you, it's okay to show that you're tired and exhausted, even though it does hurt me a bit. But that's normal, that's how relationships work: Both parties take turns to worry about each other. It just shows that you care. So you shouldn't feel bad about being tired... Being human", he gently scolded you. You nodded. Then you surged forward to tackle him into a hug. You held him as close as you possibly could. Hyunjin smiled softly and brought his hands around you. You two were going to be just fine.

"We're going to have to thank Jisung. He was the one who made me realize that I really need to talk about this. That what I'm doing right now isn't healthy", you confessed. Hyunjin just nodded against your shoulder, pulling back and having the most beautiful smile on his lips that you've ever seen.

"I'm still proud that you did it. Maybe Jisung did encourage you, but it was still you, who made the decision to talk to me about it. So give yourself a bit more credit here", he said, while stroking your cheek with gentle motions. You leaned into his touch and looked at him with adoration. You were so lucky to have him. And of course you were lucky to have a best friend like Jisung.

[paytonsportfolio]

Prospectus with Annotated Bibliography

Introduction

How should the progress of physical literacy be observed and recorded under the conditions of our unhealthy societal habits? Due to the constant changes in our society, physical literacy is becoming a popular, yet complex concept to live by. People across the globe are becoming more aware of physical literacy, specifically because of the current obesity crisis. Our society is finally realizing the lack of physical activity in the average human’s everyday life; however, it is not just physical activity that we are lacking. Our society is unaware of how important it is to take care of yourself, whether it’s your mental or physical health. Working at my university’s recreation center, I, along with my colleagues and patrons, are very familiar with the concept of physical literacy and deal with health and wellness every day. This paper will discuss the overall idea of physical literacy. This paper will also look at the different ways physical literacy is taught in today’s education systems and how physical literacy can be integrated throughout one’s entire life.  

Background

Physical literacy is beyond the basic idea of reading, writing, and speaking. There are many different definitions of physical literacy, but they all have the same concept. Overall, physical literacy is the foundation of a healthy life. The development of physical literacy starts at a young age. Children start to learn and develop physical literacy once they start attending school, as early as preschool and or kindergarten. PE majors and teachers, exercise science majors, like health and fitness instructors, and other health and wellness academic fields must be very knowledgeable about the concept. In this case, we are talking about the fundamental movements of your body, and concepts like having confidence within yourself.  

In the article, “Physical literacy in the field of physical education – A challenge and a possibility,” Lundvall mentions Whitehead’s first definition of physical literacy discusses the idea of “physical performance aspects of movement that enable a particular goal to be achieved, or elements of movement that need attention” (114). Part of physical literacy is understanding that your body has limits and acknowledging those limits. Physical Literacy helps humans, not just athletes, recognize their body’s boundaries. As you get older, your body starts to not work as well. Everyday activities, like walking up and down stairs, can become difficult, so it is very crucial to know your body’s limits.

Physical Literacy in Physical Education

Whether you realize it or not, everyone formally learns about physical literacy in their early years of education and is developed with time and repetition. It is introduced to children at such a young age to influence them to be aware of their health for the rest of their lives. Children start learning the skills of physical literacy when they play freely and or with guidance, followed by the fundamental movements; however, Lundvall believes that physical literacy isn’t just about the fundamentals. She uses the idea of building blocks. Once you learn a basic, fundamental movement, you can learn to execute more difficult movements; for example, you can learn to do jumping jacks or ride a bike. These things require you to have balance and move specific body parts a certain way. Lundvall also argues that physical literacy focuses on individual skills; however, you must look at it with a broad view. That single skill can be utilized with other movements or everyday duties. Lundvall also describes that being motivated is an essential component of the “building blocks of physical literacy” (115). When you are no longer motivated, your self-esteem goes down, along with your self-respect.  

Once a child had learned the fundamentals, they learn the more complex movements, which can include a sport like baseball or soccer. Playing sports like soccer and baseball will give students the opportunity to be physically active outside of the classroom, boost self-esteem, confidence, and will generally lead them to a healthier lifestyle; however, it’s not about creating the ultimate athlete. The concept of physical literacy thinks less about competition and more about the overall wellbeing and health of a person.  

Physical Education courses should be a diverse course to give the children plenty of opportunities to find something that they feel comfortable with. Giving students the opportunity to work inside and outside is a good example of diversity in the classroom. Allowing students to have different opportunities, like working in a different environment or doing nonstandard activities, gives students the chance to find an activity that they enjoy. Once a child has found an activity that they enjoy, they will start to develop confidence. This development of confidence and comfortability with a certain activity, and within themselves, makes it more likely for the child to continue being physically active for the rest of their life.  

Physical Education teachers live and teach by the means of physical literacy. They want students to be confident and motivated to be physically active, but it is hard for a child to be confident when the curriculum requires teachers to categorize students based on their performance. This makes students feel insecure and uncomfortable, exactly what teachers don’t want them feeling like.  Lundvall believes that physical education teachers should stop assessing students “based on how fast, high, or strong a student’s performance is” (116). PE teachers must think back to the idea physical literacy focusing on the development of a child and not how well or poor they perform.  PE educators want their students to develop the fundamentals movements of physical literacy and beyond. They don’t want their students to stop their growth because of a silly test in gym class telling them they aren’t fast enough.  

Society’s Impact on Physical Literacy

Along with physical literacy, eating habits are developed during one’s childhood. According to the authors of the first cited article, “A multilevel intervention...,” a little over a quarter (29% to be exact) of preschool students in Canada eat the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables and only 23% eat the recommended amount of grains (2). Children not intaking the right source of food will cause them to not be as physically strong and less fit. The lack of greens and grains could also lead to obesity, which could cause them to be insecure and less confident with the pressures that come from social media. 

Our society’s younger generations have established different values and habits than those that are older. Children don’t have play dates in the backyard with their best friend from school. Nowadays, children will spend their entire day inside, their eyes glued to a screen, playing video games, eating Doritos. These bad habits follow children for the rest of their lives and can cause them to become obese, unless they put an end to it. Being aware of and developing physical literacy can prevent this current issue.  

Social media has placed an enormous amount of pressure on children, teenagers, and young adults. Once a celebrity is photographed, the photo is uploaded to the internet, where everyone can see, and makes young adults feel the need to look like this celebrity because they have the ‘perfect body.’ What these young adults don’t know is that most, if not all, of these pictures are photoshopped. Most people looking at their favorite celebrities through social media feel insecure and less confident about their own bodies. What physical literacy is made to do is to prevent things like this. People endorsing physical literacy want their peers to be confident and comfortable in their own body and how their body works.  

Conclusion

Teaching children the concepts of physical literacy in a way that they enjoy is a start to a healthy life. The goal of PE is to educate and familiarize students with physical literacy, with the hopes of students taking the physical activity and engage in it, in some way, for the rest of their lives. Having a good relationship with physical literacy can help you have an even better relationship with your body. It is well known that the obesity rates in humans all over the world are very high. Being familiar with physical literacy can prevent that. Developing a positive attitude towards your body will boost your confidence extremely. You’ll want to be active and explore new things. Physical literacy can boost self-esteem, develop confidence and fundamental movements that you will use for the rest of your life, and is generally key to a happy and healthy life. 

Annotated Bibliography

Advanced Solutions International, Inc. (n.d.). Physical Literacy . Retrieved October 22, 2019, from https://www.shapeamerica.org/events/physicalliteracy.aspx.

In this article, the representatives of SHAPE America discuss their definition of physical literacy and inform the reader what the national standards of physical literacy in physical education are. The organization focuses on the effect of physical literacy in the United States alone. SHAPE America explains there has been a major change to America’s standards of physical education. The term and goal of physical literacy has been changed.  They discuss the standards of physical literacy in PE teacher’s classrooms and curriculum.  

Bélanger, M., Humbert, L., Vatanparast, H., Ward, S., Muhajarine, N., Chow, A. F., … Leis, A. (2016). A multilevel intervention to increase physical activity and improve healthy eating and physical literacy among young children (ages 3-5) attending early childcare centres: the Healthy Start-Départ Santé cluster randomised controlled trial study protocol. BMC Public Health, 16(1). doi: 10.1186/s12889-016-2973-5

The authors of this article focus on the health of our world’s current children and how we can put an end to the obesity epidemic. They frequently discuss nutrition and use data from the diet of Canadian students to support their argument that our children’s health needs improvement with the help of physical literacy. The authors refer to an intervention program, Healthy Start-Départ Santé, for the majority of their argument. The program conducted a study on children in preschool or childcare systems to partake in the intervention and evaluate the outcomes. The purpose of the study is to improve their physical literacy and overall health. They supply multiple charts and diagrams explaining the study’s procedure.  

Edwards, L. C., Bryant, A. S., Keegan, R. J., Morgan, K., & Jones, A. M. (2016). Definitions, Foundations and Associations of Physical Literacy: A Systematic Review. Sports Medicine, 47(1), 113–126. doi: 10.1007/s40279-016-0560-7

The authors of this article performed a systematic review on physical literacy. They analyzed 50 articles that met their criteria: written in English, “peer reviewed, published by March 2016, and conceptualized physical literacy” (113). The researchers focused on three main areas. This helped them define physical literacy and its properties, foundations, and identity. Analyzing the 50 articles allowed for the authors, Edwards, Bryant, Keegan, Morgan, and Jones, to also identify physical literacy’s role in physical education.  

Ellerton, H. (2019, April 12). What is physical literacy and why is it important for children today? Retrieved from https://humankinetics.me/2018/06/27/what-is-physical-literacy/.

In this article, Ellerton asks her readers why physical literacy is important to children in this current era. She explains her understanding of physical literacy and refers to a physical literacy author for her definition. Ellerton identifies the present obesity epidemic and the effect that physical literacy could have on the prevention of obesity. In one section of her article, she breaks down the different environments where physical literacy can be developed with the corresponding activities that can be played in the environment. She uses a chart to display data about a group of sports or activities and compares them to the type of fundamental skills that the activity can entail. In Ellerton’s summary she engages her readers her readers by asking multiple questions about physical literacy.

George, A., Rohr, L., & Byrne, J. (2016). Impact of Nintendo Wii Games on Physical Literacy in Children: Motor Skills, Physical Fitness, Activity Behaviors, and Knowledge. Sports, 4(1), 3. doi: 10.3390/sports4010003

In this article, Amanda George, Linda Rohr, and Jeannette Byrne discuss a non-traditional way of being physically literate, playing active video games. The authors evaluate a study that examines the effect of active video games on children’s physical literacy. They predict that the children involved int eh investigation will increase physical literacy, motivation, and confidence. They use multiple tables from the experiment to show the readers the results. George, Rohr, and Byrne concluded that active video games are a good alternative to traditional physical activity.  

Guo, Y., Justice, L. M., Kaderavek, J. N., & Mcginty, A. (2010). The literacy environment of preschool classrooms: contributions to childrens emergent literacy growth. Journal of Research in Reading, 35(3), 308–327. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9817.2010.01467.x

The authors of this article conducted a study on the classroom environment and resources of physical literacy for preschoolers’ emergent literacy. They looked to answer three questions about the classroom’s environment - the relationship between the child’s physical literacy environment and increase in literacy, positives between the physical and psychological environment, and the association between physical and psychological literacy with a preschooler’s literacy improvement throughout a year of schooling. The researchers randomly selected over 200 children from the preschool classrooms. The authors used various tables to display their findings about the literacy and classroom environments.  

