#Ms. S

[187days]

Day Sixty-Eight

Today was the day Mr. W, Ms. S, and I did our karate demo, and we got to do it for all the ninth graders again this year, which was so cool.

How did we do it? Mrs. C and I both have classrooms that share a collapsible wall with the classrooms next to them, so we opened them up. At the start of Block 2, half the ninth graders went to her room to watch a film and do some reading about Okinawan karate, the other half came to my room to watch the demo; then, at the start of Block 3, they switched places.

During the demo, we explained how our style of karate was influenced by Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism. We started with a bit of a skit, where I played a stereotypical aggressive person trying to goad Mr. W into a fight. He avoided me at first, then just blocked my strikes when he couldn't avoid me (and I did my best angry dude impression by calling him punk and a coward for not fighting me). Then I got really intense, he struck back and put me on the ground (we remembered mats this year, yay!) so fast that a lot of students gasped. We were making the point that being aggressive is a choice, how we respond is a choice, we shouldn't give other people's thoughts or words about us the power to change the choices we make. We were getting at how our society looks at violence, and about the Taoist view that it can cause people to lose their connection to Tao. That always makes students get really thoughtful.

We also did katas, did some weapons forms, demonstrated some concentration and chi tricks (magic), taught a few students to do tricks, did a bit of sparring, and then took questions. The routine's the same, but not entirely; we played out that skit differently, we switched up our katas and our weapons, Ms. S and I took turns sparring Mr. W, students asked different questions. So it didn't get repetitive for us to do it twice.

It sure got tiring, though!

Afterwards, I put my room back in order, changed out of my gi, ate a quick lunch, and got ready to teach APGOV. I had students examine the civil rights planks of the 1948 party platforms. I wanted them to see the fragmentation of the Democratic party, and to see how the Republicans- and more leftwing minority parties- came out in favor of civil rights with varying degrees of intensity. The point was it represented a shift in public views about race, ethnicity, and so on. If the snow isn't too bad, Tom White will be up tomorrow to help them figure out why that shift happened.

[0ketinha]

is was supposed to be branch

I discovered these days that in the initial ideas for Trolls 3, it was supposed to be Branch

[pokeypoqi]

this is the end of episode 7 in my stupid and idiot mind

[reeseandreeves]

More information here

Otto Spengler became the first known trans person to take synthetic hormones in 1928. She was also Magnus Hirschfeld's first medical patient. Otto knew she was a trans lesbian since she was 12 and loved to dress up for photographs. She transitioned in the early 1900s.

[sketchupnfries]

I am so excited for Severance season 2 you guys! The recent trailer has me pumped!

[vamp-bites]

It’s frankly ridiculous that i havent made a trigun spn au yet. Anyhow its @tricrackweek day 5 spn au!

[kickasscentral]

i hope yall enjoy the fruits of my labour

[ileaveclawmarks]

International Ms. Leather 1995 winner and finalists.

Via Leather Archives and Museum.

[yodaprod]

David Computer, PROFI 203 (1983)

[pidgez]

i NEED D to post some of my bill and ted doodles here cuz i like them. + some lost boys portraits i did 4 fun

[polar-equinoxx]

Goose was dead, and he did nothing but watch.

[187days]

Day Sixty-One

Today was the annual martial arts demo in Global Studies, so I got to show up to work in gym clothes, carrying my kali sticks (with permission from the SRO and The Principal), which was pretty excellent. Did I make a point of walking past all the rookie teachers I could?

Maybe. Heh.

Mr. W and Ms. S, who is another martial arts student (as well as an elementary school aide and our former student, heh), arrived halfway through Block 1 so that we had time to get warmed up, discuss what we were going to do in the demo, and change into our uniforms.

We did the demo three times, for my students and Mrs. C's, and we kept the basics the same: katas, sparring, cool tricks, a bit with the weapons... But, of course, different students ask different questions, so we also went where ever they took us a lot of the time. And sparring goes differently each time you do it; I got thrown to the floor during one block, I took down Ms. S in another, etc, etc... I think seeing full-on sparring, not point sparring, got students' attention the most. But, once we showed what we could do, we explained why the goal is not to actually have to do it.

Okinawan karate has been heavily influenced by Buddhist, Confucian, and Taoist teachings (which is the tie-in to my unit on major belief systems). In particular, we focused on the understanding of violence as a negative thing, and karate as a defensive discipline- one that is ideally never used, and, if it must be, used as little as possible. We really took on the whole "alpha" tough guy thing that's populr right now, and the idea that being aggressive is being powerful, and did our best to turn it on its head.

I don't know that it changed anybody's mindset, but I think it made a lot of them think.

I had to go to a leadership team meeting after all that, so I put my gym clothes back on and headed downstairs. The Principal, who's never seen me spar because he's always busy doing principal things when we do these demos, gave the bruises on my arms quite a look, but I assured him I was fine. I was probably a bit too hopped up on adrenaline still- I was too chatty at that meeting- buuuuut it's okay. I think I said enough intelligent things in between the goofy things.

Tomorrow will be a much more typical day, and I'll be back to my usual teachery self.

[0ketinha]

swapfloyd (by me) + #crystaldory (by @tea0w0stache) because i can

[squiddlebarf]

Let's be tangle buddies! c:

[shmlnbstrcnd]

1 x 8 : "What's for Dinner?"

1 x 9 : "The We We Are"

[trekcherk]

oh my mister spock! how foreword of you... :]

hai treckies its kittycherk, out of hiding! this is my star trek acct now sense my main, kittycherk got maturebanned... sigh. anyways obvs i reblog alot here and ill pop in to draw everyonce in a while! (very much more active on my.. hamilton acount .. (@presidentkittycherk) sorry for the yap i just havent drawn tos art in a while and im glad to be back!!!