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jamestrmtx · 4 years ago

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Fairytale Complex - [Undertale | Sans x Reader]

[Gender Neutral, Frisk's Parent Reader | Slow Burn]

Chapter Sixteen | Dummy! (Part 1 of 3 | His POV)

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Alternate Chapter Title: Oh, Sugar Honey Iced Tea!

• • •

"You're the one they're dating, aren't you?" Jerry asks, obstructing the line. A few potential customers leave when they notice what's going on, not bothering to become involved in the mess. "How's that gonna even work, though? They're only into real men as far as I know. You're just bones and magic."

"This really ain't the place for us to be talkin' about this, pal," Sans replies, looking behind Jerry. "Just lemme do my job. We can talk about this after I clock out."

"Don't you have a lunch break? Let's talk by then."

"'Fraid I've already got plans for lunch."

"Does it involve them?"

"Maybe." The monster shoos him out of the hot dog stand, continuing to serve those in wait. "Dunno why you're still so hung up over this, though. Why don't ya move on?"

"That's easier to say than do." Again, Jerry obstructs the line, ignoring those who tell him to buzz off. He suspends himself over the cart and grabs Sans by the collar, pulling him off the ground until he's to his eye level. He narrows his eyes and tightens his grip on the monster's shirt, yet the latter remains calm. "How far have you gone with them? You're betraying our friendship."

Sans uses magic to break free from Jerry's hold. Then, he shrugs, hands slipping into his pockets. "Let's end it, then. Rather have that than let you keep on questionin' me over weird stuff, and then make me lose customers 'cuz ya keep on blockin' the line."

"Wouldn't have happened if you'd just tell me what's going on."

"I would," Sans comments, taking a water bottle and handing it to one of his clients. "But realistically speakin': What's it to ya? From what I've noticed so far, they've moved on from you, pal."

"But I haven't."

Chuckling, Sans takes a break from the conversation to look up at the sky, grey clouds blocking the sun and the heat. There are people around with their umbrellas already at hand. Those who don't have any rush to find someplace with a roof. "I'm gonna say this nicely, so hear me out." He emerges out of the hot dog stand and starts closing things up, not only due to the worsening weather, but it being barely ten minutes away from his lunch break. If Jerry was still at it, he needed that extra time to get him off his back. "I don't want any trouble, so stop tryna stir some. You had your chance, Jerry. Now it's none of your business who your ex chooses to date, and even less how far they've gone with that person."

"It should be if Frisk will be in the picture."

"Then take responsibility and look after them. You're worryin' too much about this."

"You don't know what I've been through."

"Maybe not, but I can at least tell you to try. Didn't you do the same when I was talkin' about hitting things off with (Y/N)?"

"That was a mistake." He scoffs, glaring at the monster. "Don't rub it in."

Sans finishes closing up right as the first few drops fall. A strong wind blows, wet earth and hot concrete wafting through the air. When he walks off -- Jerry now left behind -- Sans soon stops, hearing him mutter out a 'wait'. Then, he turns around, facing up at the human man, anger present in his posture, stiff and awkward. "Just... Just tell me if you're serious about them or not."

Though it pours, Sans is unable to move. He stays still and considers Jerry's words, thinking back on the night at the hotel and yesterday evening.

Sure, he found them attractive -- attentive and dedicated when it came to their role as a parent, too.

But why exactly did he want to be with them?

Despite his social circle, he mostly thrived alone, and taking up big responsibilities wasn't his thing, in truth. It often tired him out to so much as consider having a serious relationship with someone, and he couldn't even maintain his current friendships or the day-to-day life with his brother. He sounds a lot like the same man he's judging with those last lines, yet it doesn't feel right; that same sensation increases the more he considers his feelings and the situation overall. Living with his brother brought upon an inevitably energetic lifestyle. His personality was far different from Papyrus's, and -- on some occasions -- he didn't exactly feel his best self knowing those differences were still present between him and most of the people he knew.

So why was he getting himself into something as complex as a romantic relationship?

Was he only curious about how it all felt, having heard others around him talk about love and intimacy ever since he could remember?

If that was the case, then it really wasn't okay for him to keep fooling around with them.

And judging by how stern and persistent Frisk was when it came to defending their primary care parent, they wouldn't be, either.

"You just think they're attractive, and that's about it. Right? They're only eye candy to you, I'm sure." Jerry comments, Sans's time having run out. "Betting you ten bucks you'll ditch them the second you get bored of them."

He doesn't hold back his tongue, replying with, "Talkin' from experience?"

With the rain now pouring too hard for either of them to continue, Jerry settles by glaring at the skeleton before giving his back to him. "You dodged my question," he remarks, snickering. "Let's have a talk when you've actually got an answer, and maybe then you can go ahead and judge me all you want, bro." Silence arrives, broken with, "In the end, you're just as bad as me."

Sans stays quiet, analyzing the bit of truth in Jerry's words.

Before Frisk freed his kind, how many times didn't he simply stand by the sidelines, watching as fallen human after fallen human got hurt, sought, and wounded -- until their passing?

He didn't hurt anybody, but then he also didn't help anybody either. Things had gone in a similar way with Frisk; he'd only watched over them every so often, fulfilling Toriel's promise of not hurting any human, but half-heartedly -- seeing as he'd never bothered to help them much, either.

What guaranteed he wouldn't do the same thing here at the Surface, and even more with a human crush he was only recently getting to know?

"Sans, you're soaked!"

Speaking of them, Sans sets those thoughts aside and looks up to see an umbrella covering him up. (Y/N) stands under it and close to him, brushing shoulders as they escort him off to drier land. Their touch sends electricity down his body, yet he forces himself to ignore it, a flash of guilt overcoming those wants. He accompanies them under a bus stop, its roof providing partial cover from the rain. They keep the umbrella straight even as they rummage through their belongings, looking intent to take out something from there. "Hold on a second," they say, retrieving a pink and polka-dotted handkerchief from one of their bag's tiny side pockets. "It's… not really much, but it's better than staying all wet."

Sans nods, still too lost in his thoughts to respond properly. He takes off his jacket and grabs the piece of cloth, quirking an eye socket when he sees the human move their gaze elsewhere. "...Your shirt's a bit thin," they comment, as if reading his mind. If it embarrassed them, it was hard to tell with their voice, too quiet for him to catch onto any change in tone. "Should we find somewhere else to stay? The sky just keeps getting worse."

Almost seeming to set those priorities straight, the weather responds to their comment by lashing out more rain, stronger than before. A car drives past, sending a torrent of water at his and everybody else's direction, holding little regards to speed, puddles, and those nearby. He reacts by instinct, casting a quick shield to prevent everyone around from getting wet. As he steps back, his shoulder brushes with theirs again and he's forced to suppress another shudder. His soul and body both long for their presence; his brief time with them at the hotel has now become a faint yet pleasant memory he wanted to keep and cherish whenever possible. "Let's go," he replies. Then, he reaches out for the umbrella without looking.

He grabs their hand instead -- by accident, that is.

To his surprise, they don't pull back, and he follows their gaze to see them looking up at the sky. "...It's getting worse," he hears them say, a hint of sadness showing up on their tone, words muttered. "Let's go to my place." Their comment is pure survival instinct more than anything suggestive. He sees their chest rise and fall at quicker intervals, hinting at panic. "I need to go get Frisk if the weather keeps up like this."

Their voice breaks and their hand stays with his. Briefly, he wonders why they're scared over the bad weather, that being something mostly he was known for.

"Aren't they with Toriel today?" Sans asks, trying to lighten up the mood. "The kid's safe if you're worried about 'em."

(Y/N) remains quiet, observing the rain before saying, "I… I lost them in a storm like this one the last time they ran away." They huff, not in annoyance, but in fright -- based on the shudder their body makes. They press themselves closer to him, the height difference making their arm brush with his shoulder. Their head rests against the top of his, tilted over to the side. "I'm worried they'll do it again with what… happened yesterday."

He slips his free hand back into his pocket, still too awkward to pull his hand away from the umbrella. "Do ya really think they'll do somethin' like that again?" It's an unforeseen question, one he feels imprudent over asking. Even so, there's no turning back now, and he can only try to soften up his words better. "They looked pretty sorry for doin' that twice."

"Still…" They press closer to him, holding his waist. Judging by how careful their touch is and how little their expression shifts from their sorrow, he shakes off the possibility of this being one of their attempts at paying back at him for his flirting. "I'm worried." Their hand slips away, leaving the ghost of their warmth on his bones. "We should get going. You're still soaked." They smile, continuing with, "Thank you, by the way. It was a lot better having you pick us up, rather than taking the bus at seven."

Finally capable, Sans pulls his hand back and follows them out of the bus stop, finding additional coverage under the roofs of nearby buildings. "No problem," he says, looking up at them. Only the human and himself can be seen walking; the rest of the people around either make a run for it, or take cover inside shops and offices. "That's what we're all here for, pal."

They smile; all the uncertainty from before seems to have never existed with how bright their expression is. Then, they nod and bump their hip against his. "I mean it," they say, lips tugging upwards. "I, well… I still feel weird over our date, but in a good way, though."

• • •

He arrives at their home an hour after.

The weather's still at it, though compared to previous times, there's no thunder to worry about yet. All sorts of leaves litter the grass and the roads around, the strength of the wind being responsible for it. A few car alarms go off as debris falls over them, leaving their owners to try bringing control over the situation.

When he makes it with them to the front door, they open it up in no time at all and bundle him up with a towel as soon as they step inside.

"You should shower and change, just in case," they say, slipping off their shoes. They set the pair aside next to the welcome mat, and he figures he should do the same, too. "I'm not sure if monsters can get sick this way, but you should head over to the bathroom while I look for some clothes."

It's only when they turn to him that the situation finally gets to him. Captivated by their words, he looks up at them with a grin, that alone resulting to be enough for them to freeze and stay still, like a deer in the middle of a road. "Taking this dating thing seriously, huh?" he asks, stepping closer to their side. They don't take a step back, nor do they glare, looking as lost as humans often did when they fell Underground. "I'm flattered."

When they do show their anger, it conflicts with a frown and watery eyes -- far different from their usual self. Even when they'd become frustrated confronting Alphys and Undyne about their lives underground, they hadn't shown sorrow like this one. It's distant and concerning enough for him to want to back away from his frequent teasing.

(Y/N) takes a step forward, the clicking of their shoes now gone. Then, they lower their gaze and their frown quivers as they try not to let their tears fall. "I…" They hold on to his shoulder, bringing him closer as they do the same. Their eyes narrow and their unknown conflict shows through the wrinkles on their forehead and the subtle pout of their mouth. With how close they are, it wouldn't take much for their lips to brush with his teeth.

Just as he feels their arm around his waist, they pull back, looking elsewhere as they backtrack on their steps. "...I need to ask you something," they say, still facing away. All of a sudden, their conflict dissipates and anger returns to their posture. They cross their arms, finding strength again. "Can... Can you stay over so we can talk?"

Sans nods, keeping his cool. He tries not to think back too much on how close they just were or how they'd brushed off their sadness like it was nothing, yet it's hard to do. His soul pounds as he holds them back with a 'wait', refraining from physical contact. "You doin' alright, (Y/N)?" he asks, holding back a breath. "We can still talk about yesterday, if you wanna. Maybe we can't go anywhere with the weather right now, but I can make us that dinner I promised you last time."

Their lips form a firm line as they consider his offer.

Seconds later, a smile shows on their face. They then look down at their phone, checking the time. "Sounds good." They grin, a stifled laugh following it. "Now go change, Sans. We can't keep this up if you get sick!"

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#sans x reader #undertale x reader #lgbt #lgbt themes #gender neutral reader #male reader #female reader #mother reader #father reader #parent reader #chubby reader #long fic #romcom #adventure #mystery #platonic relationships #slow burn

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arahul-abyssia · 3 years ago

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To Mend What's Been Broken

And thus is my third story for @starprincesshlc and @jklantern 's Nintember celebration! (Coming a day late because of Various Reasons.) I have written about Emotions! Again! So we're three for three on that front! I have also accidentally mirrored Me-From-One-Year-Ago and once again made Story 3 only a bit shorter than the combined lengths of Stories 1 and 2.

Also, this story is very much a direct sequel to one of the stories from last year, specifically the only one I haven't mentioned in this post yet. This one should be >83% understandable if you haven't read part 1, but still, here's a link to it! (Please let me know if the link doesn't work, I know Tumblr tends to hate links.)

~~ Craft, Bug, Beach, Anger, Family ~~

Rynn looked to the sky, the noonday sun shining down upon the beach. It was far warmer in the coastal Lurelin Village than he was used to back in his mountainous home, and the still-smoldering charcoal from the previous night’s bonfire was not helping matters. Fortunately, he would soon be headed far away from the blazing warmth of the sands; unfortunately, however…

“Well, Rynn! You’re looking much better than yesterday; is your wing fully healed, are you ready to fly back?”