Lundvall, S. (2015). Physical literacy in the field of physical education – A challenge and a possibility. Journal of Sport and Health Science, 4(2), 113–118. doi: 10.1016/j.jshs.2015.02.001

In this article, Lundvall conducted a search for scholarly articles about physical literacy and analyzes reoccurring themes in the articles. She narrowed down her selection of articles to papers published fifteen years before her experiment was conducted and focused on three specific themes. She also indicates physical literacy’s role in education, evaluation, and the development in sport. The foundation of movement is emphasized in her work. She asks her readers questions that will eventually be answered throughout the paper, making it an interactive piece of text.  

Roetert, E. P., & Macdonald, L. C. (2015). Unpacking the physical literacy concept for K-12 physical education: What should we expect the learner to master? Journal of Sport and Health Science, 4(2), 108–112. doi: 10.1016/j.jshs.2015.03.002

The authors present an essay that clearly states the concept of physical literacy and its role in different countries. Physical literacy’s association to physical education is also discussed frequently throughout this paper. The authors use standards and infographics of a health specified organization in America to support the idea of physical literacy being integrated into the world’s education systems. Roetert and Macdonald discuss different ways of teaching and lessons that should be taught to children in order for them to understand physical literacy.

Savelsbergh, G. J., & Wormhoudt, R. (2018). Creating adaptive athletes: the athletic skills model for enhancing physical literacy as a foundation for expertise. Movement & Sport Sciences - Science & Motricité, (102), 31–38. doi: 10.1051/sm/2019004

Savelsbergh and Wormhoudt constructed this paper to advertise the athletic skills model (ASM) as a fabric for the enhancement and development of physical literacy. The authors support their thesis with three implications that they claim the ASM helps improve physical literacy and state the goal of ASM. Throughout the paper, the author focus on a sport standpoint, explaining that an athlete should first be well-rounded, or become a multi-athlete, followed by expertise and specialization in one sport.  

Stanec, Amanda. “PE Lesson 1: Physical Literacy Is Not Physical Activity.” Move Live Learn, 2 Dec. 2013, http://www.movelivelearn.com/discover-the-multi-faceted-elements-of-physical-literacy-to-best-enable-the-sum-of-its-parts/.

In this article, Amanda Stanec talks about her experience on the Canadian Board of Directors for Physical and Health Education. She discusses the ways that Canada defines physical literacy. She then supplies the readers with various questions that she asks herself when thinking about Canada’s program and their definition. Stanec gives PE teachers advice for how they should inform parents and their child’s development of physical literacy. At the end of her article, she asks the readers what they would change in their local school’s PE program to focus more on physical literacy.  

Sum, R. K. W., Ha, A. S. C., Cheng, C. F., Chung, P. K., Yiu, K. T. C., Kuo, C. C., … Wang, F. J. (2016). Construction and Validation of a Perceived Physical Literacy Instrument for Physical Education Teachers. Plos One, 11(5). doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0155610

The authors of this article construct a study to prove a PLLI for PE teachers (1). The instrument is used to look into PE teachers’ view on physical literacy. They supply multiple charts and diagrams supporting their experiment. They define the term physical literacy and its role in PE, describing that physical literacy is the goal of PE. The researchers interviewed three Hong Kong PE teachers. They also had focus group interviews to identify main components of physical literacy and concepts like confidence and communication. The authors used various charts and diagrams to support their study. They discussed the limitations in their study and state that more research should be conducted.  

Tremblay, M. S., Longmuir, P. E., Barnes, J. D., Belanger, K., Anderson, K. D., Bruner, B., … Woodruff, S. J. (2018). Physical literacy levels of Canadian children aged 8–12 years: descriptive and normative results from the RBC Learn to Play–CAPL project. BMC Public Health, 18(S2). doi: 10.1186/s12889-018-5891-x

In this article, the authors discuss the physical literacy level and competence of children in Canada from the ages of 8 to 12. The physical literacy level of children in Canada is currently unknown, so the authors used data from multiple websites to establish a number. They give the readers some background information on physical literacy to help them understand why this is an important study. They also provide the readers with a diagram of the physical literacy point system, which helps the authors establish an average physical literacy level based on the children. They concluded that the steps taken in this study can be used in future assessments and supports the fact that physical literacy should be incorporated into more Canadian children’s’ lives.

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Boku No Hero Academia Light Novel Vol. 3 Chapter 5 “The Class President’s Peculiar Day” Translation

I translated the Boku No Hero Academia Vol. 3 Light Novel’s Chapter 5, which focuses on Iida’s surprise birthday party, titled “The Class President’s Peculiar Day.” The story is so precious with everyone helping with the preparations, including Bakugou showing emotion *gasp*! Enjoy~

Other Vol. 3 Chapter Translations I did: Fantasy AU “U.A. Quest” Chapter Chapter 2 Kirishima & Bakugou Excerpts

“The Class President’s Peculiar Day”

Iida heard the sound of a bird call and immediately opened his eyes. He looked at the sun rays lighting up his ceiling and prepared for the start of the new day.

He glanced at the alarm on his floor and realizes that he yet again woke up five minutes before his alarm went off.

“I guess I’ll get up now,” he thought to himself.

Stretching slightly, he turned off his alarm and gets out of bed. He then proceeded to tidy his bed and open his curtains, seeing a small bird is perched on his veranda, as usual, only to fly away when the bird noticed Iida watching it.

“Oh, sorry…” he said to the bird.

As he apologized to the bird, he opened the window.

The early morning colors washed over the U.A. building, with the entire grounds looking fresh. Even though the temperature had not warmed up yet, the atmosphere was the kind where you can take a deep breath and feel exhilirated.

However, it was not an atmosphere to just laze around. Iida realized that and soon closed the window and prepared his morning routine, grabbing a towel and his toothbrush.

He went to the first floor’s Men’s Bathroom and went to the changing area to get ready.

“Again?” he thought to himself.

He looked at the sink area and frowned.

Everywhere around the area, clothes were strewn around, the tissue box as well as other items were not in their rightful places, things were knocked over, and someone even forgot their tooth brush.

“Really now…” Iida said as he sighed. He then put back the baskets away, put the tissue box back, and left the tooth brush near the sink.

Although the bathroom area was not in the state where you couldn’t even step foot inside, one might even say that it was a bit charming that the area had its boyish appeal due to the amount of guys using it. However, for a serious and determined person such as Iida, such a mess was definitely unpleasant.

“Having a disorderly living space means having a disorderly heart. You must take more caution with cleanliness,” Iida thought to himself.

Even though he told them many times to be courteous to others, they still did not listen, and Iida bit his teeth as he thought this.

As he pondered this thought, Shouji and Kouda came into the bathroom.

Iida said, “Good morning, Shouji-kun, Kouda-kun!”

Shouji replied, “You’re up early again, Class Rep!”

Even though Kouda had just woke up, he still look the same as ever, although there was a slight tilt in his head as he seemed to still be a bit drowsy. These greetings happen often in the Men’s Changing Rooms.

Iida then asked the two, “Oh by the way, do you know who’s tooth brush this is? It seems like someone might have forgotten it.

Shoji and Kouda looked at the toothbrush on the counter and said, “Perhaps it’s Kaminari’s? That color looks like something he would pick.”

Iida then replied, “Oh, thank you Shoji! I’ll ask him once he is awake. If you will excuse me then!”

Iida left the changing room and went back to the third floor. He saw that Ojiro was holding a towel and yawned as he left his room. It seemed like the hairs on his tail were sticking up, perhaps because he had just woken up and even his tail hairs had bad hair days?

Iida then exclaimed, “Oh, good morning Ojiro-kun!”

“Good morning~”

He then went back to his room and put on his school uniform. He discarded his pajamas into the laundry bin, made sure his room’s windows were locked, and closed the curtains. After grabbing his textbooks, he left his room.

Before entering the elevator, he stopped by Kaminari’s room and knocked on his door.

“Kaminari-kun! Are you awake? You should probably wake up soon as you will be late for class!”

He heard a sluggish movement behind the door as it then opened with a drowsy Kaminari peeping out from the crack.

“Gmorning…”

Because Iida was concerned that Kaminari would be late by waking up so early, he tried to wake him up more by asking, “Good morning Kaminari-kun! Oh that reminds me, would you happen to have left your tooth brush in the sink area in the Men’s Bathroom?”

“Uh….ah…..err…I might have forgotten it there, yeah.”

“I left it on the counter near the sink! Please be careful next time! Well then, I’m off!”

Kaminari then sleepily yawned and watched Iida leave.

Iida went to the first floor and headed for the lunch area. Mr. Lunch Rush always made early morning breakfast and had them delivered to the dormitories, with choices of either Japanese or Western meals. He also made dinner and sent the meals to the dormitories as well.

Iida sat and drank his miso soup while Shoji, Kouda, Tokoyami, Yaoyorozu, and Jirou stood nearby. After greeting each other, they all chose their own food and sat down.

“Ahhh, I’m so sleepy…”

“Ahh, guhh…”

Yaoyorozu and Jirou sat in front of Iida and yawned widely.

Jirou said, “What’s wrong? Did you not get enough sleep?”

“Yeah, yesterday was kind of…”

“Yesterday? Did something happen”

Iida came up to them to listen, and they jumped in surprise.

“Yeah, I stayed up late and fell asleep with my face in the book I was reading…”

“Oh man…I stayed up late listening to music…”

The two of them talked awkwardly as Iida shrugged. Tokoyami stood next to him and also looked slightly perturbed and opened his mouth.

“Err…I see you you chose the Japanese meal for today.”

Iida replied, “Why yes, Tokoyami-kun. I’m so thankful that Mr. Lunch Rush makes such delicious food for us to enjoy even in the early morning!”

Iida found it slightly odd that Tokoyami made conversation with him so suddenly, but he decided to brush it off as he finished his meal, making sure to clean his plate. He then thanked no one in particular for the meal and said, “Well then, I’m off!” as he left the dorm.

As he left, he was greeted with lush greens and a clear blue sky as he made his way across the campus grounds. Iida happily walked through the fields of the school. One of the perks of living in the dormitories was that one did not need to travel far to get to school now, and the time spent traveling to school could be very much used for something else such as studying. He enjoyed the short but spare free time he had as a result. As Aizawa-sensei always says, time is limited. You must make use of the time that is given to you.

As Iida approached the classroom, he found it in disarray, much like the bathroom earlier that day. He frowned as he looked around the classroom. Things were everywhere with the chairs all mixed up, which was quite a cause for concern.

“Disorderly chairs signify a disorderly attitude. Since that was the asying, I would have to restore the chairs to their proper positions as they should be used properly” thought Iida.

The chair that was always a mess was Bakugou’s chair.

“Honestly…” Iida thought to himself.

