How Not to Drown, Monday, September 15, Period 3

[sith_happened]

Everyone would probably be thrilled to be back in the pool today. Well, at least happy not to be dealing with squishy mud and fish?

"Today we'll begin to work on treading water," Anakin said, "and floating. It's a good thing to know if you accidentally end up in the water and are not confident enough in your swimming to move from the spot you've landed."

Steve nodded. "It's very important to learn how to control your initial panicked reaction," he said. "Treading water, especially in something like a pool where you aren't working against tides or currents, should be something you can do almost indefinitely."

Some of them weren't also Navy SEALS, Steve.

"You keep your head and chin above water," he said, getting into the correct position. "Don't work to keep your chest up--it's just wasting energy--and move your legs like an eggbeater."

He looked at Lydia and Henry. "Do you know what an eggbeater is?"

Anakin, still on the side of the pool, demonstrated with his legs as they stayed out of the water. "Kick the water downward with your heel," he said. "Like riding an underwater bicycle."

Steve nodded. "We'll hold you up with pool noodles until you get the legs right, then we'll add the arms," he said. "And remember to relax. Tensing up just makes everything harder."

Cryptozoology, Monday period 2

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

Jon nodded to the students as they settled in, then gestured to the image on the whiteboard.

"Bigfoot. Also known as sasquatch. Originating in North American forests, particularly the Pacific Northwest. Generally considered to have the appearance of an upright ape-like creature, larger than human, and incredibly hairy. Also presumably with very large feet. Depending on who you believe," if anyone, "the hair may be black, brown, or red, it may be anywhere from two to five meters tall - six to fifteen feet, if you prefer, and its eyes may shine. It also may smell."

He sighed. "Chances are, it's largely based in folklore, misidentification of things like bears and other humans, and the occasional hoax. The name 'Sasquatch' is probably a terrible Anglicization of 'sasq'ets', a term meaning 'hairy man' in a Native American language, which actually referred to a tribe of people, but that's what you get when people mistranslate things.

"The name 'Bigfoot' was coined by a group of men at a logging company who claimed to see a number of large footprints near where they were working, and even made a cast of one of them. In 2002, it was revealed that one man had wooden carvings of large feet and was making the impressions himself. He was inspired by a different hoax from earlier in the twentieth century."

Honestly, people, did you have to do these things? Jon shook his head.

"The leading logical explanation is bears. Both black bears and grizzly bears have been known to walk upright, and when you see them from a distance or the lighting is bad or there's a lot of foliage in the way, they can look more human or ape-like. Also, actual humans have occasionally been misidentified as Bigfoot, including several which were shot. As a note, if you must use a gun, please do not shoot if you do not know for certain what you are shooting at." He was looking at you, Americans. "Even most believers in the existence of Bigfoot acknowledge that most of the reported sightings are errors.

"As for non-logical explanations, they range from feral tribes of humans, to extraterrestrials," again, "to the supernatural. Of course. So - let's discuss."

Flight and Flying- Monday, 1st period

[solo_sword]

The class was in the flight shed today, where Jaina was waiting.

"Today we're using a ship from my galaxy," she began. "This is the E-wing starfighter. It's used by the military about as much as the X-wings that I know a couple of you have experience with. It's flown with the help of an astromech droid that plugs into a socket on the ship to help with navigation and repairs when things get dicey. It's got heavy armor shielding, laser cannons, and proton torpedoes, so it's well-equipped to survive a firefight. It's just not as cool as the X-wing."

It was true.

"I'm going to give you a demonstration and get you used to things a bit, and then you're going to get some target practice in."