Rynn did not turn to look at his father. “Doctor Faldea examined me earlier, says the healing potion took effect and my wing is ‘good as new’. But--”

“Excellent! Then as soon as Director Nokoss finishes up the communications with the Lab, we’ll take off!”

His father had interjected as soon as he heard what he wanted, and cut him off. Again. This had a tendency to happen whenever he had his mind made up about something, and Rynn felt like he did so even more when the topic of flight, specifically of Rynn finally taking flight, came up.

Though both of them never said it, he could feel a level of disappointment from them, disappointment in him for failing his Trial of Flight the previous day, as if they had expected him to avoid a storm that came out of nowhere or a large Sheikah device hurtling directly toward him. They acknowledged those were unforeseen circumstances, but yet, he still felt like they blamed part of the failure on him.

“Alright, I just finished the meeting with the Hateno Tech Lab.” Both Rynn and his father turned toward the flight director, who seemed to have come from the center of the village and was wearing a very clear look of annoyance, little though the difference was from his usual expression. “To make a long story short, they thought their airborne Weather Formation Machines consistently hovered far above Rito flight height and will look into what went wrong. Somehow, they didn’t consider communicating with us about what regions to keep clear on certain days, but I will be kept in the loop going forward. Regardless, they aren’t experimenting in Faron today or in the near future, so we should have no trouble getting back or setting a new date for the trial.”

“Well, that’s all good to hear! Wouldn’t you agree, Rynn?” His father had turned to look at him, but Rynn had lost himself in thought, doubt, and fear again, and he had to say his son’s name several times more before he was shaken back to attention.

“Huh? Oh, yeah, that’s great, I guess…”

“Right… I’ve programmed the Updraft Device to send all three of us high enough to catch the winds back over the jungle. If you both are ready, I’d like to head back as soon as possible.”

Rynn’s father gave a nod, which the flight director seemed to take as confirmation from them both, and motioned for them to take certain positions as he brought out the same angular Sheikah device from the day prior and began fiddling with it. Rynn, however, was hardly paying attention, once more dreading having to fly. When he was with others, it was easier to focus on things that weren’t the void he was staring in the face, but after the disastrous events of the previous day, the prospect was even more frightening than usual. Yet, he knew that nothing he could do or say would convince either of them to find an alternate way home, so he instead attempted to swallow the fear and prepare to take wing.

“On my mark. Three… Two… One… Fly.”

Director Nokoss activated the device, creating a massive updraft beneath the talons of all three Rito, which quickly caught their wings and brought them far above the land. It was all Rynn could do to focus on the forms of his father and director instead of anything and everything else, as they adjusted to follow a westward--and quite rapid--wind and thus began the journey back toward Whistling Hill.

The last rays of sunlight were fading as they reached their destination, though the stable lights seemed to be shining even brighter than usual. In tandem, Rynn’s father and the trial director adjusted and descended, and Rynn followed suit as best he could. The flight had taken a toll on his nerves, further throwing off his balance, and as the other two Rito made graceful landings upon the hill’s peak, he came in too fast, failed to catch the grass properly, and stumbled briefly with the momentum before falling onto his face. Though the ground was dry, it reminded him all too much of how he woke up after falling from his trial the day prior.

“Hm. Your landing could use some work. Remember: lead with your talons, not your torso.” Director Nokoss remarked.

“...Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind…” Rynn mumbled through gritted teeth. Comments about his flying and anything related to it were just about the last thing he needed at that moment.

“Well, now that we’ve got those unforeseen circumstances out of the way…” the director continued as Rynn pushed himself upright. “We ought to take a moment to set the trial’s new date, preferably within the next several days, so we can avoid having to plan around the Labs.”

Rynn froze.

“Ah, good idea, Director!” said his father. “What do you say, Rynn? Take tomorrow to recover and complete the trial the day after?”

“No…” said Rynn, his voice only a low murmur.

“Oh, that fall must really have knocked it out of you, huh? How long do you need? Three days? Four?”

“...No…” he said again, his voice barely a whisper. His whole body was beginning to shudder.

“‘No’? Rynn, I don’t understand; we can’t wait too long… You have to complete your trial of fli--”

Something snapped.

“No!! You don’t understand! You don’t ever listen to what I say, you don’t ever pay attention to how I feel. Why can’t you understand that I. Hate. Flying?!”

Without waiting for any manner of response or reaction, he turned and ran down the hill as fast as his legs would carry him, ignoring the shouts from behind as tears began to well in his eyes. He didn’t know where he was going, all he knew was that he wanted to be far, far away from his father, and the director, and any others who wouldn’t see his struggle, and if that meant disappearing into the night, so would it be.

After a while, enough for dusk to have given way to twilight, Rynn slowed his pace in order to catch his breath. He looked around and found himself in what appeared to be one of the many, many century-old ruins that littered the land. Not wanting to leave himself exposed to the night, he quickly located and crawled into a small, mostly-intact room in one of the dilapidated buildings, over the mound of rubble that occupied what was likely once its doorway. The moonlight illuminated enough of the space for him to find his way to a wall and finally, for the first time in what felt like ages, try to relax his shaking, adrenaline-charged body.

He knew he wouldn’t be able to sit there through the night; that was plainly a terrible idea. But he needed space and time--to think and to focus and to get away from people who wouldn’t and couldn’t understand him--and he would not find those back at the Riverside Stable, not with his overzealous father and impatient flight director.

Though now that he had finally sat down and begun to calm his jittery nerves, he realized how exhausted he was, having spent almost the entire day fretting, flying, fighting, or fleeing. A dull soreness all over his body pleaded with him to stop moving, and though some part of him screamed to resist the pull, he felt his vision begin to fade…

��

“Hey, sleepyhead!”

Tevara’s bright voice cut through his drowsing like an arrow-shot. Rynn glanced up to see her smiling face gazing at him from the other end of the rubble, illuminated by the moon and the flame of the torch she was holding.

“Oh… hello, Tevara.”

“It’s been a bit over an hour, Rynn. Are you ready to come back yet? We…” She trailed off, her tone shifting as she seemingly noticed his expression and posture and silenced some quip she had planned to make.

Was he ready to go back? He knew, in the back of his mind, that he had already spent far too long away from civilization, but he had fallen asleep instead of processing his thoughts like he had wanted, and if he went back now, they’d still be tangled and writhing, and he didn’t really even want to look at his father or the trial director until he knew what to say.

Not hearing a response, Tevara spoke again, her voice now much softer. “I’m… really glad you're safe, Rynn. I feared the worst when we heard what had happened, and then when we came out to welcome you back, we heard your outburst and saw you running away… well, the night can be dangerous, especially when you’re alone.”

Rynn let the silence hang between them as he took in her words, then, after a few moments, spoke. “How did you find me before my father did? I thought he would have taken to the skies to try to trail me… him or Director Nokoss… or both…”

“That would be because I stopped them.” Rynn jumped slightly as another voice, the kindly and warm tone of Tevara’s mother Burnora, sounded from behind his friend. She stepped aside as the tall woman bent down to peer past the rubble pile as well, her scarlet-red hair joining her daughter’s and the torchlight in obscuring the opening in flame. “They both wanted to pursue you immediately, but I managed to convince them to wait for a while, and let us try to find you and bring you back first.”

“She grabbed them by the talons to force them back to the ground and calmly threatened to break their wings if they didn’t listen.” Tevara interjected, with her mouth turned up ever so slightly in a mischievous smirk. Rynn felt himself smile slightly, though he doubted either of them could see it.

“Rynn, I’ve known your father almost as long as you’ve known my daughter, and you’re right: he does often fail to listen, especially when he’s got his mind set on something. And up until an hour ago, he was set on you being able to be like him: Mevulo, one of the greatest fliers of our day, recognized by Master Teba himself.”

“So, what? He just… changed, suddenly? Suddenly he saw things differently?”

“You’ll have to talk to him yourself to see, young voe. For all his… idiosyncrasies, he truly does love you and want you to be happy, and… whether or not he would have listened to you before, he will listen now. I ma-- I’m sure of it.”

Rynn went silent once more, once again weighing his options. He wasn’t truly entirely ready to confront his father, but he also had a sneaking suspicion that, if he didn’t at least attempt to talk to him, he would never be ready. Slowly, he brought himself away from the wall and climbed out of the room--I swear it wasn’t this small when I entered--bringing himself back to his full height and stretching his limbs.

Tevara looked as though she wanted to hug him, but seemed to be resisting the urge, knowing how he felt about being touched. “Right, let’s head back! The night’s great and all, but it’s starting to get a bit chilly for what I’m wearing.”

The hike back to the stable passed without incident, and the three split ways at the entrance to its inn, Tevara and Burnora heading inside while Rynn went to meet his father at one of the campfire circles nearby.

“We’ll be here if you need us, Rynn,” said Tevara, “just… please don’t go running off again if things go south, okay?”

“I… I won’t. Thank you, both of you.”

They nodded as he turned and walked, slowly but firmly, toward where his father was sitting. He had been watching them from the moment they had returned, and upon being approached, leaped up from the log. Rynn was acutely aware of his father’s limbs twitching oddly and his posture being slightly off; it was clear that he, too, wanted to embrace him, but was trying to give him his space--it was one of the few things he had ever completely listened to Rynn about--and besides that was overall somewhat uncomfortable with and hesitant about the situation. It was a state that Rynn could not recall ever seeing his father in. A dark piece of his mind wanted to relish in that, fancying it a comeuppance for the discomfort he had had to endure; he quickly quelled it as best he could.

“Welcome back, Rynn… are you alright? Didn’t get hurt again out there?”

“I’m fine… could be better, but… fine.”

“Good…” His father’s expression shifted slightly, as if he wasn’t sure whether to prolong the pleasantries or get to the point, before he let out a quiet breath and settled upon the latter. “So… I never realized that you… you hated flying…”

This was obvious and unsurprising, but it still stirred Rynn’s frustration once more. “Really? You never once noticed how nervous I was whenever the topic of flying came up? The number of times I tried to avoid all the flight training? The fact that I never once expressed interest in flying, unlike literally every other Rito ever?”

“I…” he seemed to want to protest, or justify himself somehow, but… “No. I honestly, truly didn’t. Could you… perhaps elaborate? So I can… ‘understand’?”

“And you’ll listen? You won’t jump in or interrupt until I’m clearly finished speaking?” Rynn attempted to keep the malice out of his voice, but some managed to manifest anyway.

His father appeared to wince slightly, mumbling something to himself, before nodding. “Yes. I will wait, utterly silent, for you to say what you need to say.”

Rynn nodded, much more slowly, then took a deep breath, attempting to resist the stinging in the corners of his eyes. “Flying… it scares me…! I know it’s a cruel paradox, a Rito who’s afraid of flight, but... It doesn’t feel freeing, or exhilarating… it feels like I’m trapped in an uncaring and unforgiving void, and if anything goes wrong, I’ll plummet to the earth, desperately hoping that I can somehow slow the fall and mitigate the inevitable pain. There’s no ground, no cliffs, to support me or allow me to catch myself from the fall. That’s terrifying! Even the thought of it makes my mouth dry out and fills my stomach with butterflies, to say nothing of what it’s like actually doing it…! And then… and then…”--the tears had begun to flow, and he no longer cared to stop them--“And then, when my worst fears came true, and I tumbled from the sky and woke up lost in the jungle, alone, with a battered body and a broken wing, it was only by luck that I was rescued. And immediately after the damage was healed, you had me fly all the way back. These past two days have easily been the worst of my life, and you didn’t notice at all! For so long, you’ve constantly pushed me toward these lofty aims, but you never asked how I felt about them, about what I wanted to do.”

Another bout of silence hovered between them, as Rynn’s father considered his words and Rynn tried to calm his rapidly beating heart.

“And you… never tried to talk to me about this? If it… if it’s been affecting you this badly all this time?” His voice was sympathetic and concerned, with not even the slightest trace of accusation.

“I wanted to, and I really did try to! But every time I try to talk to you about something important, it feels like you’re always focused on something else, or so intent upon whatever you’ve set your mind on that you cut me off before I can say it. It’s been happening for so long now, that I’ve pretty much just… mostly stopped trying.”

Rynn was left almost breathless, having said much with more force than he had meant to. He collapsed upon the log opposite his father, trying to focus on anything else that might help to alleviate the anger and onslaught of unrestrained emotions that were rapidly taking a toll on his little remaining energy: the blades of grass beneath his talons, the way the breeze rippled through them and the way the firelight danced across them, the way they both cooled and warmed his ruffled feathers and strained limbs, or even the miniscule creatures that he couldn’t see for the dim glow, but knew were present all the same. ...Nothing truly seemed to help, and whether his father was waiting for any further word from Rynn or taking a remarkable amount of time to take in what he said, the silence between them was quickly approaching deafening.