Iida put the chair back in its proper position and cleaned out the inside of the desk. As he brought out the cleaning supplies, he started to clean the entire classroom. After all, a clean study environment was necessary in order to be able to study properly. Iida would always rearrange the chairs properly, take out cleaning supplies to dust the classroom, and then use a cloth to wipe down the desks and equipment. He also wanted the teachers to be able to teach in a clean environment, making it easy for everyone. This was the daily routine for the Class Representative, Iida.

“Let’s make today count as well,” he thought.

Iida then started his self studies in the quiet and clean room all alone. It’s good for the body and the brain to sleep early to wake up early and start studying.

As he thought that, he glanced at the clock. It was three minutes before home room began. Iida thought, “Hm, everyone’s a bit late today…”

His other classmates usually arrived around the time that the bell rang, so he was a bit worried when he saw no one come to the classroom. He tilted his head in thought. He saw them all this morning, so they should be coming soon.

As the time passed, Iida started to worry. Was everyone all right? However, as he thought this, he heard lots of footsteps scurry towards the classroom.

He looked outside of the classroom and said, “Oh hello everyone!”

Besides Iida, the rest of Class A were all there as they entered the classroom.

Out of breath, Kirishima and Ashido saw Iida and held his shoulderas they breathed heavily, saying

“Oh we made it…!”

“It’s hard to run that fast in the morning!”

Iida looked at them in surprise and said, “What were you all doing? If you waited a bit longer you would have all been late!”

Worried, he raised his arms called out to the others, effectively quieting them. As he waited for an answer, they shyly replied with vague remarks, like “Oh well…uh…”

“You see…err…”

Ochako spoke up and said, “Uh..it’s because…!!” and came up to Iida.

“The ‘G’ appeared today!”

“And what exactly is this ‘G’?”

“Oh you know, that black thing that comes into the kitchen sometimes…”

“Oh no! You mean the cockroach* (cockroach is gokuburi in Japanese, thus they name it the ‘G’ lol)!”

“No, you must not speak their name out loud or else more will come and avenge the fallen comrade…”

Ochako then sneakily came up to Iida and grabbed Iida by the shoulder. Iida then exclaimed, “I am so sorry that I was not there to help you with the situation!”

As Iida said that, everyone went back to their seats. Deku and Todoroki passed by Iida and greeted him tiredly.

“Good morning, Iida-kun.”

“Hey.”

“Good morning Midoriya-kun, Todoroki-kun. You two seem very tired this morning.”

Midoriya said, “Oh uh, well that’s because…hey, Todoroki-kun!”

Todoroki replied, “Whatever…”

As they said that, they returned to their seats. As he looked at the two, he saw their discomfort. Before he was able to form words to address that discomforting look, someone behind him said “well then” and he saw Ochako try to take her seat. He then noticed something in her hair.

“Uraraka-kun! It seems like you still have a bit of bed head!”

Ochako exclaimed, “Oh! Uh, really? I was up pretty late last night…”

As Ochako tried to quickly pat back her hair, Iida looked at her puzzled.

Earlier that day, Yaoyorozu and Jirou mentioned that they were up late last night.

He asked Ochako, “So what were you doing last night?”

Ochako meekly responded, saying “Oh uh…well…”

She then quickly closed put her hand over her mouth. Iida said, “Uraraka-kun?”

“It’s…it’s nothing! It’s just you know, uh, sometimes you can’t sleep you know?”

At that moment, right on time, Aizawa-sensei came through the door. As he entered, everyone sat up in their seats.

Although there were a few things bothering Iida, he decided to think about it later. As soon as home room was over, the first class of the day would start, and as long as class was in session, all he needed to do was concentrate.

―

As their fourth period ended, it was finally time for lunch.

Iida joined Deku and Todoroki as usual and went to the “Lunch Rush Area” of the cafeteria. The cafeteria was a place where the many U.A. students could purchase food to fill their stomachs at affordable prices. Today was particularly crowded. The three of them went to line up.

“It seems since the U.A. Academy started having dorms, Mr. Lunch Rush has been super busy.”

“Yeah, he’s in charge of other stuff besides lunch now.”

As Iida and Todoroki spoke, Deku tilted his head to the side.

“If that’s the case, then he might need to change his hero name, don’t you think? Maybe to something like ‘All Time Rush’ instead of just lunch!”

“No, but then that would mean he would only be in charge of breakfast, lunch, and dinner, right? Then he should be called Mr. BLD Rush or something?”

“Oh, that sounds like the name of a new sandwich!”

“Uh, I don’t think it’s that easy to change a hero name anyway…”

As the three of them spoke, the third years Toogata Mirio, Amajiki Tamaki, and Hadou Nejire appeared. They were the top three students at U.A.

“Man, why is there always so many people at this time? So annoying. I want to go home. Or maybe just eat in a corner in the classroom.”

The big three never really thought that highly of themselves, and Tamaki watched as they started to talk about what they were goign to order.

“You’ve been saying that since we were first years here! I don’t get why you can’t get used to this! Right? Toogata, Did you decide on what you want to get? I’ve been craving cold ramen ever since morning! Did you know?”

“I guess I’ll get ramen. Okay, a large size ramen with roast pork! Tamaki, I’ll get one ticket!”

Mirio was the type of person who everyone liked, so as he said that, Amajiki quietly said, “Thank you…Pork huh…has a pretty strong smell…”

“Man, what should I do…”

“Tamaki, they have clam pasta! They’re asari* too!”

“Oh, I’ll take that then!”

As the Big Three made their orders and got their food, they passed by Deku and the others. The three of them were participating in a Hero Internship, but that’s a story for later.

As Deku and the others finally got to the front of the line, they made their orders. Although the menu was vast, they usually always ordered the thing that they liked the most. For Iida, he always ordered beef stew, Deku ordered pork cutlet with rice, and Todoroki would go with cold soba noodles. Iida also always ordered orange juice with his food.

“Hey, can I join you guys?”

Sato appeared in front of Deku, Todoroki, and Iida and asked if he could sit with them.  Deku exclaimed, “Of course, right Iida-kun?”

Iida replied, “Oh…”

Before Iida could finish replyingm Deku answered with his mouth full. Sato then sat down in front of them. As Iida ate his beef stew, he thought about what happened earlier this morning.

“Oh that’s right! Everyone, don’t you think that we should all keep the Men’s Bathroom clean? This morning when I went to wash my face, I found the room completely a mess!”

“Wow, it was that messy?”

Sato looked at Iida slightly confused. Iida answered, “Yes, the clothes baskets were all turned upside down. I’m just saying that we can all put in a group effort to make sure that the room is not too messy!”

“Yeah, we’ll try to be a bit more careful.”

“Maybe we should put some sticky material on the bottom of the baskets so that they don’t move, what do you think?”

Deku and Todoroki gave their opinions as they ate. As they made conversation, Sato then turned to Iida and said, “Oh by the way Iida, is there…anything that you cannot eat?”

Iida answered saying, “Are you asking if there’s food that I don’t like? Well, not in particular.”

“How about any allergies?”

“No, I’m not allergic to anything either.”

Sato then exclaimed, “Oh that’s great! Good to hear!”

Sato laughed full-heartedly and Iida could not help but join in and smile. He then asked, “Oh thatnk you! So what makes you bring up this question?”

Sato and Deku then froze as Iida asked them this. They looked quite troubled as they glanced at Todoroki, who answered, “That’s because it’s your…”

Deku then interjected, saying “Todoroki-kun!!!!!!”

Todoroki then quickly stopped what he was about to say. As he did this, Deku suddenly stood up and put his hand over his mouth, looking like they were both about to fall. Iida then exclaimed, “What’s wrong, Midoriya-kun?”

Deku then quickly answered and said “Oh it’s nothing! Nothing at all! Just uh, you know, looked like green onion got stuck in Todoroki’s throat so I was trying to help him out, ha…right, Todoroki-kun?!”

Todoroki slowly replied, “Uh…sorry. It seems like the uh…soba noodles kinda inadvertently got caught in my throat…uh…”

“Inadvertently stuck…? What exactly…”

Deku then nervously said, “It’s really uh, nothing! Nothing at all! Really! Right, Todoroki-kun?”

“Right, uh, just randomly got some green onions stuck in my throat…yeah…”

Iida eyed the two of them suspiciously. Ever since this morning, it seems like the discomfort they were feeling had carried on throughout the day.

Also, it seems like people were up late last night for whatever reason, including Yaoyorozu, Jirou, and Ochako. Now that he thought about it, Tsuyu, Ashido, and even Hagakure looked sleepy during break. And now Deku and the others were acting strangely too.

To be frank, Deku and Todoroki were especially acting weird. Good friend would always know what their friends are feeling and if they were lying.

As he thought of this more, he also found it strange that the entire class was almost late to class today. Iida thought to himself, “What if something happened when I was not there that caused this?”

Iida tried to think of various scenarios that could have brought about this sudden change of attitude among his fellow peers.

Earlier, Todoroki said something along the lines of “It’s because it’s your…” but did not finish his sentence. What if he was trying to say that it was because of…his fault? Although the question that Sato asked him about food he dislikes would not really connect with what being his fault, he could not stop but thinking that something was his fault.

He thought, “What exactly could I have done to cause everyone to act so strangely? Did I do something wrong?”

Iida tried to recall what he could have done wrong to upset his fellow classmates.

Perhaps it was the time when he told Bakugou not to kick open his door? Or when he told Aoyama to not stay in the hot bath for too long? Or when he told Mineta to keep his adult magazines away from the common area? Or when he warned everyone to not use the hot tub as a pool? Or perhaps the time when he told Tokoyami to not let dark shadow cause a stir in the bath tub and make bubbles? Or when he told Kaminari to stop putting body soap all over his body to practice curling in the bath area?

If not those, then what…Iida thought back to all the times at the changing room that he might have said something offensive or other times that he might have offended someone else, and suddenly the beef stew that he usually loves turned tasteless to him.

―

“Iida-kun, are you all right?”

Deku noticed that Iida suddenly stopped speaking and looked worried.

“Oh, it’s nothing. I’m fine!” he replied. He knew the look of concern on his friend’s face and found it genuine. He then finished the beef stew in front of him and thought, “Perhaps I am thinking too much about this. It probably isn’t something that’s a big deal…right?”

However, later that day Iida’s uncertainty grew stronger as he noticed that everyone still acted strangely everytime he was there. Usually his classmates would just start talking about whatever they like but today they were a quieter than usual. Of course, it might have to do with the fact that they were trying to be careful in front of Aizawa, but that was besides the fact. The strange atmosphere also followed them back to the dorms as well.

After eating dinner, he left the common room and though, “There is definitely something strange going on here.”

Iida still wanted to do something about this strange atmosphere going about, so he decided to go take a bath a bit early. He usually always takes a bath later than the others, but he thought that perhaps being naked in front of everyone might allow them to talk a bit more freely.

As he entered the Men’s Changing Room, he saw more than half of his classmates there. He thought it was a bit strange that everyone would be here at this time and took off his clothes and then entered the bath area. As he went inside, he heard chatter and a loud voice saying, “Well, in that case we’ll leave it to Midoriya and Todoroki, right?”

Another voice answered, “Well, hm. I guess so.”

Someone else chimed in, “Looks like you two have the hardest job!”

