Defying Expectations, Tuesday, Per 3

[glacial_queen]

"Morning," Karla said, giving her class a wan smile. It was hard to be convincing when you were on your third straight day of roiling nausea. Not throwing up, just sourceless, endless nausea. "Now that introductions are over, we can start digging into the meat of this class." Bad choice of words there, Karla.

"Destiny is an intimidating topic. Even if you're thrilled about whatever is waiting for you, it can be scary because you're talking about something that can set the tone for your whole life even if it doesn't take up your whole life. Not having a destiny can be just as scary; while you have more freedom to decide what you want, there's more uncertainty, too. Sometimes it's comforting to know what's waiting for you; even if you hate it, it gives you something to work against. Every week, we're going to spend the first part of class just talking about how you're feeling about things." She wrinkled her nose--that actually sounded way more touchy-feely than she'd intended. "I don't mean we're going to sit in a circle and hug our problems out, but sometimes it's just good to talk. Whether you're working towards your destiny, against it, or just figuring out what the Hell you want to do with yourself after high school, this is a chance for you to ask questions, get advice from myself and any other students, or just bitch that your parents are sending you college applications and you're only a sophomore."

( Cut for the teal deer )

Keeping Your Advantage: Terrain and You [Weds, 3rd Period]

[atreideslioness]

Class met in the Danger Shop today, and when students arrived, they'd find themselves in a landscape that looked like something from a science fiction film. "Good morning, class," Ghanima said. "And welcome to Mount St. Helens."

"Mount St. Helens is is an active stratovolcano, most famous for its catastrophic eruption on May 18, 1980, at 8:32 am PDT which was the deadliest and most economically destructive volcanic event in the history of the United States," she stated. "Fifty-seven people were killed; 250 homes, 47 bridges, 15 miles of railways, and 185 miles of highway were destroyed. A massive debris avalanche caused an eruption, reducing the elevation of the mountain's summit from 9,677 ft to 8,365 ft and replacing it with a 1 mile wide horseshoe-shaped crater."

( This little planet may look like a single solid mass, but it’s really made up of several massive plates of earth and rock )

Today you have two options. You may explore the crater here for Mount St. Helens and ponder the destructive forces that destroyed half a mountain, or you can create your own miniature volcano to study the unpredictability of these geological giants."