Eventually, though he finally spoke. “Rynn, when… when you ran away, and Burnora stopped us from pursuing you, I was… confused, perhaps shocked… I didn’t understand why you did what you did, or why you felt what you felt. But then, she… said some of the same things that you did, in that way she always does. ...And it’s true: I always have struggled with letting others fully finish before jumping in, or taking notice of the states of others if I’m really focused elsewhere. It’s something I thought I was getting better about, but… it seems that, for this whole ordeal, at least, I wasn’t. I thought I knew what you wanted, how you felt, but… I was wrong, and I never did ask you, not truly. Flying is important to me, and I guess something in me made me feel as though you must as well.”

He paused again. It was odd to hear such explanations laid plainly from his father, but at the same time, with these admissions of fault, Rynn began to feel as though some weight were slowly being lifted from him.

“But you’re my son, not my clone; you don’t have to be exactly like me. I… I hate to see you like this, Rynn…! I hate that I made you feel like this. You shouldn’t feel like you can’t communicate with me, you shouldn’t feel pressured to do things that make you this viscerally uncomfortable, certainly not by me of all people. ...I wanted to be the best father and guide I could be to you. But I see now that I wasn’t. So… for all of this; for not listening, for making undue assumptions, for distressing you so… I want to apologize: I’m sorry, Rynn.”

Once more, something snapped. Not like the first time, like a branch being loudly split in twain, but rather like the resounding clicks of something finally falling into place. For the first time in far too long, a genuine, if shaky, smile crawled onto his face; not a smile of peace or contentment, but a smile formed out of a much-awaited lifting of weight and tension, of a catharsis long-overdue.

He lifted his head, finally looking directly into his father’s eyes again, difficult though they were to see through the fresh wave of tears. “I… I… ...thank you, Dad.”

A matching expression formed in his face, a clear relief passing over and through his body. “No, thank you, Rynn, for helping me to finally see you. I promise, on my honor as a Rito, a Hyrulean, and someone who you should be able to trust, that from this point forward, I’ll do all I can to make sure that nothing like this ever has to happen again.”

Rynn stood. His father’s form was again held in that odd and subtle-but-evident way that indicated a repressed intent to embrace, which he only now had a greater appreciation for.

“Now, it’s later than any of us should be up. Don’t worry about Director Nokoss: he left a bit ago, something about having ‘other obligations’. We can figure out what to do next--for everything and anything--in the morning. For now, though, I think you deserve to get some proper rest.”

Without a word, Rynn nodded, turned, and headed toward the stable’s inn. There was still much to think about, much to talk about, and there were some parts of it that he couldn’t say he was looking forward to, but for the time being, he felt lighter than he had in a long while, almost as if he was, then and there, without fear or doubt or fright or dread, flying.

#nintember #tloz #the legend of zelda #botw #hhhhhhh i also almost made myself cry writing this one too #assuming i stick to my current plan the next story should be much less feels-heavy than the first three have been

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lovelykhaleesiii · 6 years ago

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Jealous Much

Pairing: Michael Langdon x Reader

Words: 2.1k

Summary: Michael gets jealous of the reader’s friendship with Timothy, and wants to make damn sure she knows who she really belongs to...

Warnings: angsty!Michael, S M U T, dom!Michael, nsfw, short time jump (***)

REQUESTED BY - @littleirishsnot22

A/N - Thanks so much for your patience love, hope you enjoy this xox

Boredom, was the one thing that thrived within Outpost 3. It had been months since the nuclear attacks, and the destruction of the world took place: and yet here you stood alive, all thanks to your ‘unique genetic code.’ Much to your relief, you weren’t the only figure to have shared the same story of survival. Timothy, one of the few people you’d resided with, was essentially the closest person you could call a friend. Both of you taken in an instant from your families, whom were left to die tragically, both of you had assumed, only to be thrust into this hell hole of a safe haven: you’d both grown to understand one another, and more so to entrust one another. And that was that.

Timothy on the other hand, had also grown closer and much more acquainted with another survivor, Emily: whom you also had become fond of. Nevertheless, as time progressed, both Emily and Timothy had fallen for one another, gradually they both had become captivated in one another, and soon enough they became the discrete ‘it’ couple of the Outpost: which only you knew of course… The rest were either to oblivious or self-conceited to know. Much to the unfortune, however, their relationship was needed to remain unforeseen, for the punishment of sexual, intimate relations of any kind could potentially cost their lives.

And so you swore to Timothy, that you would never tell a soul…That was until the arrival of Michael Langdon disrupted this peace.

Sent from the Cooperative to determine if any were ‘fit’ to accompany him back to the Sanctuary, each person would have a choice in whether they were to undertake a ‘rigorous’ examination scheme. The other alternative was to remain behind to die at the hands of feral cannibals…Undoubtedly, everyone insisted on undergoing their one-on-one interviews with Michael, and you at most however, seemed the most intimidated by him. His stride, his mannerisms, his speech all oozed with confidence and authority. You knew he most certainly wasn’t a man to be meddled with. Yet you couldn’t deny, this mutual feeling between many of you, was how handsome Michael was. The way his luscious, golden locks gently fell unto his shoulders, his figure had impeccable height and was quiet broad, and his features so perfectly accentuated, especially how mesmerising his blue eyes were in the dim light. You couldn’t deny, you felt some attraction, though knew better than to fall for his sheer appearance…

You needed to contain yourself, gain composure before you were called for your round for an interview. And so the only person you felt you could confide in, that you knew could help you to soothe your nerves, was none other than Timothy.

“What if he thinks I’m too ‘improper’ or too ‘inadequate’? I mean I would be useful for the sake of reproduction, but there’s plenty of women already in the compound” You anxiously uttered, as you seated yourself beside Timothy: the both of you alone in the library, knowing best to remain in public than in the privacy of your room, to avoid the threats of Miss Venable.

“Y/n you’re overthinking this. I get Langdon does seem brooding and quite frankl, daunting, at times. Though I can assure you, nothing you say or do could change the fact that you’re the most ideal person to take back. You really are one of the few that deserves another chance at survival.” He reassured, as his hands reached over, gripping yours tightly, as his thumb began to stroke the back of your hand to ease your worries.

“Trust me, Y/n, I can feel it. There’s no way Langdon could resist you” He casually chuckled, trying best to lighten the mood with some slight amusement.

“Oh shut it… I really do hope he accepts you also, and Emily of course, for your sake!” You arrogantly reply, rolling your eyes knowing well enough how inseparable Timothy and Emily had become. The both of you helplessly laughing amongst yourselves, hadn’t noticed the sudden intruding footsteps.

“And what’s the meaning of this?”

Instantly, you recognised the deep, intimidating voice of Michael, booming through the void, startling both Timothy and you. Diverting your attention away from Timothy towards Michael, you were immediately met with those piercing blue eyes, already fixated onto you and only you. You felt your body become paralysed, your mind unable to formulate a response, as your breath hitched in your throat. Thankfully, Timothy was most ardent to excuse you both.

“Oh-uh, just a little rendezvous before heading off for the night, Mr Langdon.” Timothy retorted, causing Michael to divert his gaze from you and to Timothy.

“And what is this rendezvous about?” He exclaimed, hands behind his back, as he began to gradually walk closer, your heart beginning to race as your grip tightened around Timothy’s hands.

“Uh- just contemplating about our interviews, Mr Langdon. That’s all it is.” Timothy replied once again, finishing his revelation with a simple smile of reassurance.

“Let’s hope so. Need I remind you that Emily just completed her interview a few minutes ago, perhaps being the good partner that you are, I advise you should check up on her…Don’t keep her waiting-” Michael snapped: not knowing what exactly he meant or was trying to imply, looking up at him quizzically as his glare became more threatening, the longer he stared at Timothy.

“Uh- Yes, yes of course” Timothy hurriedly stuttered, as he instantly stood from his seat, rushing out of the room, before looking back at you, shrugging his shoulders in excuse for leaving so hastily.

Almost as though in sync, both Michael and you turned your attention away from the entrance of the library, with Timothy having finally left, back unto each other: trepidation began to ignite from within you. Much to your luck, Michael had broken the unbearable silence, with both your eyes however remained locked to one another, as though both of you didn’t want to miss a single detail, nor a single moment from each other.

“Seeing as how your still awake, Miss Y/L/N , perhaps you could accompany me back to my office, so we can begin your interview?”

“N-Now?” You stuttered, knowing well enough that if Miss Venable was to even catch you out past curfew, her wrath would follow.

“Yes, Miss Y/L/N. And I can assure you, you won’t be needing to worry about Miss Venable or her helping hands…Not if your with me.” He exclaimed, before his hand stretched over to you, waiting for you to take it, so he could lead the way.

Without any further hesitation, instinctively a part of you eager for him: you took it…

***

“So who deserves a shot at salvation? Who comes to your mind, Y/n?” He exclaimed, as you both occupied the seats near the fireplace, facing each other directly.

“Uhm- Well I’d suppose Timothy, and uh- Emily, since you know, they’d be up to procreate I suppose, not that I wouldn’t or any of the others, but just because” You began to stutter, your nerves getting the best of you as you tried best to respond diligently.

“No need to worry about the methods of procreation, we already have that covered-” Michael insisted, his hand swaying as means to shrug off the idea from the conversation.

“But tell me about your feelings towards Timothy’s relationship with Emily. How exactly do you feel about it?” He intrigued, leaning his back restfully on the seat, his chin resting on his hand, attentively waiting for your answer. Not wanting to question his method of interviewing, you knew that it was best to simply answer.

“Well-uhm, I don’t really feel much about it. I mean I suppose I am happy for them both, though I don’t see how it has much to do with myself, Mr Langdon.”

“Michael, just call me Michael, Y/n.”

“Michael” You gently repeated.

“So you don’t envy what they have?” Michael further intrigued, now leaning his arms over his knees, his face more distinct and closer.

“Not at all” You quietly murmur.

“Good… I knew that even if Emily was out of the equation, you still wouldn’t go for a boy like Timothy. I know what you want… You want a man.” Michael confidently uttered, as he stood himself from his seat, gradually walking his way towards you, as be knelt down, you both now face to face and just a few inches apart.

“A-And where exactly would I find that m-man?” You stutter, unable to keep yourself composed, as your lust for Michael began to heighten by the sheer second. The longer you spent in the room with him, you felt your own self-control slip away.

“You already have. Timothy was right about one thing... I just couldn’t resist” He breathed, leaning closer, his lips just a few inches away from yours, as you felt his warm breath against your skin.

Chills instantly arose from your back, wanting nothing more than to kiss.

“How long do these interviews go for Mr-I mean- Michael?” You hastily stuttered.

“For however long I want… Now, take off your clothes” He demanded, the tone of his voice casual, yet firm.

Instantly you stood from your seat, simultaneously Michael finally straightening his posture, his figure towering over you, stared down at you.

Watching your every move, as you began to unzip your dress, removing the undergarments, completely exposing your naked body.

“How perfect” He whispered, biting his lip as though to now sustain his self-control.

“Anything else, Michael?” You giddily insisted.

“Bend over that desk” He growled, as you watched his hand travelling down, meeting the zipper of his pants which he began to undo.

Doing as you were told, unable to peer over to see what Michael was doing, you heard loud footsteps edging closer, before you felt a sudden stroke of his throbbing manhood against your asscheek.

“Try to keep quiet, baby. Wouldn’t want the others knowing how different your interview is from theirs” He casually insisted, before ramming his large, protruding dick inside of you.

Instinctively, you let out a short, loud moan, as your tight walls had stretched out like never before: a sharp feeling of pain and excitement rushing through your body.

“So fucking tight” Michael grunted, as he began to pacem his thrusts, grunting each time, penetrating deeper into your pussy.

Unable to fulfill his demand, your moans began to echo throughout the room, as each thrust, precisely hitting your g-spot, triggered a great deal of satisfaction. You craved and ached for more. Yet the sudden, sharp sting of your ass cheek being spanked: it’s loud slap penetrating the room, caught you most off guard.

“What did I say, darling… I need you to stay as silent as possible for me.” He casually snapped, as his hand squeezed your ass cheek, before snaking its way back upto your thigh for support. His thrusts becoming sloppier and deeper, your breasts bouncing in pace.

“Fuck, Michael” You whimper, as his left and remained tightly gripped unto your hip for balance, whilst the right hand, his fingers running through your hair: pulling and tugging at it ever so often to provoke your squirming, vulnerable self beneath.

“Cum for me, baby” Michael growled, wanting nothing more than to reach the climax: feeling your warm juices gush over his throbbing dick. And in return, for him to incite life inside of you: a child.

“I can’t hold it, Michael” You whine, as your hands had tighten their grips on the edge of the wooden table.

“Come on baby, do it!” Michael breathlessly retorted.

And just has he’d hoped, the fresh, warm feeling of your cum spilling all over his large dick, as some oozed from the gaps of your thigh, he felt immensely satisfied.