He could hear Kirishima talking to Deku and Todoroki. Iida thought, “it seems like the two of them need to do something very important, but what…?”

As Iida thought that, he opened the door to hear Kaminari say to Deku and the others, “Well, if that’s the case then Iida should probably return to his room right…?”

“Eh…”

“Iida…?”

All the guys got up awkwardly and looked surprised. It looked like Kaminari messed up and revealed something and was currently trying to hide half his face in the water. The bustling sounds suddenly died down, almost as if someone was trying to keep a secret from spilling out of the bathroom.

Iida thought, “It’s as I expected. It really DOES have something to do with me…”

He then asked them, “It seems like you were talking about me?”

“Oh uh, no! It’s nothing! Ah…we’ve been in here for too long! Guess we should probably leave soon!”

“Ri…right!”

As they said that, all the guys got up and awkwardly left the bath area, saying “Well, uh, we’ll leave first then!”

Iida was then left alone in the bath by himself.

He kept quiet as he washed himself and dipped into the bath. Since he was alone, the bath tub felt as wide as an ocean, and he could not help but feel a bit unsettled. It was odd to not see anyone in the bath area since he was so used to seeing other people here on a daily basis. Iida splashed some of the hot water onto his face and left the bath soon after.

―

He approached Midoriya and asked, “Midoriya-kun, can I have a word with you?”

Midoriya turned to him and said, “Oh uh, sure!”

Since there were a lot of people around them, Iida asked Deku to follow him to his room. Deku looked extremely nervous for some reason. Iida then said, “I’m sorry, but it seems like you and Todoroki have something to attend to?”

“Uh, how did you know?”

“I heard it when I was in the bath room just now.”

“Oh that! Ha..it’s nothing!”

Iida raised an eyebrow at Deku’s words. He said it’s nothing, but he had said that several times already today. It seemed like by him saying that it’s nothing, that there was definitely something he was hiding after all.

“Midoriya-kun, I want you to tell me as a friend directly. Did I…do something that might have offended anyone?”

As Iida peered at Deku, his eyes grew wide. Iida continued, “I have noticed today that people have been acting very strangely. I want to know what the reason is for this. Have I done something bad to garner such feelings? If so then―“

Midoirya then interrupted, “Of course that’s not it at all!”

“But…”

“Really, there’s nothing wrong at all!” As Deku said that, Iida felt slightly relieved. However, Deku quickly glanced at the clock and jumped. He then pressed on, “Iida-kun, you think too much! Aren’t you a bit tired? You definitely should be! Come on, you should probably sleep early today!”

Iida looked at the clock as well. However, it was far from his usual bedtime. He said, “But I’m not sleepy at all…”

“It’s fine! I’m sure as soon as you lie down you’ll feel sleepy! Come on now, you should totally just lie down!”

“Uh…ah!”

Deku made Iida fall onto the bed and forcibly tucked him in.

“Well, good night then!” he said as he turned off the lights and quickly left the room.

―

“…”

Even if he tried to close his eyes, he just did not feel sleepy at all and ended up staring at the ceiling. He thought back to how strangely Deku acted as well as what happened in the bathroom earlier. He recalled Kaminari’s words and thought, “Did I really do something to warrant such feelings from my peers?”

He met all of his classmates with their various quirks upon entering U.A. Academy. Every day was important as they all worked towards the same goal of becoming heroes. After he became the Class President, he resolved to do his best no matter what. He wanted to lead everyone down the correct path! However even so, he did not understand why everyone was acting the way they did at the moment.

However, because he had such a sense of righetousness as their class leader, it might have caused others to feel a pressured by him, although that shouldn’t be the case but…

Iida couldn’t help but think about what Deku said to him just now. It should have been words spoken from a true friend. He thought, “I can’t just keep on doing this.”

Iida then got out of bed and left his room.

Even if the others viewed him in this negative light, Iida still thought fondly of his classmates. Of course they had their own flaws, but he still appreciated them. After all, they were his friends who went through many different problems t ogether. There was no way he would ever be able to hate them.

He wished he could work with them always. That is why he must get to the bottom of this problem!

With that resolution in mind, Iida went into the elevator. As he looked at the elevator light going down the floors, he felt nervous. Once he got to the first floor, the door opened and someone he was not expecting was standing right in front of the door.

“Huh?”

With a sneer on his face, Bakugou stared down at Iida. Was he on his way to go back to his own room? It didn’t seem like Bakugou made any attempt at going into the elevator though. In fact, it just looked like he was lost in thought as he stared at Iida.

Iida said, “Bakugou-kun, I would like to get out of this elevator,” but Bakugou refused to let him out.

“Excuse me, Bakugou-kun, but elevator etiquette states that you must let the person come out of the elevator first before going inside the elevator. If you try to enter the elevator before those who exit, it will cause congestion, which is not very pleasant and…!”

As Iida rambled on, Bakugou took out his hand and closed Iida’s mouth. Perhaps he spoke too much of something that Bakugou did not care to listen.

From the elevator, he could hear the rest of his classmates’ voices.

“Oh woah, that looks awesome! Like a pro made it!”

“Ahh, that looks so good, Sato-kun!”

Iida thought, “I guess everyone’s going to eat a cake that Sato made?”

Although he resolved himself to speaking with the others, he loosed up a bit after hearing them seeming to have fun. Iida then kept quiet as the elevator doors closed on him. However, Bakugou stuck a hand through the door and then entered the elevator and quickly pushed the ‘close’ button.

“Um, Bakugou-kun. I’m actually leaving the elevator…”

Bakugou exclaimed, “Hey you shithead. What floor do you live on?”

Iida thought that Bakugou perhaps did not remember which floor he lived on, so he answered the third floor. As soon as he said that, Bakugou smashed the elevator button for the third and fourth floors, where his room was.

“Eh?”

As the elevator made its way up, Bakugou sneered at Iida, “You bastard, if you stay on the first floor you’d just get in the way. Shitty glasses should just study in your own room!”

The elevator opened to the third floor, and Iida could not say anything as he left the elevator and went back to his own room.

He could still hear the excited voices of the students from the first floor. It was perhaps exactly as Bakugou said. Just like what happened when he went to the bath area and everyone became quiet. His footsteps became heavy. Could it be that he was truly bothering the others?

His cellphone started ringing right at that moment, and he looked at it to see that his mom was calling him. He picked up the phone.

“Hello, Mom?”

“Tenya! How are you? Have you gotten used to life in the dormitory?”

“Yes…”

As his mom heard him speak, she knew that something was slightly off with her son.

“I see…Well you did just move there I suppose.”

Iida felt that if he spoke more about this, he might just worry her with unnecessary things, so he tried to change topics. As he did so, he heard someone on the other line say, “What are you talking about?” He wasn’t sure what was going on, but then he realized it was his brother!

“Wait, Brother? What are you doing there?”

“Oh, I’m meeting with Tensei today as he has been recovering well. He’ll be all right!”

Iida spaced out for a moment, and suddenly the lights in his bedroom went out.

“What?”

“Isn’t today your…”

“Oh mom, sorry! It seems like there’s a blackout for some reason. Are you experiencing this on your end?”

“What? Oh, no there’s no blackout here.”

“I see, sorry but I will need to hang up right now!” and as he said that, he hung up on his mom and peered outside the hallway. It seemed like the entire floor lights were turned off.

“Don’t tell me it’s another blackout,” he thought to himself, “this is just like that other time when there was a storm at night…In either case I better go check up on the others to make sure they’re all right!”

He somehow was able to make his way to the elevator. He thought that it might not work since there was a blackout after all, but for some reason the elevator was working. Perhaps the elevator was working with the emergency spare electricity reserve from the dorm room. With that, he pushed the button for the first floor.

He hesitated for a moment as he thought about what he would do to approach the others. However, in this dire moment, he couldn’t dwell on his feelings for too long. He was the Class A President after all!

He finally made it to the first floor. As expected, the first floor was also completely shrowded in darkness and completely silent.

“Hmm, I wonder where everyone went? They were here a while ago. Perhaps they all went back to their rooms?” he thought.

Just then, Ochako emerged from the common room, and a loud noise was heard.

“Ahh!”

“Uraraka-kun?! Are you all right?”

“He…help me, Iida-kun! Hurry, this way!”

“Wait for me! I’ll be there soon!”

Iida relied on his memory and feeling and headed towards the common room.

“What if it’s a villain” he thought, “then what would be the best way to defeat the villain? In either case, all I need to do now is save Uraraka-kun!”

As he tried to advance, Iida’s foot brushed against something soft. It was the sofa in the common room.

“Uraraka-kun, where are you?” he exclaimed.

“I’m right here!” she said in her normal voice. As soon as she said this, the lights turned back on.

“Everyone…?” All of their classmates, except Bakugou and Sato, were gathered in front of Iida! In the middle of the common room were a bunch of balloons and paper mache flowers strewn around the area. There was also a banner hung by the window’s shades that read “HAPPY BIRTHDAY IIDA~~!!”

Everyone then opened the party crackers that they were holding, but Todoroki missed the queue and was a bit late in opening his party cracker.

Iida was dumbfounded, and all around him were a flurry of confetti falling down like snow. Iida was completely taken by surprise.

“My birthday…? Oh that’s right! I had completely forgotten about it!”

That’s probably why his mom called him today as well!

This was the Iida that everyone knew. Ochako looked at him with a smile in her eyes as she laughed to herself and said, “Yes! I’m so glad that the surprise was a success!”

“We’ve been busy with this ever since this morning, you know! As soon as you left the dormitory, we tried to set up everything and ended up being a bit late to class…”

Yayorozu breathed a sigh of relief, and Jirou looked at her and said, “Yeah seriously” as she scoffed.

Ashido and Tsuyu said, “We’ve been preparing the streamers since last night too!”

“I’m so glad that we made it just in time, ribbit!”

“As soon as you went back to your room, we rushed like crazy to get these decorations up!” said Ojiro, and Kaminari put his two hands up in apology.

He said, “I’m super sorry about that! That’s why we had to leave quickly when you were in the bath since we had to take care of this. Sorry if it made things awkward!”

“Man, Iida sure is lucky to be getting all this special treatment! Guess there are perks to being the Class President after all, right? Getting a huge celebration haha!” Sero laughed and smiled widely.

Kirishima then scratched his head disappointingly as he said, “Man, I told Bakugou that he should stay for this. But he said he was tired and went back to his room.”

Iida then recalled his encounter with Bakugou a while back. That’s probably exactly the time when everyone else was putting up the decorations! If he were to head into the common room, then the surprise would surely be ruined!

He thought to himself, “Bakugou-kun, you really do care after all…? Or perhaps…”

While Iida thought about what he should say to Bakugou, he realized that Bakugou really was showing a new part of himself that he had not shown before, and Iida smiled to himself.

Deku and Todoroki then said, “It seemed that Todoroki-kun was going to spill the beans back at the cafeteria earlier today. I kind of freaked out!”

Todoroki then said, “I also kind of freaked out…”

Iida replied, “At that time I was a bit surprised at the way you two were acting. I thought that it was a bit strange indeed.” Deku then put on a very apologetic face and said, “I’m really sorry about not telling you earlier!”

