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

[uncertain_dume]

"We've been doing a lot of charity work lately," Hera said, "but this class is about helping in all kinds of ways, big and small, and that's not the only way there is to help. Today we'll be doing something smaller."

"Spreading nice thoughts," Kanan said, leaning back against the desk, arms crossed over his chest. "Good feelings. Slip a friendly note in a book in the library where somebody might find it. Put words of encouragement on a public 'fresher mirror with a sticky note. Smile at someone who needs a smile. Say 'hello' to someone who looks like they could use a friendly greeting."

"Never underestimate what just being nice can do," Hera continued. "You could really make someone's day. You could turn them around, and they could turn someone else around. Compliment something about a person. If you've got credits, pay for their coffee. Offer to help carry something. Heck, if you're the artistic type," she knew who she was looking at, "just paint 'YOU ARE GREAT AND PEOPLE LIKE YOU' in large letters on...something someone doesn't mind painted. Or paint it on paper and wrap that around a wall."

Kanan was giving Hera an amused glance. Oh no, she was encouraging that? He was going to have to show her his office door at some point.

Hera had already been warned she was creating - or at least encouraging - a monster, here. She was unrepentant.

"So," Kanan said, looking back at the class, "you're welcome to stick around here for the rest of the class period to brainstorm, or set out into the wild now to get a head start on today's assignment, but what we'd like for you to do is find some way to improve somebody's day. Call it homework. Make a week out of it."

"If you have any really great ideas, please share them, too," Hera said. "Working together is another way to make things better."

[OOC: Open!]

Japanese Blades, First Period [11/30]

[battlewithstyle]

Mitsutada looked quite apologetic in front of the class today, perhaps a bit embarrassed at the long gap between held classes.

"I'm glad you have all made it," Mitsutada said. "In something of an attempt to make up for our unexpected long break, we will be ending this class with something quite special: visits from members of the Tenka-Goken. These are the five greatest swords ever forged in Japan, which makes them probably the greatest in all the world, though I am of course biased due to being one. I will let my guest introduce himself, and he shall share with you."

The guest smiled. He didn't really look like a fancy sword, but rather like a friendly old janitor.

"My name is Mikazuki Munechika. I'm one of the five great swords of Japan, and well, I'm also said to be the most beautiful. I was born near the end of the 11th century. I guess you can say I'm an old man. Ha ha ha," he introduced. "Ashikaga Yoshiteru, the Kengo Shogun, was my original master. He would die in battle wielding me, and claimed from his body by the Miyoshi family. From there, I would end up in the possession of Nene, the great and powerful wife of Hideyoshi Toyotomi. After Nene's death, I was presented to the Tokugawa as a gift, and remained in their possession from then on, eventually being labeled one of the National Treasures of Japan."

"I do not have as fiery of a history as some blades, and you'll have to forgive an old man for not dressing up to see you young people today, but I hope I can provide you with some knowledge you did not have before. Mitsutada has promised us tea, and we can chat while we drink," Mikazuki said.

"Yes," Mitsutada affirmed, bringing out a set of Japanese tea cups and a kettle, which he set about filling with green tea and passing them to the students and finally a cup for Mikazuki and himself. "Please, feel free to ask questions."

[ooc: OCD up! Class in session!]

Civics Class, Friday, November 30, 2018

[heroic_jawline]

"Tony offers his apologies for missing class," Steve began with a smile. "He has a board meeting that he absolutely couldn't get out of."

He leaned back against the desk. "The elections are finally over, so that means it's time to turn our attention to other civic matters. And since we're entering the holiday season that prominently features a census as part of the tale, let's talk about our census." He smiled again. "I promise not to make it too boring. It is Constitutional mandated that the government do a complete count of everyone in the country--men, women, children, undocumented immigrants, homeless populations, everyone, every ten years. And those numbers are crucial in deciding small things like the number of Congressional districts a state gets, how much money gets allocated for schools versus hospitals versus public housing projects, and so on, and so on. Naturally, this current administration is doing absolutely unconscionable things like trying to stick a citizenship question onto the questionnaire, or sending up a trial balloon about 'how about we share this highly sensitive information with law enforcement groups' in, I believe, an effort to depress the number of minorities who fill out the census when it's time. Again, these numbers are used to decide funding and how Congressional districts are allocated and if there isn't an accurate count, there won't be enough money sent to those areas and they won't have the representation they deserve."

He grinned. "Luckily for all of you graduating in the next few years, they'll be hiring Census takers--money's pretty good from what I remember. So? What questions do you think should be on a census questionnaire? What does the government need to know to better serve its population?"