“Fuck Y/n I’m going too-“

And in tune to yours, Michael’s seeds spilled through all over you walls and the entirety of your inside: imprinting himself inside.

Low moans escaping Michael’s mouth, as his dick remained buried inside of you, allowing the last drench of his sperm to fill you.

Your walls you felt were drenched completely with Michael’s brand: him releasing his dick from you as leant down, determined to catch your breath, in tune with his breathing.

You felt Michael’s body lowering down above you, embracing you, as his chest laid directly against your back, as his fingers ran through your unkempt hair as the other hand gripped the table. Moving the strands aside, his lips pecking the crook of your neck, had travelled a short distance, before it began caressing your ear, these words escaping his mouth:

“I hope from now you know better than to hang around boys like Timothy. Know that you’re mine, only...And that I’m not one to share.”

You’d never felt more ecstatic than to be under Michael’s dominance: he was Michael fucking Langdon… The man you had long awaited for.

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sustainabilitysarah · 5 years ago

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Progress in Food Production Illustration

In 1968, when I was and impressionable six years old horrified by what the television was showing about the Vietnam War, listening to the Beatles sing 'All you need is love', my parents bought a book called "The Population Bomb" by scientist Paul Ehrlich. It suggested that we were running out of resources because our population was growing too fast and we were consuming our earth's life support system faster than it could

regenerate. Two years later, on the first Earth Day, I began my activism, rounding up the neighborhood kids and staging a clean up of the polluted stream behind our apartment that ran into the Hudson River.

A year later my Beatle idol George Harrison held a "Concert for Bangladesh" to raise awareness of the suffering there. Like many kids worried about the "starving kids in Bangladesh" I asked in school why things were getting so bad. Like most school children around the world, we were told how the population bomb supposedly worked, how it ticked. The idea went back to the Reverend Thomas Malthus who argued in 1798 that "population increases geometrically, while food supplies increase only

arithmetically". This has been the prevailing wisdom for over 2 centuries and is often illustrated by the following graph:http://www.biology.iupui.edu/biocourses/N100/images/ageomgrowth.gif

http://occ.crescentschool.org/geography/human/unitvagricultural/malthusgr aph.jpg

Looks neat, right -- so mathematically precise and inevitable. The problem is that it is wrong. I felt it as a kid. It bothered me throughout middle school and high school and on in to college. The reverend's now famous "Malthusian" predictions of doom and gloom came from a man who never studied biology... we now realize that he was a religious zealot and bigot who made up theories to try and stoke anti- immigration fever, arguing that undesirable poor people were basically breeding like rats. The problem in his logic is easy to spot when you use Nexus thinking: FOOD IS A POPULATION. Food comes from living creatures who have populations. They expand GEOMETRICALLY. If you let them. If you encourage them. It doesn't matter if we are talking about Brewer's yeast or earthworms or oak trees or apple trees or chickens or ears of corn or cattle or cocoa covered ants... whatever you eat comes from living organisms that are programmed to reproduce as fast as they can... that WANT to reproduce... geometrically. Just like us. So... population increases geometrically, whether it is us or our food. Starving kids in Bangladesh or Ethiopia simply shouldn't happen, and, I will insist to you, WOULDN'T, if we allowed the organism we eat to do their thing.

The key to keeping food production in line with food consumption, I have been arguing, is to use the "food-waste-to-fuel-and-fertilizer-and-food" or FW2F3 formula wherein every molecule of nitrogen, phosphorous, pottasium and carbon and micronutrients found in our wastes in our burgeoning cities is transformed immediately, in situ, back into food through the magical transduction of anaerobic and aerobic biodigestion and urban vertical farming and micro-livestock.

Using these simple techologies to close the loops in the food/energy/water nexus, the curves on those graphs should continue to go up in lock step, until we reach the limits set by sunlight. And then we will have to figure out safe, harmless ways to grow not just ourselves and our "economy" but our ecology, and eventually help grow new planets. But even that... the promise of space stations and terraforming planets, isn't out of the question. After all, the one thing that doesn't seem to ever be in any danger of NOT expanding... is the universe."

Today’s lecture is about “Progress in food production: a new wave of ancient practices and post-modern technologies that use less water and less energy, produce less waste and can even produce more energy.”

And I believe, to paraphrase Deuteronomy 12:3, we have to start by “tearing down the altars and smashing the sacred pillars” that were erected by wrong headed Malthusians who used a gross misunderstanding of biology and a total lack of nexus and systems thinking to scare us into what I call “induced paralysis for profit”. The idea comes from what is called in economics classes “The Scarcity Model: the fundamental economic assumption of having seemingly unlimited human needs and wants in a world of limited resources, which states that society has insufficient productive resources to fulfill all human wants and needs”.

When the scarcity model is used to create fear, to create an atmosphere of doom and gloom, to predict the inevitable arrival of the four horsemen of the apocalypse (Conquest, War, Famine, and Death), political economists and political ecologists suggest that it is much easier for elite groups to manipulate the masses. They control the machinery of conquest and war, and they use the specter of famine to gain their power.

Food production sits at the heart of the nexus – every animal on this planet (and doubtless the vast majority of beings in our universe) finds food to be the fundamental. It is priority number one, for unless you are a being of pure light you need the food that grows with light to survive. And if you spread misinformation that famine is imminent, that starvation is just around the corner, you can mobilize armies.

However, looked at from a FEW Nexus perspective, this fear of famine we

have been living with since Biblical times (the four horsemen are part of the Book of Revelation of Jesus Christ to John of Patmos, at 6:1-8 in the New Testament written during the Roman occupation of Palestine) is a peculiar Middle Eastern and North European phenomenon it turns out, coming from civilizations in regions of the world where water stresses constrained food production. People in well-watered tropical regions rarely felt threatened by food scarcity and in fact were described by anthropologist Marshall Sahlins as living in a state of perpetual abundance. He postulated that hunter- gatherers were, in fact “the original affluent society” at a symposium entitled "Man the Hunter" in 1966 and this idea has been tested and found true for most peoples around the world where water was not a limiting factor. It explains why hunting and gathering and subsistence farming persist to this day, and why so many people resisted being brought into modern civilization or adopting modern agriculture methods. In fact the work of historian Anthropologist Eric Wolf, such as “Peasant Wars of the Twentieth Century” and Yale professor James Scott in books such as “Seeing Like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed” teach us that there have been enough failures due to the form of agriculture that emerged from the conquering civilizations that the conquered were willing to sacrifice their lives to revolt against them. Somehow, it seems, those certain schemes to improve yields were social and ecological disasters that should have been rejected by civilizations but instead were used to confirm the Reverend Malthus’ scientifically unfounded hypothesis – a classic but often neglected example of what is known as confirmation bias – which wiki defines as “the tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in a way that confirms one's preexisting beliefs or hypotheses, while giving disproportionately less consideration to alternative

possibilities”. When it comes to food production, the alternative possibility, which is persuasively argued in Richard Manning’s book “Against the Grain: How Agriculture Has Hijacked Civilization” is that monocropping annual vegetation and basing civilization on grain agriculture, on the use of plants in the family Poaceae/Graminae, that is the grasses – wheat, rice, corn, barely, oats and sugar – yes, sugar is a grass – is, to caricature the 45th president of the world’s most powerful agriculture and military empire, “ a disaster”.

History records that agriculture and famine are the Jekyll and Hyde of the long and often militarized march of civilization. The one came because of the other, says Manning. Most of us were taught the opposite weren’t we? Taught that human life, as the 17th century imperial philosopher Thomas Hobbes decried in his book Leviathan, was “nasty, brutish and short” We were told that humans lived in a state of semi-starvation UNTIL they discovered agriculture. We were told that agriculture saved our species from hunger and misery, gave us the surpluses that enabled our climb to civilization. Sounds good, turns out not to be true.

Even Harvard’s Spencer Wells, a friend of mine who is the geneticist who leads the National Geographic Genographic project writes in his book “Pandora's Seed: The Unforeseen Cost of Civilization” that when humans shifted from hunting and gathering in that original affluent society to grain agriculture the average height of men dropped from about 5 foot 7 to 5 foot 2 and women’s pelvic girdles narrowed to the point where death in childbirth increased in frequency.

These were clear signs of malnutrition recorded in the fossils. Agriculture was to blame... floodplain agriculture dependent on disturbance species that grow like weeds after a disaster because they are weeds. And they end up causing disasters thereafter because they evolved to live in disaster environments, places where floods and fires ravage the countryside on a regular basis. In effect they DEPEND on disasters for their own reproductive survival. It is as though once we hitched our caboose to the weeds and became weed eaters, we started living for them and not the other way around.

Michael Pollan talks about this in his wonderful book that reframes our relationship to addictive plants called “The Botany of Desire”.

He points out that you could look at us as the slaves of addictive plants that evolved to control us through their effect on our brains so that we would help them reproduce. This idea, which British Scientist Richard Dawkin’s calls “The Extended Phenotype” in the battle of Selfish Genes, isn’t really new.

In 1872, when Samuel Butler published his utopian fiction “Erewhon” the major premise of the people who fled Europe to live on the island of Erewhon in the hopes of creating a better civilization was that they would not allow themselves to submit to the control of their addictions or any system that makes us into its own slave. On the island they refuse to use technology like cars and steam engines and typewriters and telegraph or any machines. It isn’t that they don’t know about these things – in fact they have an entire museum where they keep them safely on display in glass cases. They tell visitors, “in your civilization machines don’t serve you, you serve them. You go to work in the morning and waste your days slavishly building more machines and oiling them and fixing them and keeping them running. It is like the bee that is the servant of the flower... flowers can’t move to reproduce themselves, so they addict the bee with beauty and nectar and perfumes and the busy bee spends its whole life toiling just to help make more flowers”. The phenotype of the bee is being controlled by the genes of the flower, not the bee. This is the concept of the extended phenotype, which finds its purest expression in parasitology.

So there are some who believe that the crops we turned to in our modern agricultural systems are acting more like Parasites that food stuffs, and that when we think we are serving food in the “restaurant service” sense , we literally are serving food – i.e. we now serve THEM, as servants.

This makes sense from the perspectives of evolutionary psychology and behavioral ecology.

Whether it was drought in arid desert regions or winter freezing water into ice, the limits to plant growth and reproduction, and hence to animal fecundity were set by the availability of water. In the Middle East, certainly, it was not energy that was missing from the Nexus. Sunshine has always been abundant in those latitudes to provide energy for food production.

In the European countries the harsh winters did indeed constrain plant productivity and famines could result in winter if care wasn’t taken to take the enormous fecundity of the spring, summer and fall and store the harvest surplus for the fallow period. But Hunter Gatherers North and South, in the cold regions or the hot ones, originally depended on agroforestry, on tree crops, on perennials, not annuals. And they depended on the animals that depended on forests – on forest boars and jungle fowl and woodland ungulates – all the ancestors of our modern pigs and chicken and cows. In the north the forest leaf fall in the fall built up incredible rich soils during the winter ready for an explosion of food in the spring and summer which created enough surplus for the mammals we ate to survive the winter. In the south the forests retained the water that fell sporadically and created their own microclimates through transpiration. They forests created environments so rich in the cornucopia of foodstuffs that our mythology now recalls as “The Garden of Eden”.

And if you want some mythological proof of the disaster or agriculture, just look at the curse we were to endure after eating the tree of knowledge and getting kicked out of the garden, “To Adam he said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat from it,' "Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; And you will eat the plants of the field; 19By the sweat of your face You will eat bread, Till you return to the ground”. So eating bread isn’t salvation, eating bread is the CURSE. No wonder so many hunters and gatherers said, “shoot, I’m going back into the forest, no way I’m doing hard time through painful toil to eat when I can pick fruits and vegetables and trap

animals.” And the fossil evidence of malnutrition affecting the pelvic bones of women, noted by Spencer Wells in Pandora’s Seed, is corroborated in the curse in Genesis when God says, “To the woman he said, "I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you."

We can even comment on what this reveals about the emergence of patriarchal rule due to the shift to grain agriculture. My experience with hunter-gatherer populations is that the women are usually the ones who

understood the sheer abundance of biodiversity that nature offered to put into the cooking pot. I experienced it when I was living with Melayu and Dyak tribes in the rainforests of Borneo and was taken into the forest by the medicine woman who was cooking our meal and her grandson who climbed the trees to get the foods. She was called the “witch doctor” and as she laid out the huge variety of foods we collected to put in the cooking pot I had images of the witches’ cauldron with its “eyes of newt, frogs legs, bats wings” – all things that would have provided great inexpensive abundant protein but which today are shamefully associated with evil and

witchcraft. After all, women were BURNED at the stake for understanding and promoting biodiversity in diet by the European patriarchy, and children punished or mocked for thinking they could go into the forest as kids do and come back munching on lizards and grubs. Agriculture can be blamed not only for this tremendous patriarchal violence and loss of biodiversity as we simplified the landscape to a handful of weedy grasses, but for what James Scott calls the “dummification” of humanity. At one time, as I experienced among the hunters and gatherers of Borneo, harvesting food was an educational adventure that made women and children experts who rivaled the best Ph.D. botanists and naturalists who Harvard sent out. With agriculture we turned brilliant self-sufficient peasants into outdoor factory workers and, of course, quite literally when you are talking about the first 400 years of agriculture in the European colonized Americas, slaves. The violence inherent in agriculture rears its ugly head everywhere.