Deku then continued to apologize as Iida told him it was not a big deal at all.

“So when you said there really wasn’t anything going on, you really were telling the truth, weren’t you?”

Iida looked at Deku and smiled, and everyone watched. The surprise was a success, and everyone was in very high spirits. As he thought about what everyone did for him just for his special day, a warmth spread across his chest.

“Hey, hurry up and bring out the main piece!”

As they exclaimed that, Sato came out of the kitchen holding a cake, and Yaoyorozu started singing “Happy Birthday” along with the others. As they sang, Sato brought the cake right in front of Iida. The cake was covered in an orange frosting with candles on the top, and written on a chocolate plate were the words “Happy Birthday! Thank you for being the best Class A President ever!”

Sato then said, “I’m glad you didn’t have that many preferences, and you’re not allergic to anything. I also made sure to use 100% orange juice when making this cake, so this is what I like to call the super special Iida orange cake!”

“Thank you for making such an amazing cake, for everything!” Iida exclaimed.

Ochako and Tsuyu then quickly urged Iida on and said, “Iida-kun, hurry and blow out the candles!”

“And don’t forget to make a wish before you do, Iida-chan!”

“A wish…”

As everyone watched, Iida took a deep breath and said, “I wish to do my best as the Class President for Class 1A!” and blew out the candles.

“You’re supposed to keep that wish to yourself, Iida-chan!”

“Moreso than a wish, isn’t that kind of like self-advertising?”

His classmates tilted their heads at Iida, but all he could do was smile and feel his heart grow.

“That’s fine! That’s why I hope to get along with everyone from here on out!”

As he saw everyone’s faces, Iida felt extremely happy. He also made sure to remember to call his mother after the party.

Next time he will definitely have courage to say what he wants to say. Even though living in the dormitories has its own ups and downs, the most important thing is to make the best out of the time that is given to you with your friends.

---

T/N: EXCUSE ME AS I CRY ABOUT HOW PRECIOUS THEY ALL ARE AND HOW BAKUGOU ACTUALLY CARES ABOUT HIS FRIENDS as;dlkfjas;ldf

[artofdigression]

I’m 23 years old.  The 2 years leading up to now have been a complete whirlwind, but somehow, in this time, an actual music career has begun.   I’m a composer, a producer, a singer, a songwriter, a visual artist - among many labels.

I sit in front of my piano.  I know how to play all of 2 pieces - Gnossiennes 1 & 2 by Erik Satie.  I learned them by ear 4 years ago while working the reception desk of an art gallery that had two baby grand pianos hidden underneath the stairs.  I would get bored when no one else was in the gallery and venture down.

In my studio, I have piles of introductory music books, minuets and ballads laying around - some given to me at a young age, some passed down by dead relatives who knew I had a ‘good ear’  - or were maybe too dead to give a shit about where their old sheet music went by the time I got my hands on it.

I decide, for what feels like the 100th time, that I will learn how to read music.  

I had my first piano lesson when I was 10 years old.  My piano teacher was nice - a young, lanky, 20-something music student who wore beanie hats and played electric guitar in a rock band.  I thought he was pretty much the coolest and wanted to be him.  Unfortunately, I don’t think he was particularly ‘stoked’ in the same capacity to work with me.  I had very little enthusiasm for any of the mind-numbingly boring rudimentary theory curriculum, the limited repertoire I had to choose from (away in a manger or… the other version of away in a manger) made me want to rip my hair out, and reading sheet music would send my mind into kaleidoscope-vision.

I would also have kaleidoscope-vision in school. I struggled with school.   I was a rambunctious little human.  My attention span was uncontrollable (unless we were reading or drawing, then I absolutely paid attention). Looking over old report cards, there was a lot of ‘needs to stay on task’  and ‘could use help with organization’  - anecdotal pieces of advice I heard so much, I think the meanings eventually became hollow to me (or maybe the meanings were just hollow to begin with).  

Getting me to sit still for 30 minutes was an excruciating feat for any adult in my life, so 2 hours? 3 hours? 6 hours? Good god, I wanted to climb the walls.  When the teacher would start talking, I would look past their gaze - into Lala Land as adults disdainfully called it.  (I still deeply hate calling it Lala Land, but, for continuity purposes, we’re going to reclaim the name in neon lights.)

Lala Land was great.  Real life?  Not so much.  In real life, from third grade until high school graduation, my teachers (with the exception of 3 gems) were blatantly judgemental of me.  They’d think nothing of admonishing me in front of my peers if I fidgeted or looked out a window.  

Because the amount of physical energy I had was not conducive to a classroom environment, I learned to dissociate from my body.  Because looking out a window meant I was not looking at a chalkboard, I learned to look past the chalkboard to find Lala Land, its neon letters burning behind my absent gaze. Past the letters, there would be a window. I could look out the window and its glass panes could evaporate and autumn’s leafy gusts of wind could sweep me away and I’d never have to worry about a messy desk or a missed assignment or classroom of judgemental eyes looking at me again.  The next day’s fantasy would be the same, but different.

Children’s imaginations are often playful and fantastical.  Take a kid with a traumatized brain, however - and imagination can give them a seemingly supernatural ability to create, in their mind, what they need for emotional survival.  That was me.

There were parts of my childhood that were truly blissful, gorgeous, hilarious and nurturing.  But I’d be denying you, dear reader, important context if I didn’t tell you that a significant part of my young formative years was steeped in grief, chaos and abandonment.  I assure you need not build castles in the air in understanding that I was a child with a traumatized brain.  And though I was surviving, trauma had created a faceless, nameless internal chaos for me that I didn’t truly even recognize until adulthood.  Trauma changes the way brains function. That’s a lot for a kid to be dealing with.

In piano lessons, my teacher would sit with me and we would go over the theory of a piece of sheet music - that was my brain’s cue to look past the kaleidoscope paper, nodding “yes, mhm, got it.” But then, when he’d clap the rhythm of the piece, my brain would engage and I’d clap the same rhythm back, no problem.  After that, he would play the piece for me as an example - this was where my brain would hyper-focus.  I would retain, retain, retain, and I would play the piece back, not reading a note, but looking past the page all the same. This wasn’t a ploy to dupe him. This was a system of which neither of us were consciously aware. I was just 10, and playing piano.

Outside of school, I was different.  I was encouraged to sing, I would go to my parents’ choir practices every week and sit in the pews of Saint Mary’s Church and listen to 30 voices reverberate through it.  I would shoot the shit with adults and carry around books about Roman mythology and Egyptian hieroglyphs and I would talk about how I wanted to travel the whole world and I would make 1-page comics and I would dress up my dog and I loved the ballet costumes from Stravinsky’s Firebird and… I digress.  

Outside of school, I was different. Music calmed my internal landscape enough for me to be myself.  No - actually, music calmed my immediate surroundings enough for me to make sense of my internal landscape… Actually, both.

On a borrowed piano, I would sit and endlessly ear out songs (Carmen, movie soundtracks I liked, songs my mom sang, etc).  I would walk into my Saturday lesson and proudly showcase the self-taught triumphs of Sunday through Friday for my teacher, only to be met with a brief pat on the back and the god-damn sheet music to 'away in a manger’ - which I still hated and still couldn’t read, but played anyway.  After 5 months, I eventually made it clear to all parties involved that I was done with piano, and my parents finally gave into my weekly protests.

When I was 7th grade, I started playing french horn in the school band and, for whatever reason, continued for 6 and a half years.  I still saw through a kaleidoscope when I got a piece of music, but there was one other french horn player in my class so I usually copied what she did - Unless we had different parts in which case I fumbled constantly through band practice until I finally figured out what I was playing.  Band, generally, had a negative impact on my relationship with music.  I think the only reason I stuck with it was because the feeling of playing music with such a large group of people triggered some kind of dopamine rush that my brain loved.  I would get ASMR - auto sensory meridian response - also known as “that fuzzy, warm, calm feeling in the centre of your brain” - some folks experience it and some folks don’t.

A lot of changes in my home life happened in that 6-and-a-half-year period.  After years of week-on, week-off pivots between my mother and father’s separate homes, my father permanently moved to Sweden when I was 13.  My mother became my primary parent while dealing with the loaded blows of bankruptcy and multiple reckonings around her own life challenges.  We moved into a home that had completely gutted walls and plywood floors (left unfinished by previous tenants with renovation goals too ambitious to finish).  The situation was chaotic.  So, so chaotic.  But, from that time up to now, my mother was (and continues to be) an incredible support to me.  She could see that I was struggling, and did everything in her power to advocate for me when I couldn’t advocate for myself.  I can only imagine the feeling of knowing something is not right with your child and being told by everyone around you that your child is fine.  Her support was integral.

When I was in 9th grade, she and my homeroom teacher (also a phenomenal support to me at the time) pulled some strings to have an initial psychological assessment performed on me - not technically “official” - as it was conducted by a student of psychology, I recall - nevertheless, it provided enough insight to validate that there was an underlying dissonance between what most of my teachers were saying about me (lazy, bad attitude, etc) and what was actually going on in my head, and that a formal assessment would be necessary to help me. My name was put on the waiting list for a psychologist that year.  But, the entire island had only 1 or 2 psychologists available (Totally appalling).  And so I waited... And waited... And waited...   And while I waited, I continued to find refuge in my visual art practice, as well as learning other instruments on my own terms.  

I refuse to say something cliche like “art  and music saved my life” because creativity isn’t a sustainable singular lifeline for anyone, and believing so feeds into the highly problematic mental health stigma as it pertains to those who create for a living...  But art and music did play key roles in tempering my inner storms.  Now, as a musician, I allow my craft to be a teacher, not a therapist.

When I was 16, I went to my first voice lesson.  I kept at it for a year, and… excelled? I totally excelled - personally and musically. This did wonders for my confidence (I attribute a lot of that to my voice teacher at the time, who had a really supportive and receptive approach to my weird energy levels and the idiosyncratic ways I learned). I did festivals, took a Royal Conservatory exam - and I was still excelling, which honestly shocked me at the time because I was so used to failing everything.  

Oh, also, I could still barely read the music.  Kaleidoscopic forever.  

Many classically trained musicians describe the experience of being overwhelmed when they get a new piece of music (especially if it has theory components they may not be familiar with or something) - totally normal. But then, they concentrate, deconstruct it from the page section-by-section and eventually learn to play it with neurotypical grace. Deconstructing written music on the page to understand what was happening became a little bit less nauseating as I was exposed to it more.  I WORKED at theory and understood parts of it, but only… theoretically.   Being able to transcribe that (limited) understanding into playing?  That never happened for me.  The page would remain kaleidoscopic until it felt like my brain was just going to short-circuit and cave in on itself.  It was weird, and trying to describe to anyone in band class (teachers and students alike) made me feel like I was on a different planet.  So, when the heat was on (whether that was in performance or in private lessons or “sight singing”) I kept relying on my ears and refined my ability to hold my own in band concerts, private voice lessons, choirs, musical theatre productions.  

