Teamwork and Tactics, 3rd Period - Friday

[no-i-in-york.livejournal.com]

York broke out the armor to cover for Wash's class today. He didn't feel like dealing with "what's with your eye?" and "why do you have that other guy's face" questions when he was already dealing with how ill equipped he was as a teacher already.

"Okay, so, Agent Washington was called away on business. No, I don't know where he went and I also don't know when he'll be back so don't ask," he started once everybody was seated. "I'm Agent New York but feel free to call me York. No, Wash and I aren't related and we aren't dating. We're ex-coworkers and I babysit his evil, evil cats while he's away."

Was someone bitter? Just a bit.

"So apparently this class is about teamwork and tactics? Have we discussed what you can bring to the table in a team? Because as the old cliche goes...something something about weak links and chain breaking."

He was sure Delta knew that actual cliche but he was keeping a low profile as to not freak out the people who didn't have an AI living in their head.

"So go ahead and tell me what you bring to a team. And, hey, it'll give me a chance to learn who you people are."

Philosophy of Loss, Friday, 2nd Period

[living_endless]

The classroom contained the same circle of comfortable chairs and beanbags as it had the week before, with a similar table of snacks and drinks to the side. A TV had been set up near the head of the circle.

Didi smiled once everyone seemed to be in their places and comfortable. "Good morning," she said. "Welcome back. I planned to talk about funerals today anyhow, but I got lucky with the news -- they found a species of ancient humans they didn't know about before. The interesting thing is, these incredibly ancient people buried their dead. I'm going to show you <ahref="http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/10/africa/homo-naledi-human-relative-species/">how CNN covered it.

She watched the clip as keenly as the students, though of course she'd seen it before. "So, even more than a hundred thousand years ago, even in a form most people today wouldn't consider human, people had the urge for funeral rites. It's not just Homo Naledi, either. Neanderthals have been found buried under flower pollen, as though their clans put flowers on their graves. Funerals tend to be one of the most stable and uniting customs in a society,and they're as different as the cultures that invented them. For example, Hindus cremate their dead to return the body to the five elements, while Orthodox Jews regard cremation as sacrilege. In New Orleans, there's a tradition called the jazz funeral, where upbeat music is played to celebrate the life of the deceased. The list goes on" -- and there she paused to pass out a handout from Wikipedia.

"Of course, funerals aren't really for the dead," she added. "They're for the living, so people can mourn the loss and say goodbye to someone. And what I'd like to talk about is what value you see in that. Do you like the idea of funerals? Or would you rather process a loss on your own? I'm also interested in any general thoughts you have on funeral customs, especially any traditions you have at home."

Don't Be Stupid, Friday, 1st Period

[wrongkindofsith]

Cara had her class meet in a normal classroom this week. Given that was not a thing she regularly did, clearly this boded well for the class.

"It seems the gremlins were even more of a problem than usual last weekend." Not that she overly cared, she'd spent most of it in her apartment enjoying Surreal's company and avoided the whole business.

"Living on this island you are eventually either going to get bit, or know someone who gets bitten, there's not much you can do if you get bit." Except do your best to pretend it never happened. "But when there's someone in the room who currently thinks they're high queen of the pirate fairies, or they're being attacked by predatory trousers, then you have to do something, if only to get a bit of peace and quiet."

Cara glanced around the room. "So, let's discuss strategies for dealing with someone who's just been gremlin bit."