And it could be said that Genesis itself records the clearest indication that grain agriculture is the scourge of mankind, the source of its original sin of violence in The story of Cain and Abel. This chapter of the Bible is the clearest indictment of wheat agriculture one could imagine, and nobody seems to comment on it. Abel is a pastoralist who tends a flock of animals who wander about like ungulate hunter gatherers, eating what God has given them. His brother Cain is... a wheat farmer, somehow stupidly living out God’s curse to scratch a living in the hot sun through toil amidst the thistles and thorns that always accompany weed agriculture. Abel brings a lamb meat sacrifice to the altar of God, along with diverse fruits and vegetables he has gathered, and God is pleased.

Cain then comes with a bunch of wheat and the Bible says, “but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard. So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell. Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen?7"If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it."...

To me this is a clear indication that the ancients saw wheat offerings as a kind of sin, the sin of an addiction, an addiction which Cain could not

master. In his anger he turns around and kills his gentle carnivorous animal slaughtering brother.

Think about it for a moment... it is enough to make Vegans go mad: The vegetarian is the killer, the slaughterer of baby goats is the gentle one.

Could it be that this ancient myths were there to warn us that wheat is a weed, that grains are drugs, that we haven’t been growing food all along, but addictive substances that will end up mastering us through the Botany of Desire?

So, to get back to Reverend Malthus, who in my opinion must not have spent an awful lot of time delving into the hermeneutic interpretation of the books he preached in his fiery diatribes against the poor and the immigrants, it is clear to me that the entire Matlhusian premise is based on a fabrication of the weed eaters, who most likely did observe that if they kept planting grains and consuming starches and sugars their own sickly but ever increasing population would outstrip the fecundity of the land and so human populations would increase geometrically while their drug-food agriculture would only increase arithmetically if at all.

But if Abel had been Abel, we might have returned to the garden a long long time ago, where food is a self-increasing population grown in permacultural symbiosis into perpetuity. The good news is, that the world as we know it IS coming to an end. And what is ending isn’t the good life, but the bad life we inherited from our dummified forebears. We can begin again. Permacultural Food Production shows us how.

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theluckyyyoneee · 6 years ago

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Unforeseen Forecast

A bet that Sehun thought would be too easy to win turned out to be harder than he thought...

High School AU

Pairing: Sehun x Reader

Genre: Angst/Fluff

Word Count: 2.5+k

not my gif^

You weren’t exactly sure about how you felt about Oh Sehun just yet.

You were supposed to be playing him like he was playing you, and you weren’t supposed to feel bad about it. That’s what you had planned on, anyway. Sure, in the beginning it was easy to hate him just like you always have. His conceited and nonchalant praising of himself ticked you off. How he didn’t seem to care who he hurt after he got what he wanted.

You hated how he reminded of your past that you so desperately wanted to forget but couldn’t.

But ever since that night where he took you to the fair, and the two of you talked over the city lights on the hood of his car... you weren’t so sure anymore. You were caught up with the story he told you, how it was so similar to yours, it caught you off guard. Of course, you wouldn’t be surprised if it turned out to be all a lie, but... what he said really got to you.

So you did what you wished someone had done for you. You comforted him. Said the words to him that you wished someone had said to you.

But now you kind of wished that you didn’t, because he was acting weird.

Even for him.

He started acting out of character after the kiss. He was nice to you and tolerant of you because he had to make you fall in love with him, but the way he looked at you after, there was something in his eyes that you hadn’t seen before. Even his tone of voice seemed softer, more gentle than he had ever used on you before.

But one more thing was true. That you had to remind yourself that this was all a bet to him. That it might seem real what he says to you, but in the end, he didn’t really care about you.

Come Monday, you weren’t really ready to face Sehun.

He had been texting and calling you a lot after he dropped you off at your house, more than usual, which was too many already.

Asking if you got home safely. What you were doing. If you ate. Did you sleep well? Were you feeling well?

You were already tired.

But whose face was the first one you saw when walking into school?

Fucking Oh Sehun grinning at you like a lunatic who’s had too much caffeine in the early morning.

Bounding up to you, he immediately started taking the straps of your backpack right off your shoulders and transferred it to his with a huff and a look of surprise came over his face. “You know, it still surprises me how heavy this thing is every time.”

He leaned down to say that right near your ear with that crazy smile still on his face, and you couldn’t help but look at the faces all looking at you through the crowded hallway, leaning away from him with a slight grimace.

You and Sehun had gone out a few times, but it wasn’t like a lot of people knew that, surprisingly he hadn’t blabbed about it to the entire student body, and you’ve only told Ara but not about the bet part. But since he was literally almost on you and his face was so close to yours, and that ever since he started to woo you, he was basically glued to your hip, people were starting to notice.

Lately, girls that you had never even seen or conversed with would glare at you in class, in the bathroom, in the cafeteria, and obviously, the halls. Look you up and down and scoff, their fascination with you starting to become annoying.

Right now would be a perfect example. Pushing Sehun away, you attempted to get your backpack back from his possession, but failed like you had expected, him using his height against you.

Because of course he would. That jackass.

“This is too heavy for you to carry around all the time, I’ll carry it for you from now on.” He said with a simple shrug of his shoulders, paying no mind to the lingering stares from all your fellow classmates, like usual, and for once you envied him for his ability to not care.

You sighed in response. “I’ve been carrying it around just fine all this time, so I think I’m okay.” You argued but made no movement to take it back from him, knowing it would be useless and you’d only look like a fool doing it. You had to admit, it did feel better to not have all that weight on your shoulders, the pointy edges of your textbooks digging into your bag.

But you weren’t going to tell him that. Never.

“Yeah, but now you have me, so I’ll be doing the heavy lifting from now on.” He retorted proudly and a bit smug to which you couldn’t hold back a laugh. Looking him up and down you took notice, not for the first time, how skinny and tall he was. Judging by the look on his face, you could tell that he wasn’t used to carrying something around as heavy as your backpack and you could only laugh in response to his words. Shaking your head in amusement as you reached your locker, Sehun scoffed out a, “What?”

Opening your locker after putting in the correct code, you shrugged. “Nothing.” You teased, still smiling as you pushed a strand of hair behind your ear. Sehun was holding your bag open so you could put some textbooks away when he suddenly leaned and gave you a wet kiss on your cheek.

“What the hell?” You couldn’t help yelling in surprise as you shoved him back and wiped his saliva off of your poor cheek, feeling a little too warm all of a sudden, stupid heart beating faster with his surprising action. Glancing behind you nervously, you noticed people actually just standing and staring at the two of you and you sighed as you turned back around. Great.

The warning bell ringing overheard knocked everyone out of their staring and began to go to class and you hurried to lock your locker and snatched your now lighter bag from Sehun’s grasp with a clearing of your throat.

His hands came out and held my cheeks in between his large hands, his skin hot against yours, making you look up at him as he stared down at you with that newfound warmth in his eyes and a surprising genuine smile on his face as he said before leaving, “I’m sorry, you were just so cute, I couldn’t help it.”

“Stop touching me.” You whispered out weakly at his retreating form, feeling the warmth of his skin still on your face as you made your way to class, desperately trying to remind yourself that none of this was real.

It was during fifth period, right before lunch, the teacher was going over a new lesson when an office aid came in with a note from the office. The teacher looked over it and met your eyes and held the note out. “Y/N, it’s for you. Take your stuff and go to the office, you’re leaving. Talk to me tomorrow or borrow notes for the remainder of the class.”

You gathered your stuff and got up slowly, your classmates pouting and murmuring about how lucky you were, but you were just plain confused. Your mom hadn’t said anything about coming to pick you up. Ara frowned at you as you made your way to the door and you shrugged back. Giving you a sad wave, you left the classroom, trying to come up with what reason you were leaving early was for.

Nonetheless, you made your way to the office and immediately stopped in your tracks once you saw who was standing there, your heart hammering in your chest.

It was your father.

Looking proud as hell with a broad smile as he made his way over to where you had stopped in the middle of the hallway, your stare never leaving him. You were confused and scared, and a bit angry.

“You wanna go get some lunch?” He asked with that smile still on his face and normally you would tell him to get lost, but thought that you would allow it just this one time. Plus, you really wanted to get away from Sehun and his weird and touchy self. Even if it meant going with this man.

You didn’t say a word the whole ride to the restaurant, but could feel his eyes on you as he kept glancing at you, fiddling with the radio way too much as you stared out the window, watching as building and trees blurred past.

“Here you are, folks.” The host said politely to the both of you and said after you two had scooted into the booth, “Your server will be with the two of you in just a moment.” You smiled at him as you nodded, but it faded when you looked back to your father sitting across from you.

“What makes you think it’s okay for you to just take me out of school in the middle of my classes?” You raised your eyebrow, no warmth in your voice at all.

He smiled a bit at hearing you talk to him. “Well, I didn’t think you would’ve agreed if I had just asked you out to lunch, now would you?” His tone was lighter than yours, trying to get you to loosen up, like the two had a wonderful relationship.

Both of you knowing the answer to that you felt no need to response, so you nodded slowly and crossed your arms as you leaned back in the booth. “Well, it got me out a test that I wasn’t really ready for in last period, so I’ll let this go, I guess.” It was true, you hated math.

He smiled at your statement, and you hated that you saw yourself in that face. That lying face. You made no effort to reciprocate his expression and he cleared his throat awkwardly before looking back down at the menu he had in his hands. “Let me guess what you’ll order... you still like pancakes, right?” His expression was an eager one, awaiting your response.

Visions from your childhood came flooding back to you, visions of a much younger you and your father with your mother and Mark cuddled in a booth like this one. You were giggling as your father cut up your favorite; pancakes, opening your mouth wide as he fed you, smiling when he wiped the excess syrup off the corners of your mouth.

Looking around, you noticed for the first time that it was the same restaurant from all those years ago. Not much had changed, except maybe the placement of some tables and the decorations along the walls. Looking down at where you were sitting, you noticed that even the booths were the same.

“What about the kids?” You could hear your mother’s voice in your head.

“You can keep them, I don’t want them.” His tone was final and harsh, even a bit taunting.

The pain from the memory hit you harder than usual, and you couldn’t help the way your eyes watered with unshed tears. He didn’t want you then, and he doesn’t want you now, you told yourself. He just wants to get rid of his guilt, that’s all.

After taking a deep breath, you faced him again, sure that he could see the tears in your eyes by the way his face fell as you answered, “I hate pancakes.” You exhaled out a breath and grimaced at the pained expression on his face. “Look, I’m not even hungry anymore, my stomach hurts so can you just take me home, I don’t want to....”

You felt your control slipping further from your grasp and really didn’t fancy the idea of breaking down in some restaurant, so you got up from the booth and began making your way out of the building.

“Y/N!” You heard your father calling your name with panic and heard him noisily get up and follow you. You sensed peoples eyes on you, but for once, didn’t care.

You were walking toward the sidewalk, not knowing if it was the right way to your house or not but just wanting to get away from him, and didn’t get too far before your father grabbed your shoulder and spun you around to face him.

“Can you just-” he started, but cut himself off with an exasperated exhale, his chest moving up and down with his slightly labored breath, his tone more gentle as he continued, “Look, I’m trying, I really am, so can you cut me some slack... Please?”

You shook his hand off of you and crossed your arms, deciding to just say what you wanted. “You said you didn’t want us, remember?” You stared right at him as you said it, and watched as he flinched. Scoffing a bit, you bit out, “So I think it’s really funny how you’re trying to come back into our lives all of a sudden.”

“I never should have said that, okay? I regret it. I regret it so much, I regret missing out on seeing you guys grow up. I wish I could’ve watched you grow up into this beautiful young woman that you are today.” You didn’t feel bad watching him grow more desperate, the pain he had caused you made you numb to feeling any kind of empathy towards him. Yet the tears kept coming.

Finally breaking down, you let the tears fall from your eyes you grit out, “That’s not my fault. And it’s too late for you to try and patch things up with me, okay?” You staggered back a step and he followed you, his brows furrowed and mouth falling slack.

Visions of your mother crying into her hands late at night, the sleepless nights you spend doing the same because you believed that you did something wrong to have him leave without even a goodbye, you would’ve been fine even with a lie. Or so you thought.

“It might work for mom and Mark, but not on me. I...” you trailed off, suddenly tired and with a splitting headache, you just wanted to go somewhere to sit by yourself. Saying what you thought would get him to stop trying to contact you, you looked right in his own tearful eyes. “I’m fine not having a father.”