Meanwhile, in high school, my academic life was still basically the worst.  I had adversarial relationships with nearly all of my teachers. I barely passed each year.  Emotionally, I also had a lot of anger seething below the surface of my consciousness.  I had internalized so much of what so many teachers had told me - that I was smart but lazy, that I had a bad attitude, that I was disruptive, distracted, manipulative etc.  - and having gone through some pretty drastic events that effectively destabilized my home life, this all had a profoundly negative impact on my self-worth.

One year later, I was 17, in 12th grade and school issues had not gotten any better (still muddling through - grades between 40% and 60%).   I had just given up at this point… Except now, instead of having the teachers before, who were mostly unhelpful, but at least straight-up about being judgemental of me based on my “laziness” diagnosis, I had a haul of teachers that were giving me these new weekly out-in-the-hall John Keating-wannabe-motivational speeches, telling me how much “potential I have” and how “I’m wasting it away” by “not trying” in class (every hollow pull-up-your-socks/nose-to-grindstone idiom in the book.  It was infuriating at the time).  I’m sure most of them just wanted to help.  But I needed someone to listen more than I needed someone to talk at me.  

A helpful thing that DID come out of 12th grade (4 years after my name had been put on the list… shoutout to our provincial government for still not caring about investing in public mental health) was that I finally got access to a provincial psychologist.  She came during the second semester of grade 12 and did extensive testing on me to find (surprise! but… not really) ADHD - which explained the colossal difficulties I was having in my academic life due to my chaotic brain not letting me get my shit together in the ways I was being told by neurotypical folks around me to get my shit together.

For those that aren’t informed about ADHD - it’s a form of neurodivergence that can manifest in too many ways to name here, but to fit an elephant in a minivan:  There’s that part of the brain that naturally helps you regulate your attention/concentration/sleep/energy levels/appetite/feelings/working memory/pretty much anything remotely involving executive functioning… That’s nice, right?  I wouldn’t know because apparently mine’s broken. There is also extensive research that directly links ADHD to childhood trauma, as well as biochemical imbalances in the brain.  

I could get all in-depth about ADHD science right here, but this is my story, not an essay,  and it would make for an even longer and more digressive tangent that would likely overshadow THE OTHER SIGNIFICANT THING the psychologist noted in my evaluation.

Amidst a bunch of my brain skills that were, statistically, above average for my age - like my working vocabulary and ability to retain auditory information - many of my visual processing skills - meaning, things like reading something and copying it down accurately or following written instructions without constantly needing to reference them - were shockingly below average for my age.  The tests showed that this was something my brain had immense difficulty doing.  

What’s an example of a visual processing issue in school? Well, I was always the last kid to finish copying text from the board (and I mean, like, multiple paragraphs behind my peers) before the teacher could move on to the next page.  

What’s an example of a visual processing issue in music?  Reading written notes and playing them on an instrument.  When I heard a piece of music, however, I could learn it very quickly.  

Knowing what was going on in my brain brought me a whole world of clarity and validation.  I knew that I was going to lead an unconventional life because of it (whatever “a conventional life” means these days).  I knew that most post-secondary education would be inaccessible to me as a result of my grades and probably be, at that point, more harmful than helpful.  

Knowing what was going on in my brain helped me to understand what I didn’t need anymore.  I didn’t need the validation of my teachers or my peers.  I didn’t need a number on any piece of paper to determine my competence or ‘work ethic.’  

Letting go of school was the best thing I’ve done for myself.

I graduated high school with nothing but a 64% average, and an ADHD diagnosis as my only tools in understanding how to get on a path to thriving as an adult human.  liberating. frustrating. terrifying - but not really. mostly liberating.

Then, my ADHD became manageable and my life got easy and I had no self-esteem issues ever again.  

… No.  That’s not how life works.  I’m 23 years old. I’ve been out of the school system for 6 years. I have deeply instilled productivity guilt (ie. I take on way more tasks than humanly possible to finish in ridiculously tight deadlines), I struggle with anxiety in thinking that friends and coworkers are saying negative things about my personality or quality of work behind my back (maybe my exes and high school math teachers are hanging out?? THE HORROR), my heart sinks into my stomach anytime any human watches me work over my shoulder (I’m a music producer, so if I’m working on songs with people, I become a blundering internal wreck when they understandably want to see what I’m editing). School did those things to me - which leads me into the accountability part of this long-winded ADHD realtalk.

I’d be withholding the truth from you if I didn’t say my teachers played key roles in aggravating my behavioural/emotional/learning difficulties by disputing them as personality flaws.  My frustration in learning would be met, at worst, with punishment and put-downs (I remember not having recess for nearly an entire week somewhere in the first half of 4th grade - which I think is a cruel thing to do to any child, let alone one with energy levels like mine).  I would be met, at best, with more hollow, invalidating advice - more ‘need to stay on task’ with a twist of ‘gotta give it yer all’ and ‘well, maybe if you actually tried…’

None of these messages sent to me were helpful.  I’m still working to unravel those knots.

This is not a dig at those teachers who saw me as the problem child (rather than seeing me as a kid who just needed support and a different work environment. There were about 3 teachers in 10 years who understood that, and did everything in their power to help.  They know who they are and I’m grateful for them.)  I understand how frustrating it is to be pushed to your limit - especially within the bounds of a job that requires you to keep your shit together in some capacity.  I understand that we that we all do our best with the tools we have at the time.  There are no hard feelings - But, I encourage self-reflection and future accountability for your impact on the way you treat any child in your life - because they are just that: a child.  Your impact can be profoundly helpful or harmful.  You will never know what a child is going through until they feel safe enough to tell you.  I didn’t feel safe with many adults - which is why most of my relationships with authority were adversarial ones.  I’m not offering a solution.  I’m just offering a glimpse into my experience.  That’s all this is.  Take it or leave it.

When a child is told again and again by the daily authoritative figures in their life that they have an attitude problem, that they are disruptive, lazy, manipulative, attention-seeking, a liar, a cheater (the list can go on but I won’t let it) - I guarantee you, the child will eventually believe it.  And I did.  I deeply internalized these labels to the point of identifying with them.  I’m still working hard as an adult to remind myself that while many of my teachers accused me of causing chaos in my learning environment, I was simply (and unknowingly) mirroring my own internal chaos.  The chaos I had created around me was a cry for help, not admonishment.  

To further the accountability segment of this experience I’m sharing with you, though I can’t offer a solution to “fix” the institution of public education (because institutions generally don’t function unless they’re flawed to begin with), I think a set of solutions may lie somewhere within trauma-informed and neurodivergence-informed teaching and the public school system being provided with the adequate resources to embrace neurodivergent students - to embrace traumatized students, not accommodate them.  I think a set of solutions may lie somewhere within mental health being taken seriously (with FUNDING, not lip service) by the Government of Prince Edward Island.   That’s all I’ll say for now.

I don’t think my experience is special - far from it.  In fact, I know that my experience is not, and never will be one-of-a-kind.  I started writing this when I sat in front of a piano and tried to do what my brain would never let me do.  I looked past the page and saw this part of my life staring back at me.  I’m not even a writer, but I felt like I had to write it down.   Looking back, I realize that I didn’t even begin to understand my own story until someone else told me theirs.

So - whether you’re a teacher or a student or both - if you’re struggling in the school system, this is dedicated to you.  If you have been turned away and invalidated by those supposed to help you, you need to know that the labels placed upon you only hold as much power over you as you allow.  Being pained by what you can’t control doesn’t make you weak, it makes you a survivor.  Surviving is hard. Surviving is so hard, but you will begin to heal.

I’m 23 years old.  I’m many things. I read music with my ears.  I’m mastering the art of looking past what’s in front of me.  

- Russell Louder

[hugee0715]

2018

January

2 weeks into the year I cut my hair, probably like 80% of it. Which I quickly regretted. It just seems like every year starts with me doing something to myself, except this one. This January there'll be no surprise, promise.

I also had to decide what schools and courses I wanted to apply to until the 15th. So being the person that I am, at 23:20 on the 14th I submitted all the forms. Earth science, civil engineering or software engineering? I had another 6 month to find out which path my life would take.

February

This photo was taken at around 6 in the morning when I was on my way to a nearby city to take a language certification exam. I was so nervous because I was going into the C1 level right away, basically blindly with no exam experience whatsoever. I remember arriving and meeting 3 other girls who were there for the exam too. We started chatting and they all said that they took the B1 level previously because their teacher advised them. One has already failed, this was her second time. One was there with a whole book of exercises. They all looked so prepared and for a moment I panicked. If I were to fail that day, I'd have had 40 less points for my university application. And a lost bet with my girlfriend. But I didn't fail neither of those.

I also got my girl into MBTI that month, which quickly became the new astrology of our relationship. ENFP-INTP pairing. Cute, huh?

March

This was the month where I kind of chilled down for a moment. It was totally unjustifiable but I still did, thinking I've got plenty of time still till exams would start. I was going to school, doing some small preparations but nothing major.

April

Now this was the month where I regretted all the laziness back in March. My days were counted and I know that makes it sound like I was about to be executed but that's exactly how I felt.

On top of that, in the middle of the month my mum got hospitalized suddenly. It was supposed to be just a check but they didn't let her leave after it. My days were spent with visiting her instead of going to school. She scared us shitless but slowly she started getting better with each day and by the second week she was already coming home.

May

Oh May. I had graduation right at the beginning of the month and 2 days later my week of exams started. A peaceful image of my table right before maths exam. 20 minutes later it wasn't as peaceful anymore.

School ended for good and we had a monthish time before the second part of it all, which are the oral exams.

June

So many papers, hundreds of pages littered everywhere. Stress, overthinking, contemplating why I even applied for software engineering when I was so sure I'd fail the comsci exam, procrastinating, some self pity and over all panic.

One of the exceptions was this day, my mum's work did a little event. They work with old people, helping handicapped elders. A school building full of people who long left the classrooms, doing all kinds of crafts, little games and even some shooting outside. We sat around painting on glass, doing things we probably haven't done together in like a decade.

29 out of 50 so be careful, sharp shooter right here.

July

The 25th came around and at 20:00 sharp the point limits went live. The website instantly crashed by the tens of thousands of people and my blood was loudly rushing inside my head. Once it finally let me in I was scanning through the names of the different universities, then different faculties and lastly the different courses. Earth science. 290. Less than the previous years. A lot less actually. I got into the place I wanted to so badly. I got in by a ridiculous amount of points.

August

An accidental snapshot of my feet while I am having a mediocre melt down in the middle of a bridge over the Danube. The morning started horrendously, I left my student ID at home but I only realized it on the train. Which meant I couldn't buy discounted tickets but I didn't have enough money for the full price ones. So I called mum who called a friend who has a car that they have to come to the city with my ID within 20 minutes because if I miss the train I'll be late and won't be able to enroll to uni. That got solved last minute when they arrived 4 minutes before the train left, which then arrived to Budapest an hour late, the tram was out of service so I took one of the replacement busses but they only went till the Pest end of Petőfi bridge. Which meant I had to walk over when I was already running late so we could very well say that I was done at this point with life and everything.

