Tao of a Silly Old Bear, Monday, Period Two

[uncertain_dume]

Today's class was told to meet outside, to take advantage of the decent weather, and were given directions to meet at the park. Kanan was standing in the shade under one of the larger trees, not far from the pond, and was smiling a little to himself. This was introduction week. However else he might have felt about having a philosophy class shunted off on him, he was generally pretty confident in his ability to do introductions without having to worry about too much disaster.

"Hey, folks," he greeted, nodding at his class. "Welcome to... this class about Taoism." A pause. "And occasional stuffed bears. Most of you have already had a class with me before," he nodded to the students in question, "but for those of you who haven't, I'm Kanan Jarrus. Please, just call me Kanan. I'm not a professor, I'm a guy who flipped through a book and spent a few minutes contemplating what's in it, and now I'm passing it to you."

Yes, he was absolutely holding up his copy of the book in question, a well-read paperback with a cream-colored cover with a red border, the picture of a little yellow bear flying a kite on the front.

"For this workshop, we're going to discuss the Earth philosophy of Taoism. I'm not certain if any of you recognize the bear on the cover of the book, but... yeah, we're gonna talk a little bit about him, too, if only because the adventures of this children's storybook character pose very convenient parallels to the topic in question. So if you're in this class just to hear me say phrases like, 'Silly willy nilly old bear,' and 'Oh, bother,' you might not even be disappointed." He shrugged. "This week, though, we're not going to touch much on the bear in question. This week is a week for explaining Taoism in broad strokes, so that you have some idea of what you've just gotten yourself into. Taoism is, at its core, a philosophy that emphasizes doing what comes natural, following the guidance and flow of a cosmic force that flows through all things. Binds them and releases them."

... Yeah, it had caught his attention for possibly obvious reasons, if you knew anything about his upbringing at all.

"So, this term, we're going to do a lot of that. Going with the flow. Not trying to force things to be what they aren't, but rather, trying to accept and work with them as they are. And, since this is the first week of classes, going with the flow means introductions." Kanan grinned faintly. "Names, why you took this class, and, if you feel so inclined, share with us some aspect of your own personal philosophy or your first impressions of Taoism, based on today's lecture."

Working Together: How Not to be an A-Hole - Monday - Third Period

[biotic_psychotic]

"Good morning. Welcome to Working Together: How Not To Be An A-Hole," Jack said as the class filed in. "Welcome to the Danger Shop. For any of you who might not have been here before, it's a simulation room. For our first day of class, we're going to do introductions because that's part of not being a jerk when you're in a new environment with a new group, and then you're going to figure out the confidence course."

Down the center of the room lies what might generously be called an obstacle course. It held standard things like staggered tires to run through, wires to crawl under, ropes with no knots to climb, a wall to get over, a mud pit to swing across - but also things right out of video games. Gold coins hanging in the air, a sphere of perfect darkness - the inside of which was not viewable because: perfect darkness, riveted boxes with question marks on them, banana peels randomly appearing and zipping across areas of the obstacle course before disappearing.

"Some of you might have seen or done a thing like this before. Usually it's a competition. This ain't. You don't get graded individually. Clock starts, clock don't end until every member of this class gets from one side of the room to the other. Which means class don't end until every member of this class gets from one side of the room to the other. You'll be choosing a team captain for the day but that's because most groups don't work by committee. I expect the captain to listen to the ideas of the others and make the ultimate decisions on how you cross, but participation in this is mandatory. No lurkers, got me?" Jack looked at all of the class.

"So - start with introductions. I'm Jack, I'm your teacher. I don't care what it says on your roster, I'm not 'Ms. Zero' or 'Miss Jack' - it's just Jack. Your TA is Peebee. We're here if you have questions."

[OCD is up!]

Cutthroat Games, Monday, May 6, 2019 [First Period]

[sith_happened]

Anakin leaned against a desk at the front of a classroom that had been modified with a series of card tables.

"We'll play more physically active games later on this summer," he began, "but today we thought we'd start out easy."

But if you thought simple board games couldn't devolve into physical violence, you've never played with Anakin and Aeryn. "I'm Anakin Skywalker," he said, pointing to himself. "Most you should know me already."

"I'm Aeryn Sun," she said, doing without the pointing. "A former student, and someone who frequently beats your other teacher at many things."

"Not at many things," Anakin grumbled.

This was your class, kids.

"Since most games don't work with seven people," he continued, "we'll have two boards set up. Today's game is called Monopoly, where you hoard money in order to buy fake properties and make your friends go bankrupt and hate you."

Sounds fun, huh? Hard to tell that Anakin wasn't from this planet sometimes...

"And since this game can go for several hours until you hate everyone you're playing with, we'll play till sudden death at the end of the class period," Aeryn added, which was maybe bad phrasing on the first day of a class called Cutthroat Games.

That was maybe why Anakin added, "There will be no actual deaths."

So reassuring to new students! Truly!

Library, Monday

[intotheout]

Tip came into the library after her workshop, still feeling all sunwarmed and chill. She plopped herself down behind the circulation desk and started idly scrolling through her email.

After about half an hour she started to realize how quiet the stacks were. Suspiciously quiet.

"Do I want to know, Bill?"

Bill gave a little bubbly shrug.

"Yeah. . . . Maybe in a little while."

She wanted to enjoy her chill a little longer, first.

[open!]