It was like the light left his eyes completely and he ducked his head, and you heard sniffling come from him, but you continued in a calm voice. “I’m fine without you. I don’t miss you. I just don’t want anything to do with you.” Your statement had been fatal, even you knew that with the way he stood where he was and offered no rebuttal, nothing. You looked at him one last time before turning around and started walking to nowhere.

This time, he didn’t follow you.

so I added a bit more of Sehun fluff to make up for this kinda filler chapter🙂 as always i appreciate and love feedback & thank u to all of you reading💕💕

#exo #exo sehun #oh sehun #exo scenarios #exo fanfiction #exo angst #exo au #exo bias #exo drabble #exo fic #exo fluff #exo imagine #exo k #exo l #exo m #exo ot12 #exo ot9 #exo reactions #exo x reader

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hunterbahamut · 6 years ago

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Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4

Here is part 5 of “ Unforeseen Return”.

I honestly wonder how many people will be upset with me, heh...

The three quickly left the docking bay and started to make their way down to the engineering deck. They made good time, but now the whole station was a lot more eerie with the emergency power running and the tension of something possibly stalking after them.

"So what is this creature you guys saw?" Zech asked, following after the others. "All you said was that it was big."

"I have no idea." Phin answered, "The thing was just big, bigger than any Gorm or Polartix for sure, and it had some big claws. To add to the whole creep factor was the fact that it had some kind of eerie glow to it, kinda like a Shkeel angler."

Zech suddenly stopped in his tracks. "...what?"

Phineas and Nix stopped and looked back at him. "What is it?" Nix asked, "Are you okay?"

Zech was silent for a moment, kinda looking at the two with a wide-eyed look before he shook his head. "Y-yeah...yeah I'm fine." He said, taking a deep breath to calm himself down. "Sorry...just...when you said that it reminded me of something."

"Anything we outta know about?" Phin asked, eyeing the hybrid.

"No. No, it's okay." Zech said, trying to reassure them before they started to move again. He looked down for a moment, feeling himself shiver a bit, "It's not...there's no way..."

The group reached the engineering room without incident, but that only seemed to increase the tension. With the limited light, even the larger room seemed to take on a sinister tone.

"Sail!" Phineas called out, looking around the darkened area, "Yo, Sail! C'mere! I hope you have some good news for me!"

Zech twitched his ears, looking around the darkened room, "Weird he's not answering right away."

"Yeah...that kinda worries me." Phin started to head towards the main control panel, "Well thankfully this is still going. Let's see if I can reroute power to the docking bay so we can at least get out of here."

Nix stepped further in, pulling out her own light and started to look around when she kicked something, sending it clattering across the floor. She quickly shone her light down, spotting a bit of metal, but then she started to see more. She gasped, "Guys...look at this..."

The two turned towards her, looking at where she was shining her light, shocked by the sight. In the middle of the floor were the Peapods, their bodies mangled and torn apart in a small heap. Some had their arms, legs and heads torn from their bodies, while some just seemed to have been crushed into crooked and crinkled forms.

"What the hell?!" Phin was shocked by the sight and he ran over to look them over.

"Did our monster get to them?" Nix asked.

"It makes sense..." Zech said, his voice rather faint as he looked at some of the crumpled forms, reminding him of something.

"I don't know how it got here so fast!" Phineas said, "The size of that thing meant it should have trouble moving around!" He started to look through the pile, stopping when he found what he was hoping wasn't there. "Oh man Sail..." He reached into the pile, pulling up his own bot's head. "No wonder I didn't hear from you sooner. At least your head looks intact..."

"We should get out of here in case it ends up coming back here." Nix started to look around, "Let's find the extra bots and move out."

Phin grumbled, "Yeah, I can get Sail back to the ship and hopefully get him up again, then we can see if we can find some kind of solution for this whole mess."

Zech looked around, "There they are!" He spotted the crate with the extra peapods inside and he ran over to them, grabbing one. "Right, let's-" He stopped suddenly, as did the others when they thought they heard something echoing around them, it sounded like a heavy thud.

Then there was another. And then another.

"Something's coming!" Nix shouted.

"But where?" Phin asked, looking around, "There's no way anything could get in any other way!"

The next boom seemed to answer that question and they all looked toward the reactor pit as a large clawed hand grabbed hold of the railing. A large form pulled itself up and lept up, landing in front of the group.

All eyes fell on the creature and they reacted quickly: Phin raised his arm cannon up and Zech raised his gauntlet up, but the hybrid froze as he got a good look of the creature as he stood up to his tall height.

"S-Syn?!"

There was no mistake, it was Syn! Zech was just stunned and he stared wide-eyed at his long-lost friend; it was him...but at the same time he knew something was wrong. He didn't look 'right', there was a ghostly glow from his angler and eyes, and his colors were just off. "...Syn...?"

Phineas and Nix turned to him with a surprised look. "Zech? Is...that...?"

"It can't be..." Zech's voice shook.

"It is!" The creature spoke, his voice practically booming in the large room. The voice was undeniably Syn's, but even then it sounded off. " I͝t's ̀me͢, partner! It’s been s̸o ̧lo̷ng, but no͝w I̛'m̕ comi̵ng҉ ̨b̕a̡c͢k͏!"

"Coming back...?" Zech looked scared, "B-but...but how? You can't, there's no way..."

"I don't like where this is going..." Phin mumbled.

"I’m coming ̷ba͜c̡k̶ ͝the only way I kno҉w̛ how!" Syn said again, only this time he sounded a bit more forceful. "I'm getting th͢é ̀o͡t̸hers̕ ͜so I can be ͝whơle ̶a͝gai̧n̶ !"

"What?!"

"Now I -really- don't like this!" Phineas shouted and he raised his arm cannon up.

Zech gasped out. "N-no! Don't-!"

Phineas didn't listen and he let loose several shots, forcing Syn to raise his arms up as the shots landed. He let out a terrible and angry howl; a sound that chilled Zech down to is very core, and he lashed out, striking Phin hard and sending him flying into the console.

"Phineas!" Nix yelled out and she rushed towards him. Her feathers changed color and she was building up some fire, swinging her arm out and launching the blast out.

Zech yelled out in terror, "NO! No don't hurt him-!"

Syn's growl echoed around them and he brought his arms up, bringing up a shield of fire and electricity and blocked Nix's own attack. Before she could do anything else to retaliate, he gathered launched the energy out at her, causing her to leap out of the way as the blast crashed and scorched the floor.

"Son of a-" Phin was still seeing stars as he tried to get up and raising his cannon up again. This time though he couldn't get a blast off as Syn slammed his tail down on top of him, pinning him down to the ground. "AAARGH!" Phin jerked and struggled to get free, but he was lifted up into the air, stuck in between the tail ends.

"Uncle Phin!" Zech yelled out, "Syn! Syn don't do this! Please!" He wanted to do something, but he just couldn't, everything in his body refused to act. Not against Syn.

Nix didn't have that hesitation though; she was back on her feet and she rushed forward, launching herself into a flying kick. Syn was able to easily deflected her first attack, but Nix spun around and pushed her attack. She launched several kicks into him, but each attack was blocked by the larger opponent. Fire started to build up around Nix as she tried to find some weakness against him; she started to turn to deliver a roundhouse, but Syn finally struck back. He was surprisingly fast and he swung his arm forward, striking Nix in midair and sending her flying back.

"Nix!" Phineas growled out as he struggled against the hold, finally pulling his robotic arm free and he fired off several blasts into Syn. The larger beast roared out and his grip with his tail tightened on the Shkeel, looking back at him with a snarl. "Don͟'t m̶a͟ke me̵ hur̀t yòu a͜n̶y͝ ͝m̧ore t́ha̕n̕ ͏I̸ ̢have͜ t͟o!"

"Get bent!" He sneered.

Nix ran forward, getting ready to make another attack, but Syn moved quickly and swung his arm down trying to flatten her. She tried to dodge to the side, but she wasn't fast enough and let out a gasp of pain as the claws raked down her leg. "Gaaah!"

"Nix!" Phineas yelled out as he jerked before he let out a shout. "ZECH! DO SOMETHING!"

Zech was frozen in place, unable to do anything but stare horrified at the scene that was unfolding before him. Phin's words pierced through him and finally broke him out of his stupor. Nix was hurt and the only thing he could think to do was dash over, grab hold of her and then teleport with her away from Syn and to the door.

"W̡ha̵t̴ ar͢e ́ỳo̢u ͝d͡oi͡ng̶?!" Syn roared out.

Before he could do anything, Phineas yelled out at them. "GET OUT OF HERE! GET BACK TO THE SHIP!"

"But-" Nix tried to protest, but Phin just roared out "GO!!"

Zech couldn't think and was running completely by impulse. He looked over at Syn for a moment before he teleported with Nix out of the area. Phineas struggled, groaning out in pain as he managed to aim his arm cannon and blasted the door controls and caused the emergency bulkheads to close after them.

The doors slammed shut, the ring echoing with the angry howl from the other side. " Ź̷̕͢E̢͟͡͠E̢̨͠E͘͢E̢͟͢E͜͜҉E͏̶͜҉̶C̷̸̨̛H̢̀͟ !"

#bahamut writing #team prototype #zech #phineas #nix #unforeseen return

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strivesy · 7 years ago

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iPads for Masterful Math: Randomizing Formative Math Assessment

Dr. Sean Nank on episode 228 of the 10-Minute Teacher Podcast

From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis

Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter

Dr. Sean Nank’s research shows that the single biggest method for improving learning with iPads is to use online formative assessments. However, his formative assessments have a twist — students are all answering DIFFERENT math questions. This intriguing research is a must listen for any school with access to technology. You do not need iPads to implement and learn from this research.

Opening Graphic

Middle School Science teachers should get the FREE Xplorlabs Fire Forensics kit.Solve a mystery. Meet Next Generation Science Standards. Have fun!

Go to http://ift.tt/2CRu9h7 today to get your Free Fire Forensics Kit.

Sean’s book is Teaching over Testing. Enter the contest to win a copy of the book. Just go to the show on iTunes and leave a review and your Twitter handle. We’ll draw one random winner.

Listen Now

Listen to the show on iTunes or Stitcher

Stream by clicking here.

***

Enhanced Transcript

Masterful Math: Randomizing Formative Math Assessment

Link to show: http://ift.tt/2qKmOKE

Date: January 10, 2018

Vicki: Today we’re talking to Dr. Sean Nank, @Sean_Nank.

He is a Presidential Award winner for Math and Science Teaching.

But he’s really quite unique, in that he teaches for two universities, and he also teaches high school math.

Now, Sean, you’re currently working with iPads and some online formative assessments for STEM classrooms.

What kind of research are you doing right now?

Sean: About seven years ago, three colleagues and myself wrote a grant proposal for a quarter of a million dollars to implement iPads into math and science classrooms.

Honestly, when we started it, we didn’t know what to expect. We didn’t know what was going to work, what wasn’t going to work. So we started doing research.

In the past seven years, I’ve found that the single biggest factor for student success with the iPads is being able to use online formative assessments. More so than any apps or anything else.

Vicki: So, what kind of formative assessments are you doing on the iPads?

Formative assessment on the iPad that Works

Sean: We decided to code certain assessments ourselves.

Quite honestly, the first time I coded the first test, it took a little bit of time, and I thought to myself, “I’m never spending this time making an assessment again.”

But then, seeing the students’ results after the first test, I thought, “There’s no way I can’t do this.”

So what we do is use randomization. We use Moodle as a Learning Management System. We created Assessment Items.

So what happens is that the students can take tests as many times as it takes for them to achieve and show mastery.

And I was quite surprised at the results. I had a ton of students coming in every single day after taking a test, if they weren’t successful, getting help from me, getting tutoring, and trying to take the test again and again.

Vicki: So… formative, typically, you don’t give a grade. It’s while while you are forming knowledge, right?

Formative Assessment and Grading

Sean: Right. Some people think that formative assessments cannot happen if you give any type of grade at all.

I think that formative assessments can happen with grades, as long as you give students the protocol and the opportunity to learn from that assessment, and to continue on and maybe get a better grade as a result.

So for me, it’s less a matter of giving them a grade, and more a matter of giving them feedback, giving them help, giving them opportunities to improve.

The Frequency of Formative Testing

Vicki: So they’re actually taking these daily…

Sean: Right.

We coded for warm-up activities, for exit activities — which was wonderful because we just go to our computer, refresh your menu, and you can see real time exactly how students are performing.

So those, they take every day. When we take any type of quiz or test, then all they need to do is…

The trick was that we didn’t have any type of protocol to start out with. We just let students retake assessments. That didn’t work, because they would keep re-taking it, and keep getting the same grade.

So, we started doing things like telling them that they needed to have all of their work completed, they needed to come in for…

Different teachers make different decisions, but usually it’s at least one or two sessions of tutoring so that they can learn from their mistakes, so that they can re-take it again.