September

With this picture we can confirm that I wasn't late for enrollment. This is the place most of my days are spent at. The days leading up to me having to move were filled with a weird type of anxiety. It wasn't the kind I was familiar with, it wasn't as scary. As consuming, as toxic. It was kind of exciting, like the feeling you get before getting on a roller coaster. My girl made it feel like that, the security of having her. If there's one good thing about LDR then it's the fact that I can literally have her anywhere with me and it feels like not much has changed. The calmness that this gave me was beyond understandable. I still had her, so there was no need to panic.

Of course it was still a little challenging, the whole change in our schedules and although it sometimes got a little frustrating, she was understanding and I need to thank her for being my safe spot, for making me so brave when I used to be so scared. Without her I would have never been able to do this and she knows that.

October

This is my view everyday when I go to work and back home. A city of so much magic and beauty and also a city that I can't wait to share with my love.

We had our first anniversary. A whole year of being together. I got off of work just in time before it turned midnight in the Philippines. I had a bag of cookies I made the previous day to show, cute, heart shaped ones. Maybe it wasn't the most ideal way or how I imagined it but the meaning behind it is still the same. A year of loving eachother, slowly changing, slowly realizing who we truly are as a team.

November

I made that! My job's description would most likely be miscellaneous. I stand at the counter, make coffee, help customers, sometimes clean or go to the post office, I'm responsible for the paper bags and cups, but on the weekends, I bake. I spend all my Sundays there quietly doing my job. Cookies, pies and as it was getting closer to Christmas gingerbread as well. I had the most tiring days, one time I spent 12 hours there building 6 of these trees and around another 400 of normal figures. My hands got inflamed by the end of the night because of all the icing I had to squeeze out. But nonetheless this is a good first job. I get to learn around really nice and helpful people. Not even mentioning all the free food I get.

December

A happy girl living a more challenging life than ever but still enjoying it like it's nothing.

Decembers are nice. I think back to all the things that happened this year and how different they were compared to last year. I was whining for 66.66666% of the 2017 post. And for the 2018 one all I can think about are the good good things that happened. None of the bad matters. I had one of the worst and one of the best years of my life after one another. No doubt about that.

So yeah,

2018 was a year that will truly be missed. I loved it. But no need to mourn anything because 2019 will give me even more things to write about at the beggining of 2020. Not to even mention 2021. This is far from the end.

[patriotsnet]

What Do Republicans Believe About Education

New Post has been published on https://www.patriotsnet.com/what-do-republicans-believe-about-education/

What Do Republicans Believe About Education

Energy Issues And The Environment

Majority Of Republicans Believe Education Is BAD For America

There have always been clashes between the parties on the issues of energy and the environment. Democrats believe in restricting drilling for oil or other avenues of fossil fuels to protect the environment while Republicans favor expanded drilling to produce more energy at a lower cost to consumers. Democrats will push and support with tax dollars alternative energy solutions while the Republicans favor allowing the market to decide which forms of energy are practical.

Where Do Democrats And Republicans Stand On The Issue Of Healthcare

The chasm between the parties approach to providing healthcare to Americans couldnt be more vast. Simply put, Democrats have had some form of healthcare reform on their agenda for nearly a century. Republicans not so much. They feel that the status quo is just fine. At the core is a philosophical disagreement about the role of government. Democrats believe that government should be responsible for the people in some ways, and Republicans believe that the less government, the better. In the current climate, this boils down to Democrats wanting to retain, improve, and expand the ACA, and Republicans working overtime to repeal it with no replacement.

How Far Apart Are Democrats And Republicans On School Reform

Reddit

Americans are more polarized than at any point in recent history.; On issue after issueabortion, the Affordable Care Act, or just about anything else Democrats stand on one side and Republicans stand on the other. It can be difficult for leaders to build consensus around policy when the two sides each have their own base of support.; But is the public so divided over school issues?;;;;;

Last year, Education Next conducted a poll asking Americans about 17 education issues.; On eight of these issues, there is no evidence that parties differ.; Democrats are no more or less supportive than Republicans when it comes to universal vouchers, vouchers for students in failing schools, tax credits for donations to scholarship programs for private schools, higher pay for teachers in hard to staff subjects, higher pay for teachers in hard to staff schools, and awarding tenure on the basis of student performance.;

There are differences on other issuesincreasing spending, raising teacher pay, government funded universal preschool, government funded preschool for low income families, charter schools, vouchers for low-income families, merit pay, tenure, and Common Corebut these differences hardly pit the parties in opposing corners of the ring.; In only one case does the majority from one party oppose the majority from the other.; Nearly three-fourths of Democrats favor more spending on public schools, and 54 percent of Republicans oppose it.;;;;;;;;;

Recommended Reading: How Many States Are Controlled By Republicans

Federal Government In Education

The Republican Party believes in doing away entirely with federal loans. College tuition, and its consequential debt, is rising uncontrollably. At this point, it is rising far above the rate of inflation. College debt in America, as of 2012, had exceeded the amount of credit card debt. Republicans believe federal loans exacerbate this problem by their lack of transparency, and the fact that they are often more expensive than private loans. For these reasons, republicans believe that the federal government should no longer issue student loans. Greater private sector participation in loans would drive tuition costs down. The party believes that the federal government should, however, serve as an insurance guarantor for private sector loans.

Crime And Capital Punishment

Republicans generally believe in harsher penalties when someone has committed a crime, including for selling illegal drugs. They also generally favor capital punishment and back a system with many layers to ensure the proper punishment has been meted out. Democrats are more progressive in their views, believing that crimes do not involve violence, such as selling drugs, should have lighter penalties and rehabilitation. They are also against capital punishment in any form.

You May Like: How Many Democrats And Republicans Are In The House

Do The Republicans Even Believe In Democracy Anymore

They pay lip service to it, but they actively try to undermine its institutions.

By Michael Tomasky

Contributing Opinion Writer

A number of observers, myself included, have written pieces in recent years arguing that the Republican Party is no longer simply trying to compete with and defeat the Democratic Party on a level playing field. Today, rather than simply playing the game, the Republicans are simultaneously trying to rig the games rules so that they never lose.

The aggressive gerrymandering, which the Supreme Court just declared to be a matter beyond its purview; the voter suppression schemes; the dubious proposals that havent gone anywhere yet like trying to award presidential electoral votes by congressional district rather than by state, a scheme that Republicans in five states considered after the 2012 election and that is still discussed: These are not ideas aimed at invigorating democracy. They are hatched and executed for the express purpose of essentially fixing elections.

We have been brought up to believe that American political parties are the same that they are similar creatures with similar traits and similar ways of behaving. Political science spent decades teaching us this. The idea that one party has become so radically different from the other, despite mountains of evidence, is a tough sell.

Or is there?

So were not there right now. But we may well be on the way, and its abundantly clear who wants to take us there.

For Teachers The Agenda Includes Bonuses And Tax Credits

To reward teachers who are highly effective, Republican lawmakers have proposed directing $50 million of the states $13.5 billion public education budget toward bonuses. They believe it is the biggest step the state can take to directly increase teacher pay set by local districts.

They deserve it, said Sen. Paul Lundeen, R-Monument and a bill sponsor. The reality is all teachers deserve more pay, but the teachers who are doing a great job are the first ones we should be getting more pay to.

Teacher pay is determined by local school districts, and bonuses offer the state a way to add more dollars to their compensation. Lundeen said 47% of Colorados public school teachers are currently rated as highly effective. Senate Democrats defeated legislation to this effect a year ago.

Republicans are also eager to draw more top-notch teachers into Colorados struggling schools through financial incentives included in a separate bill sponsored by Sen. Kevin Priola, R-Henderson, and Rep. Bri Buentello, D-Pueblo.

The state, Priola said, should at a minimum hold them harmless financially for doing the right thing and using their excellent skills to teach the kids that really need help closing the achievement gap.

Every teacher across this state invests in their students, not only with their time and with their energy and with their heart and their soul, but those teachers also spend dollars, Lundeen said. They pay for supplies to support the students in their classroom.

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Shift To Community Colleges And Technical Institutions

The first step is to acknowledge the need for change when the status quo is not working. New systems of learning are needed to compete with traditional four-year colleges: expanded community colleges and technical institutions, private training schools,online universities, life-long learning, and work-based learning in the private sector. New models for acquiring advanced skills will be ever more important in the rapidly changing economy of the 21st century, especially in science, technology,engineering, and math. Public policy should address all these challenges and to make accessible to everyone the emerging alternatives, with their lower cost degrees, to traditional college attendance.

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Republicans and Democrats Explained! What is the Difference?

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Rep. Evan Goyke, D-Milwaukee, said there was no excuse for underfunding schools at a time when the state budget was sitting on a roughly $2 billion projected surplus.

“We have the money,” Goyke said. “We have the money to make the investments we need.”

As part of the GOP proposal, Republicans would also set aside $350 million in Wisconsin’s budget stabilization fund, commonly referred to as the state’s “rainy day fund.” While Republicans indicated that the funding could eventually go toward schools, there would be no limits on how a future governor and Legislature could spend the money.

“The money’s going to stay there,” said Sen. Duey Stroebel, R-Saukville. “It’s a safe place to put it.”

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Senator Jim Inhofe Republican Of Oklahoma

Incoming chairman of the Senate committee on the environment and public works

Inhofe is the poster boy for Republican climate change denialism, not only for his stridency on the issue but because he is the once and future leader of the key Senate committee on environmental policy. Inhofe will be able to lead the committee for two years before running up against term limits . This time around, Inhofes committee is expected to focus on transportation and infrastructure bills.

But it seems likely that Inhofe will devote some energy to blocking the regulation of carbon emissions. We think this because on 12 November he told the Washington Post: As we enter a new Congress, I will do everything in my power to rein in and shed light on the EPAs unchecked regulations.

Inhofe has climate change the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people, has said God, not humans, controls the weather, and has denied climate change in many other ways.

Gop Education Budget Would Spend $14b Less Than Evers On Schools

Thursday, May 27, 2021, 5:30pm

Republicans who run the Legislature’s budget committee parted dramatically with Gov. Tony Evers Thursday, passing a K-12 education budget that would spend $1.4 billion less than the governor asked for.

The roughly $150 million they would spend, which includes $128 million in state tax funding,;is hundreds of millions less than the increase they supported just two years ago, and it comes at a time when state government’s budget is as flush as it’s been in decades.

It also comes at a time when Wisconsin schools are receiving more federal funding than ever before through three coronavirus relief packages, a total of $2.6 billion that Republicans say reduces the need to spend state funds on schools.

“We would be so remiss if we did not account for that money as we move forward,” said Rep. Tony Kurtz, R-Wonewoc. “To me, this is a no-brainer.”

At the same time, the GOP education plan raised the prospect that Wisconsin might not qualify for the federal funds.;That’s because one of the conditions of receiving the federal money is that states maintain the amount they spend on education as a percentage of their overall budgets. As of Thursday, the budget crafted by Wisconsin Republicans would fall short.

“You’re not going to get it,” Sen. Jon Erpenbach, D-West Point, told Republicans. “One side of the aisle is not being honest here.”

In largely setting aside the governor’s proposal, Republicans rejected key pillars of Evers’ education budget.

