Pay It Forward: Making a Big Difference in Little Ways, Friday, Period 3

[uncertain_dume]

Class had been handwavily sent e-mail this morning, and there was also a note on the classroom door directing them to meet at the park. When they got there, Hera was carrying a large, sturdy plastic bag. "Communities are places where people live together. Every one of them has some sort of shared space, even if it's just the walkways between apartments. Nobody that I've met ever likes them dirty. So unless you're part dia noga, it's considerate to clean up after yourself. Even if everybody does, though, there's always some things that end up as clutter and junk."

"It's pretty easy to just skip by that stuff and tell yourself it isn't your problem," Kanan noted, leaning back casually against a nearby tree. He'd been eyeing the sky, but it looked as though the rain would hold off at least for another hour or two. "But sooner or later, it'll become somebody's problem. Maybe a kid steps on some broken glass, or somebody's pet eats something they really shouldn't have. It takes all of a second to bend over and pick up a piece of trash. Small gesture that adds up, over time."

"Yesterday there was a party in the park, and I'm sure they did their best, but there's only so much cleaning you can figure out in the dark," Hera said. "So we're going to do our part to help them, and hopefully they'll return the favor if anything of ours ever makes a mess. Because we're a community."

Squirrels probaby didn't have great night vision for tidying trash, anyway.

"We have a box of bags, black for garbage and clear for recyclables," Kanan shared. "Take one, find a partner, and let's do a wander of the park. If we run out of litter there, we can move on and do some cleanup around the rest of town, too. Maybe the beach. Plenty of stuff just washes up there after the tides."

Hera held out a package of latex gloves. "If you find anything too awful, you can wear these to pick it up, though hopefully it won't be too bad. Everybody ready?"

Kanan nodded, and then made a reach for his own bag.

"Go, run, be free. Just pick up some garbage while you do it. When your bag is full or the hour is up, drop it off in the junkyard, and then go enjoy the rest of your," probably about to get rainy, "day."

Japanese Blades, First Period, Friday [09/14].

[battlewithstyle]

The guest this week stood next to Mitsutada, looking far less fabulous than the previous one. Not to mention, shorter. At 5' 3", he wasn't an imposing figure. Though with wide blue eyes and a floppy haircut, it would be hard for someone so cute to look imposing. The red-and-black track suit didn't help, either.

"Welcome, students," Mitsutada said to greet the class. "We're continuing our classes on the Shinsengumi this week with another of the blades of Hijikata. I won't take up further time and allow our guest to introduce himself."

"Me? I'm called Horikawa Kunihiro," the guest introduced. "Together with Izuminokami Kanesada, I served Hijikata Toshizou as a wakizashi. Whether or not I'm a real Kunihiro remains to be proven, but at the very least, I was without a doubt Kane-san's... I mean, Kanesada's partner."

Horikawa absolutely beamed when talking about Kanesada. "You see, when the Shinsengumi had become somewhat established, the officers thought they should have weapons that would be considered more prestigious. Hijikata already had a wakizashi, myself, of the Kunihiro school. So he chose to commission a uchigatana to match, and that is how Kane-san was forged. You could almost say we were made for each other."

Mitsutada shot a tiny askance look at Horikawa, though with a smirk. Not exactly the history he'd been expecting to talk about today.

"But I suppose I am here to talk about Hijikata, most of all," Horikawa said. "Shokudaikiri told me that Kane-san had mentioned the end of the time of samurai, but didn't mention something very important about Hijikata himself. He wasn't one. He was the youngest son of a farmer, and spent his young adulthood selling medicine and training himself to use a sword. He was a tall and handsome man, who was very strict with those who were not friends or family. He has a nickname, the demon vice-commander, which is a little unfair if you ask me."

He gave a smile to the class. "I did bring a present for you all, though."

"Is that what's in these packages?" Mitsutada asked, pointing at some bundles to the side.

"Hai," Horikawa said, bending down to open one up. "Saniwa made these to help your expedition, as a gift to your students." He pulled out a light blue haori coat with a white triangular patter on the sleeve edges. "These are styled after the uniform of the Shinsengumi, and hopefully there will be ones to fit all of you."

"That is... very kind of the Saniwa," Mitsutada said. "Does anyone have any questions?"

[ooc: OCD done and post open!]

Civics, 1st Period - Friday

[imafuturist]

Today, there was a television screen in addition to the two teachers at the front of the classroom. "After last week's rant discussion, we thought it might be helpful to talk a little more about separations of powers and how it's supposed to work," Steve began.

"Now, originally the powers were just the Executive and the Legislature, with the Judiciary acting as a bit of an afterthought," Tony said. "The Executive being the President and those who work for him, the Legislature being the House of Representatives and Senate, and the Judiciary being the courts, in case you didn't know."

"And for more than a century, it was the Legislature who held the power," Steve said. "All of those Presidents in the middle of American History that you can't remember? It's because the House and Senate were running things and they didn't really do anything. It's only in recent times with the expansion of the federal government into so many aspects of life that, for better or worse, the Executive Branch has taken on such prominence. It's a lot easier to get one voice moving in a certain direction than 535, especially when half of that 535 deeply loathes the other half."

"Technically the Legislature still has the power to keep the President in check. Not that anyone would know that these past two years," Tony muttered under his breath. "Our government is very different from what it once started as because the country itself is different. Change is important, but also needs to be checked by the people."

"Which is why next week's class will be about registering people to vote," Steve said, nodding firmly. "Today, we're going to watch a few informative videos that explore the separation of powers more fully, and then we can discuss it further."