Student and Teacher Feedback from Formative Assessment

Vicki: So, are they getting instant feedback on each question as they answer it, or are you the one giving the feedback after you look at their results?

Sean: You can do both!

And that was one of the amazingly wonderful, unforeseen circumstances.

So you’re giving a warm-up in class. And instead of just going through the three or four questions for the warm-up, and asking students if they have trouble, I can look at the data. I can say, “Number 1 and 3 you did great on. Number 2? Ahhh, 72% of you didn’t do well. So we’re going to go over this before we can continue with the lesson.”

But also, you can code in responses. So if somebody’s solving something like 2x + 4 = 8.

Then you know what the three major misconceptions are probably going to be, if they’re having trouble with this. So when they input that answer, you can not only code “Partial Credit” but you can also code “Hints”… so it will blast out hints to them.

So maybe they added 4 instead of subtracting 4.

So you could have the hints like, “Did you subtract the 4?” or something more vague, like “Watch the signs.”

So you can code in the major misconceptions so that they can get instant feedback, and they can know the right answer. Or you could block that. Like you could give them hints as well.

Vicki: Sean, it sounds like your view of excellent math teaching has evolved with using formative assessment.

How Sean’s Views of Excellent Math Teaching Has Changed

Sean: It has, quite a bit.

There’s actually a few things that have made it evolve.

One is that over the years, I’ve passed probably 40 more students per year than I should have, if I was the average math classroom.

And it’s not me. It’s not that I’m a wonderfully excellent teacher that’s reaching all the students.

It’s that I’m giving them a chance. And if you give them a chance, then it’s not that they take the first chapter assessment, they get an F, and they have to ride through with tha F for the rest of the semester. Students start giving up.

They never have to give up, up until the semester ends. They can always try again.

Another thing that’s changed my perception a lot is teaching at American College of Education and Cal State San Marcos.

I see a lot of credential students and Masters students and Doctorate students. With the papers they write, quite honestly, we borrow a lot in education.

A lot of the things that I’m doing in my classroom come straight from them, from their Master’s theses, from papers they’ve done in my class, because people have a lot of wonderful ideas out there.

Vicki: So if you could condense this down. Math teachers across the world are listening to this show.

It sounds like you’re saying that having formative assessment with instant feedback to you as the teacher, right at the beginning and ending of class… and then the opportunity to retake questions, the opportunity to have hints…

Does that summarize it, or are there other things that you want them to take away from what you’ve learned?

How Formative Assessment Changes the Conversation

Sean: Most of it is how it changes the conversation, because when you give them feedback and they have a chance to do it again…

Let’s say two students are sitting right next to each other. They’re doing a warm-up activity. Instead of one student being able to turn to the other and say, “What did you get for #2? The answer is 17,” and then people just move on. They have to turn to their partner and say, “How did you get that answer?” They could have a similar problem, but the numbers will change from the bank and from the randomization of the testing items.

So it absolutely changes the conceptual and procedural conversation that happens between you and students, and between students as well.

Testing for Concepts but Using Different Numbers and Problems for Each Student

Vicki: Oh, wow! So I think I missed that.

So what’s actually happening is, they’re having a warm-up activity, but each student is being asked a similar conceptual question but the numbers are different.

Sean: Right. So like for the problem 2x + 4 = 8, you can set up the parameters to where the student next to them has 3x – 9 = 16.

Vicki: Ahhhh.

Sean: So it’s not much of a difference, but it’s enough to where they can’t just copy off of each other. Some of it’s procedural, but you can also design conceptual questions, so they can talk about the question behind it. They can talk about the misconception.

So that’s one of the biggest things. Whenever I design any of these, I always have the three most major and common misconceptions in mind. Conception and procedural misconceptions. Then that helps to catch them before you send them home for the day.

Vicki: Wow. So where can people access what you’ve done? This sounds like a whole lot of work. I totally understand why having them do similar problems, but not exactly the same problem. That actually blows my mind. It makes sense that that would work. But how can the everyday math teacher apply this and use this in their classroom?

Sean: I would try as much as possible to find resources that are already out there. As teachers, we have a ton of work. There’s not enough hours in the day.

So I’ll go to different sources. One of the sources I use a lot is learnzillion.com — or any other type of resource that already has test banks. That will give you a good idea for which lessons and what types of assessments can go well with them.

There are some outlets that are starting to give you access to already-randomized assessment items. But honestly, my biggest concern — and the biggest consideration — is that it’s all contingent on what your district’s doing.

So you can have these types of assessment items on a Moodle platform. You could have it on Canvas. You could have it on Haiku. That’s what you would need to find out first, is what system is your district using?

Otherwise, you would have to spend your own money, which I don’t want any teacher to do. And you would have to get a website, and you would have to house it on your own website.

Vicki: (sighs)

So I think the important thing concept here is that we’ve got a lot to re-listen to, and to learn from Sean. This whole idea of randomized formative math assessment, and assessing on concepts,and encouraging students to have that conversation.

I know, Sean, that for me the lightbulb has really gone on. I’m even wondering how I would apply this into the subjects that I teach, because it really makes a whole lot of sense to test for the concept — and to make it so that it becomes more about the process of solving the problem, and less about the right number to answer. Right?

Sean: Right.

And I think, overarchingly, I’m glad you said that… because I hope people don’t think that this has to be just for math, or just for science. You can use this in any subject matter. I think one of the biggest things is realizing that we talk a lot about growth mindset now. But all of that tends to stop — and I was just as guilty as anybody else — when we give assessments.

“Let’s grow as students. Let’s have the conversation. Here’s your test. This is it. You either pass or you fail, and we’re finished with it . And you have to live with that consequence for the rest of the semester.”

So I think what it really boils down to is giving students multiple opportunities, and doing something I call Grading for Learning which is letting them retake assessments until they achieve mastery.

Something I talk about in my first book is something that concerns me — especially with standardized assessments — is that we try to boil schools, students, teachers down to one test result. Just one score, and that determines how good or bad they are.

There’s nothing wrong with standardized assessments. It’s just the meaning that we’re making, and the way we’re using them — concerns me.

If I had it my way, one of the major thing I would change is to always look at the student as a whole, and always look at multiple measures of how the student is doing.

So assessments are important, but they’re no means the only thing.

Vicki: So we’ve been listening to Dr. Sean Nank.

We’re also going to be doing a giveaway, of Teaching Over Testing.

He has a lot of other resources, so check the Shownotes.

This is a fascinating conversation about excellent math teaching.

This whole idea of randomized formative assessment is definitely one that I’ll be investigating more.

I think it’s one that all math teachers should be discussing, as well as teachers of other subjects.

So thank you, Sean!

Sean: Thank you!

Transcribed by Kymberli Mulford

[email protected]

Bio as submitted

Dr. Sean Nank earned a Ph.D. at the University of California Riverside. He received the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) in 2009 for mathematics from California. He has published two books titled Testing over Teaching: Mathematics Education in the 21st Century and The Making of a Presidential Mathematics and Science Educator, has published numerous articles, was a lead in writing the world’s first cloud based open source CCSS-M aligned K-8 texts (www.learnzillion.com), and is currently working on his third book.

He has worked in leadership positions with the United States Department of Education, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, National Science Foundation, California Department of Education, California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, and Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium. He was appointed to represent the USA at the International Congress on Mathematical Education in Korea as the mathematics assessment expert, which culminated in a congressional address as to the current state of mathematics education in the USA. Sean Nank is the President and Program Chair of the Greater San Diego Mathematics Council.

He has been a coach, Domain Specialist, and is currently a Facilitator and Ambassador for LearnZillion. He also continues to consult for various districts across the country at the elementary, middle, and secondary level training teachers and administrators. Topics include transitioning to CCSS-M while aligning classroom and district curriculum, pedagogy and assessments in a coherent manner using technological resources.

His current research agenda includes how teachers negotiate the balance between the procedural, conceptual, and application via technological resources. Sean has been on numerous conference planning committees. He is currently the chair for a national educational summit in Washington, DC which will include Presidential awardees and members of various state and national educational agencies.

He has authored several articles:

Nank, S. D. (2017). Seven steps for adapting technology to the classroom. Southeast Education Network (SEEN) (19, 1). Retrieved from: http://ift.tt/2moePhN

Nank, S. D. (2011). Editor of The making of a presidential mathematics and science educator. Volume 1. Chicago, IL: Discovery Association Publishing House. http://ift.tt/2qP7SLx

Nank, S. D. (2011). The present moment. In S. Nank (Ed.), The making of a presidential mathematics and science educator. Volume 1 (pp. 77-84). Chicago, IL: Discovery Association Publishing House. http://ift.tt/2qP7SLx

Nank, S. D. (2011). Testing over teaching: Mathematics education in the 21st century. Chicago, IL: Discovery Association Publishing House. http://ift.tt/2mouwFR

Blog: www.SeanNank.com

Twitter: @Sean_Nank

Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a “sponsored podcast episode.” The company who sponsored it compensated me via cash payment, gift, or something else of value to include a reference to their product. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I believe will be good for my readers and are from companies I can recommend. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” This company has no impact on the editorial content of the show.

The post iPads for Masterful Math: Randomizing Formative Math Assessment appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher helping educators be excellent every day. Meow!

iPads for Masterful Math: Randomizing Formative Math Assessment published first on http://ift.tt/2yTzsdq

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growthvue · 7 years ago

Text

iPads for Masterful Math: Randomizing Formative Math Assessment

Dr. Sean Nank on episode 228 of the 10-Minute Teacher Podcast

From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis

Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter

Opening Graphic

Middle School Science teachers should get the FREE Xplorlabs Fire Forensics kit.Solve a mystery. Meet Next Generation Science Standards. Have fun!

Go to http://ift.tt/2CRu9h7 today to get your Free Fire Forensics Kit.

Sean’s book is Teaching over Testing. Enter the contest to win a copy of the book. Just go to the show on iTunes and leave a review and your Twitter handle. We’ll draw one random winner.

Listen Now

Listen to the show on iTunes or Stitcher

Stream by clicking here.

***

Enhanced Transcript

Masterful Math: Randomizing Formative Math Assessment

Link to show: http://ift.tt/2qKmOKE

Date: January 10, 2018

Vicki: Today we’re talking to Dr. Sean Nank, @Sean_Nank.

He is a Presidential Award winner for Math and Science Teaching.

But he’s really quite unique, in that he teaches for two universities, and he also teaches high school math.

Now, Sean, you’re currently working with iPads and some online formative assessments for STEM classrooms.

What kind of research are you doing right now?

Sean: About seven years ago, three colleagues and myself wrote a grant proposal for a quarter of a million dollars to implement iPads into math and science classrooms.

Honestly, when we started it, we didn’t know what to expect. We didn’t know what was going to work, what wasn’t going to work. So we started doing research.

In the past seven years, I’ve found that the single biggest factor for student success with the iPads is being able to use online formative assessments. More so than any apps or anything else.

Vicki: So, what kind of formative assessments are you doing on the iPads?

Formative assessment on the iPad that Works

Sean: We decided to code certain assessments ourselves.

Quite honestly, the first time I coded the first test, it took a little bit of time, and I thought to myself, “I’m never spending this time making an assessment again.”

But then, seeing the students’ results after the first test, I thought, “There’s no way I can’t do this.”

So what we do is use randomization. We use Moodle as a Learning Management System. We created Assessment Items.

So what happens is that the students can take tests as many times as it takes for them to achieve and show mastery.

Vicki: So… formative, typically, you don’t give a grade. It’s while while you are forming knowledge, right?

Formative Assessment and Grading

Sean: Right. Some people think that formative assessments cannot happen if you give any type of grade at all.

So for me, it’s less a matter of giving them a grade, and more a matter of giving them feedback, giving them help, giving them opportunities to improve.

The Frequency of Formative Testing

Vicki: So they’re actually taking these daily…

Sean: Right.

We coded for warm-up activities, for exit activities — which was wonderful because we just go to our computer, refresh your menu, and you can see real time exactly how students are performing.

So those, they take every day. When we take any type of quiz or test, then all they need to do is…

So, we started doing things like telling them that they needed to have all of their work completed, they needed to come in for…

Different teachers make different decisions, but usually it’s at least one or two sessions of tutoring so that they can learn from their mistakes, so that they can re-take it again.

Student and Teacher Feedback from Formative Assessment

Vicki: So, are they getting instant feedback on each question as they answer it, or are you the one giving the feedback after you look at their results?

Sean: You can do both!

And that was one of the amazingly wonderful, unforeseen circumstances.

But also, you can code in responses. So if somebody’s solving something like 2x + 4 = 8.

So maybe they added 4 instead of subtracting 4.

So you could have the hints like, “Did you subtract the 4?” or something more vague, like “Watch the signs.”