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In Favour Of A Constitutional Monarchy

Not inherently undemocratic: Opponents of the republican movement argue that the current system is still democratic as the Government and MPs of Parliament are elected by universal suffrage and as the Crown acts only on the advice of the Parliament, the people still hold power. Monarchy only refers to how the head of state is chosen and not how the Government is chosen. It is only undemocratic if the monarchy holds meaningful power, which it currently does not as government rests with Parliament.

Safeguards the constitutional rights of the individual: The British constitutional system sets limits on Parliament and separates the executive from direct control over the police and courts. Constitutionalists argue that this is because contracts with the monarch such as the Magna Carta, the , the Act of Settlement and the Acts of Union place obligations on the state and confirm its citizens as sovereign beings. These obligations are re-affirmed at every monarch’s coronation. These obligations, whilst at the same time placing limits on the power of the judiciary and the police, also confirm those rights which are intrinsically part of British and especially English culture. Examples are Common Law, the particular status of ancient practices, jury trials, legal precedent, protection against non-judicial seizure and the right to protest.

What Is A Republican Republican Definition

April 11, 2014 By RepublicanViews.org

This article fully answers what a Republican is and gives the definition of a Republican in a fair, unbiased, and well-researched way. To start the article we list out the definition of a Republican, then we cover the Republican Partys core beliefs, then we list out the Republican Partys beliefs on all the major issues.

The Definition of a Republican:;a member of the Republican party of the U.S.

Source Merriam-Webster Dictionary

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History Of The Democratic Party

The party can trace its roots all the way back to Thomas Jefferson when they were known as Jeffersons Republicans and they strongly opposed the Federalist Party and their nationalist views. The Democrats adopted the donkey as their symbol due to Andrew Jackson who was publicly nicknamed jackass because of his popular position of let the people rule. The Democratic National Committee was officially created in 1848. During the civil war a rift grew within the party between those who supported slavery and those who opposed it. This deep division led to the creation of a new Democratic party, the one we now know today.

What Is Critical Race Theory And Why Do Republicans Want To Ban It In Schools

The latest front in the culture wars over how U.S. students should learn history and civics is the concept of critical race theory, an intellectual tool set for examining systemic racism. With roots in academia, the framework has become a flash point as Republican officials across the country seek to prevent it from being taught in schools.

In reality, there is no consensus on whether or how much critical race theory informs schools heightened focus on race. Most teachers do not use the term critical race theory with students, and they generally do not ask them to read the work of legal scholars who use that framework.

Some lessons and anti-racism efforts, however, reflect foundational themes of critical race theory, particularly that racism in the United States is systemic. The New York Timess landmark 1619 Project, which addresses slaverys role in shaping the nation, also has an associated school curriculum.

At least five Republican-led state legislatures have passed bans on critical race theory or related topics in recent months, and conservatives in roughly nine other states are pressing for similar measures. Some teachers have said they worry that the legislation will have a chilling effect on robust conversations, or could even put their jobs at risk, at a time when the nation is embroiled in a reckoning on race relations.

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America Should Deport Illegal Immigrants

Republicans believe that illegal immigrants, no matter the reason they are in this country, should be forcibly removed from the U.S. Although illegal immigrants are often motivated to come to the U.S. by companies who hire them, Republicans generally believe that the focus of the law should be on the illegal immigrants and not on the corporations that hire them.

Likely Voters Want Continued Government Funding For Teenage Pregnancy Prevention Programs Rutgers Researcher Finds

ASU Democrats vs Republicans: Federal Standards & Initiatives

Democrats and Republicans disagree on many policies but not on sex education for teenagers, a Rutgers-led national survey finds.

The study, published in the journal;Sex Education,;surveyed close to 1,000 likely voters who identified as Democrats or Republicans. The findings show a strong majority of them support sex education within schools and the continued funding by the government for teenage pregnancy prevention programs that include information about both abstinence and contraception.

“Sex education remains a vital component to reducing unintended teenage pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases among young people as well as providing young people with the information and skills they need to build healthy relationships,” said professor Leslie M. Kantor, chair of the department of urban-global public health at the;Rutgers School of Public Health. Recent attempts by the government to shift funding away from evidence-based pregnancy prevention programs and back to abstinence-only-until- marriage-approaches are out of alignment with what likely voters want.

“Planned Parenthoods mission includes providing sex education programs and resources that teach teens to make healthy, informed choices,” said Nicole Levitz, Director of Digital Products at;Planned Parenthood Federation of America;and a co-author of the study. “This study validates that most likely voters want comprehensive sex education for middle and high school students.

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No Federal College Loans; Just Insure Private Loans

Federal student aid is on an unsustainable path, and efforts should be taken to provide families with greater transparency and the information they need to make prudent choices about a student’s future: completion rates, repayment rates, future earnings,and other factors that may affect their decisions. The federal government should not be in the business of originating student loans; however, it should serve as an insurance guarantor for the private sector as they offer loans to students.Private sector participation in student financing should be welcomed. Any regulation that drives tuition costs higher must be reevaluated to balance its worth against its negative impact on students and their parents.

The Founders Studied History

The Founders studied the history of governments. They were very interested in what they read about the government of the Roman Republic. It was located in what is now the country of Italy. The Roman Republic existed more than 2,000 years before our nation began.

The Founders liked what they read about the Roman Republic. They learned some important ideas from their study of the government of ancient Rome. They used some of these ideas when they created our government.

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Week Seven: Greta Thunberg Documentary: "I Am Greta"

1. "Why would I need an education if there is no future?"

When Greta is sitting in front of Parliament and has a discussion with an older woman, she is challenged to go to school so she can eventually make a change. This quote really emphasizes the immediacy of the issue of climate change and why she is taking action. There is the continued narrative that we can continuously push off climate change and telling Greta after she gets an education she can work to make a difference is the issue. Rather than waiting, Greta has opted to leverage the celebrity she has to make a difference.  

"The climate is the defining issue of our time.”

Greta uses this phrase to convey the seriousness of her protest when directly questioned about her motives. This exchange is greatly framed by the age dynamic of Greta and the adult she is speaking with. Greta and her generation will witness the most horrific effects of climate change and she is acutely aware of that.

"Once the climate crisis has gotten your attention, then you can't look away."

After getting the invitation to a UN conference, Greta raises concerns about missing school for her speaking engagement. The viewer is then shown Greta in a classroom as a voiceover is heard stating this quote, implying that Great is preoccupied with her crusade for climate justice. This directly points to the tension of Greta trying to maintain a semi normal life while dedicating her life to a cause.

2. In the beginning of the film, we see Greta’s great determination and tenacity as she sits in front of Parliament unwavering in her cause. She stands firm in the face of criticism and even garners a large crowd of supporters. We then cut to her father as he voices concerns about her doing this and we remember she is just a child and ultimately a person with family members that care for her. When we get glimpses into the interactions she has with her father we see a more unfiltered version of her that is not the strong face of a movement but a vulnerable human being that deserves are sympathy for the emotional toll such work does to any individual.

3. I didn’t know she was on the spectrum, had aspergers, or suffered from depression. I knew nothing of the kind of background she came from, but it was interesting to see how close she was with her father. Additionally, I didn’t know just how well she knew how to manipulate social media and digital platforms to support her message. The scene where she discusses Arnold Schwarzenegger’s following gave me the first indication of her hyper awareness. It’s clear that this knowledge allowed her to substantially grow her base. There is a scene where she is introducing her Fridays for Future campaign and decides to speak in English while encouraging people to record and share her speech, knowing that speaking in English will maximize her potential reach.

4. I didn’t realize at how fast of a rate the Amazon forest is burning; that was rather alarming because I knew it contributed to such a significant portion of the planet’s oxygen production. Additionally, I was unaware of how many different young activists there were across the world.

5. I didn’t realize how quickly the movement grew, I had figured Greta had been working for a considerable amount of time in climate justice. I have a false memory of Greta coming into the spotlight and beginning her work earlier than she did with her celebrity having a slow build. I do remember Greta’s celebrity coming to a peak in 2019 when she embarked on the sailboat to NY, but I was tangentially aware of her because she was frequently in the headlines, not anyone I ever sought out or investigated information about her. I think this movement took off as it did because Greta was such an unlikely leader and her dedication to this effort made others recognize their own privilege and how they could contribute. Greta is also very savvy and well informed; her preparedness and passion make her very charismatic and a leader to who is easy to rally around.

6. Early on in the film, Arnold Schwarzenegger was mentioned to have shared a video of Greta’s on Twitter to his four million followers. Although he is a politician, Emmanual Macron’s global recognition is beyond that of just a politician and has reached a celebrity like status. His meeting with Greta very much served as a cosign of her efforts and added a legitimacy to her as an activist. Her meeting with the Pope also served as a major moment in her being recognized by a figure that is held in the highest regard by an entire religious sect.

7. The Paris Agreement is an international treaty on climate change, adopted by 196 countries in 2015. The goal is to limit global warming below 2 degrees celsius. This goal is difficult to reach because there are so many moving parts and countries that are acting without concern for the climate crisis. Under the Obama Administration, the United States was initially a major proponent of the Paris Agreement, but with the changing of power, Donald Trump backed out the agreement. President Biden has returned to the agreement, but such instability in commitments pose serious threat to accomplishing long term goals over the course of many years.

8. At conferences, Greta was used as a pawn to simply give off the appearance of leaders caring about the climate crisis. Although she was given a platform, Greta’s words were not taken seriously at these events and she voices frustrations about this. Greta’s past bouts with depression led her to withdraw into herself, only speaking to her family and refusing to eat. We see that in the midst of a very raucous crowd, Greta gets overwhelmed and refuses to eat. There is a back and forth argument with her father, where she eventually gives into his demands for her to eat. It is evident in these moments her celebrity status takes a great toll on her mental health. Her dedication to climate justice drives her to seek perfection in her work and, in striving for perfection, she overextends herself, as is apparent when she is crafting a speech in French.

9. I think Greta served as an example, showing that it is possible for all young people to actively make a difference, but teenage girls were most able to recognize themselves in her. The template Greta laid out showed how easy it was to leverage one’s position in the world. For young women and girls in particular, her outspoken nature and strong will defied stereotypical expectations of both gender and age, and demonstrated alternate ways of being. Further, the fame and positive feedback Greta received as a result of her efforts encouraged others to follow in her footsteps.

10. I think this footage really got to the heart of the entire film as she was detailing her struggles on the boat and how she wished she could just live a regular life. The immense pressure Greta is under reflects the responsibility her entire generation will have to undertake to try and save the planet. By highlighting Greta’s pain and vulnerability, her humanity was put in focus and when contextualizing the climate crisis affect on actual people it is harder to deny its impact. I didn’t follow her voyage in real time, but remember it being a popular topic of conversation.

11. Unfortunately, I was unable to participate in the Climate Strike. I was working at a job that if I had missed a day I would have missed a paycheck and potentially lost my shift, so I had to prioritize my financial stability. There was certainly an internal struggle as I wanted to participate, but felt unable to. The choice I made felt selfish, as I was ranking my own interest above the collective good. However, I was not just responsible for myself and had to consider the commitments/promises I made to other people in terms of my bosses/coworkers and family who I would be more dependent on if I lost employment. This tension I experienced, although rather low stakes, forced me to contemplate the idea of how capitalism is often at odds with environmental conservation.