So you can code in the major misconceptions so that they can get instant feedback, and they can know the right answer. Or you could block that. Like you could give them hints as well.

Vicki: Sean, it sounds like your view of excellent math teaching has evolved with using formative assessment.

How Sean’s Views of Excellent Math Teaching Has Changed

Sean: It has, quite a bit.

There’s actually a few things that have made it evolve.

One is that over the years, I’ve passed probably 40 more students per year than I should have, if I was the average math classroom.

And it’s not me. It’s not that I’m a wonderfully excellent teacher that’s reaching all the students.

They never have to give up, up until the semester ends. They can always try again.

Another thing that’s changed my perception a lot is teaching at American College of Education and Cal State San Marcos.

I see a lot of credential students and Masters students and Doctorate students. With the papers they write, quite honestly, we borrow a lot in education.

Vicki: So if you could condense this down. Math teachers across the world are listening to this show.

Does that summarize it, or are there other things that you want them to take away from what you’ve learned?

How Formative Assessment Changes the Conversation

Sean: Most of it is how it changes the conversation, because when you give them feedback and they have a chance to do it again…

So it absolutely changes the conceptual and procedural conversation that happens between you and students, and between students as well.

Testing for Concepts but Using Different Numbers and Problems for Each Student

Vicki: Oh, wow! So I think I missed that.

So what’s actually happening is, they’re having a warm-up activity, but each student is being asked a similar conceptual question but the numbers are different.

Sean: Right. So like for the problem 2x + 4 = 8, you can set up the parameters to where the student next to them has 3x – 9 = 16.

Vicki: Ahhhh.

Sean: I would try as much as possible to find resources that are already out there. As teachers, we have a ton of work. There’s not enough hours in the day.

Otherwise, you would have to spend your own money, which I don’t want any teacher to do. And you would have to get a website, and you would have to house it on your own website.

Vicki: (sighs)

Sean: Right.

So I think what it really boils down to is giving students multiple opportunities, and doing something I call Grading for Learning which is letting them retake assessments until they achieve mastery.

There’s nothing wrong with standardized assessments. It’s just the meaning that we’re making, and the way we’re using them — concerns me.

If I had it my way, one of the major thing I would change is to always look at the student as a whole, and always look at multiple measures of how the student is doing.

So assessments are important, but they’re no means the only thing.

Vicki: So we’ve been listening to Dr. Sean Nank.

We’re also going to be doing a giveaway, of Teaching Over Testing.

He has a lot of other resources, so check the Shownotes.

This is a fascinating conversation about excellent math teaching.

This whole idea of randomized formative assessment is definitely one that I’ll be investigating more.

I think it’s one that all math teachers should be discussing, as well as teachers of other subjects.

So thank you, Sean!

Sean: Thank you!

Transcribed by Kymberli Mulford

[email protected]

Bio as submitted

He has authored several articles:

Nank, S. D. (2017). Seven steps for adapting technology to the classroom. Southeast Education Network (SEEN) (19, 1). Retrieved from: http://ift.tt/2moePhN

Nank, S. D. (2011). Editor of The making of a presidential mathematics and science educator. Volume 1. Chicago, IL: Discovery Association Publishing House. http://ift.tt/2qP7SLx

Nank, S. D. (2011). Testing over teaching: Mathematics education in the 21st century. Chicago, IL: Discovery Association Publishing House. http://ift.tt/2mouwFR

Blog: www.SeanNank.com

Twitter: @Sean_Nank

The post iPads for Masterful Math: Randomizing Formative Math Assessment appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher helping educators be excellent every day. Meow!

iPads for Masterful Math: Randomizing Formative Math Assessment published first on http://ift.tt/2xx6Oyq

0 notes

succeedly · 7 years ago

Text

iPads for Masterful Math: Randomizing Formative Math Assessment

Dr. Sean Nank on episode 228 of the 10-Minute Teacher Podcast

From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis

Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter

Opening Graphic

Middle School Science teachers should get the FREE Xplorlabs Fire Forensics kit.Solve a mystery. Meet Next Generation Science Standards. Have fun!

Go to http://ift.tt/2CRu9h7 today to get your Free Fire Forensics Kit.

Sean’s book is Teaching over Testing. Enter the contest to win a copy of the book. Just go to the show on iTunes and leave a review and your Twitter handle. We’ll draw one random winner.

Listen Now

Listen to the show on iTunes or Stitcher

Stream by clicking here.

***

Enhanced Transcript

Masterful Math: Randomizing Formative Math Assessment

Link to show: http://ift.tt/2qKmOKE

Date: January 10, 2018

Vicki: Today we’re talking to Dr. Sean Nank, @Sean_Nank.

He is a Presidential Award winner for Math and Science Teaching.

But he’s really quite unique, in that he teaches for two universities, and he also teaches high school math.

Now, Sean, you’re currently working with iPads and some online formative assessments for STEM classrooms.

What kind of research are you doing right now?

Sean: About seven years ago, three colleagues and myself wrote a grant proposal for a quarter of a million dollars to implement iPads into math and science classrooms.

Honestly, when we started it, we didn’t know what to expect. We didn’t know what was going to work, what wasn’t going to work. So we started doing research.

In the past seven years, I’ve found that the single biggest factor for student success with the iPads is being able to use online formative assessments. More so than any apps or anything else.

Vicki: So, what kind of formative assessments are you doing on the iPads?

Formative assessment on the iPad that Works

Sean: We decided to code certain assessments ourselves.

Quite honestly, the first time I coded the first test, it took a little bit of time, and I thought to myself, “I’m never spending this time making an assessment again.”

But then, seeing the students’ results after the first test, I thought, “There’s no way I can’t do this.”

So what we do is use randomization. We use Moodle as a Learning Management System. We created Assessment Items.

So what happens is that the students can take tests as many times as it takes for them to achieve and show mastery.

Vicki: So… formative, typically, you don’t give a grade. It’s while while you are forming knowledge, right?

Formative Assessment and Grading

Sean: Right. Some people think that formative assessments cannot happen if you give any type of grade at all.

So for me, it’s less a matter of giving them a grade, and more a matter of giving them feedback, giving them help, giving them opportunities to improve.

The Frequency of Formative Testing

Vicki: So they’re actually taking these daily…

Sean: Right.

We coded for warm-up activities, for exit activities — which was wonderful because we just go to our computer, refresh your menu, and you can see real time exactly how students are performing.

So those, they take every day. When we take any type of quiz or test, then all they need to do is…

So, we started doing things like telling them that they needed to have all of their work completed, they needed to come in for…

Different teachers make different decisions, but usually it’s at least one or two sessions of tutoring so that they can learn from their mistakes, so that they can re-take it again.

Student and Teacher Feedback from Formative Assessment

Vicki: So, are they getting instant feedback on each question as they answer it, or are you the one giving the feedback after you look at their results?

Sean: You can do both!

And that was one of the amazingly wonderful, unforeseen circumstances.

But also, you can code in responses. So if somebody’s solving something like 2x + 4 = 8.

So maybe they added 4 instead of subtracting 4.

So you could have the hints like, “Did you subtract the 4?” or something more vague, like “Watch the signs.”

So you can code in the major misconceptions so that they can get instant feedback, and they can know the right answer. Or you could block that. Like you could give them hints as well.

Vicki: Sean, it sounds like your view of excellent math teaching has evolved with using formative assessment.

How Sean’s Views of Excellent Math Teaching Has Changed

Sean: It has, quite a bit.

There’s actually a few things that have made it evolve.

One is that over the years, I’ve passed probably 40 more students per year than I should have, if I was the average math classroom.

And it’s not me. It’s not that I’m a wonderfully excellent teacher that’s reaching all the students.

They never have to give up, up until the semester ends. They can always try again.

Another thing that’s changed my perception a lot is teaching at American College of Education and Cal State San Marcos.

I see a lot of credential students and Masters students and Doctorate students. With the papers they write, quite honestly, we borrow a lot in education.

Vicki: So if you could condense this down. Math teachers across the world are listening to this show.

Does that summarize it, or are there other things that you want them to take away from what you’ve learned?

How Formative Assessment Changes the Conversation

Sean: Most of it is how it changes the conversation, because when you give them feedback and they have a chance to do it again…

So it absolutely changes the conceptual and procedural conversation that happens between you and students, and between students as well.

Testing for Concepts but Using Different Numbers and Problems for Each Student

Vicki: Oh, wow! So I think I missed that.

So what’s actually happening is, they’re having a warm-up activity, but each student is being asked a similar conceptual question but the numbers are different.

Sean: Right. So like for the problem 2x + 4 = 8, you can set up the parameters to where the student next to them has 3x – 9 = 16.

Vicki: Ahhhh.

Sean: I would try as much as possible to find resources that are already out there. As teachers, we have a ton of work. There’s not enough hours in the day.

Otherwise, you would have to spend your own money, which I don’t want any teacher to do. And you would have to get a website, and you would have to house it on your own website.

Vicki: (sighs)

Sean: Right.

So I think what it really boils down to is giving students multiple opportunities, and doing something I call Grading for Learning which is letting them retake assessments until they achieve mastery.

There’s nothing wrong with standardized assessments. It’s just the meaning that we’re making, and the way we’re using them — concerns me.

If I had it my way, one of the major thing I would change is to always look at the student as a whole, and always look at multiple measures of how the student is doing.

So assessments are important, but they’re no means the only thing.

Vicki: So we’ve been listening to Dr. Sean Nank.

We’re also going to be doing a giveaway, of Teaching Over Testing.

He has a lot of other resources, so check the Shownotes.

This is a fascinating conversation about excellent math teaching.

This whole idea of randomized formative assessment is definitely one that I’ll be investigating more.

I think it’s one that all math teachers should be discussing, as well as teachers of other subjects.

So thank you, Sean!

Sean: Thank you!

Transcribed by Kymberli Mulford

[email protected]

Bio as submitted

He has authored several articles:

Nank, S. D. (2017). Seven steps for adapting technology to the classroom. Southeast Education Network (SEEN) (19, 1). Retrieved from: http://ift.tt/2moePhN

Nank, S. D. (2011). Editor of The making of a presidential mathematics and science educator. Volume 1. Chicago, IL: Discovery Association Publishing House. http://ift.tt/2qP7SLx

Nank, S. D. (2011). Testing over teaching: Mathematics education in the 21st century. Chicago, IL: Discovery Association Publishing House. http://ift.tt/2mouwFR

Blog: www.SeanNank.com

Twitter: @Sean_Nank

The post iPads for Masterful Math: Randomizing Formative Math Assessment appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher helping educators be excellent every day. Meow!

iPads for Masterful Math: Randomizing Formative Math Assessment published first on http://ift.tt/2jn9f0m

0 notes

athena29stone · 7 years ago

Text

iPads for Masterful Math: Randomizing Formative Math Assessment

Dr. Sean Nank on episode 228 of the 10-Minute Teacher Podcast

From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis

Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter

Opening Graphic

Middle School Science teachers should get the FREE Xplorlabs Fire Forensics kit.Solve a mystery. Meet Next Generation Science Standards. Have fun!

Go to http://www.coolcatteacher.com/firelab today to get your Free Fire Forensics Kit.

Sean’s book is Teaching over Testing. Enter the contest to win a copy of the book. Just go to the show on iTunes and leave a review and your Twitter handle. We’ll draw one random winner.

Listen Now

Listen to the show on iTunes or Stitcher

Stream by clicking here.

***

Enhanced Transcript

Masterful Math: Randomizing Formative Math Assessment

Link to show: www.coolcatteacher.com/e228

Date: January 10, 2018

Vicki: Today we’re talking to Dr. Sean Nank, @Sean_Nank.

He is a Presidential Award winner for Math and Science Teaching.

But he’s really quite unique, in that he teaches for two universities, and he also teaches high school math.

Now, Sean, you’re currently working with iPads and some online formative assessments for STEM classrooms.

What kind of research are you doing right now?

Sean: About seven years ago, three colleagues and myself wrote a grant proposal for a quarter of a million dollars to implement iPads into math and science classrooms.

Honestly, when we started it, we didn’t know what to expect. We didn’t know what was going to work, what wasn’t going to work. So we started doing research.

In the past seven years, I’ve found that the single biggest factor for student success with the iPads is being able to use online formative assessments. More so than any apps or anything else.

Vicki: So, what kind of formative assessments are you doing on the iPads?

Formative assessment on the iPad that Works

Sean: We decided to code certain assessments ourselves.

Quite honestly, the first time I coded the first test, it took a little bit of time, and I thought to myself, “I’m never spending this time making an assessment again.”

But then, seeing the students’ results after the first test, I thought, “There’s no way I can’t do this.”

So what we do is use randomization. We use Moodle as a Learning Management System. We created Assessment Items.

So what happens is that the students can take tests as many times as it takes for them to achieve and show mastery.

Vicki: So… formative, typically, you don’t give a grade. It’s while while you are forming knowledge, right?

Formative Assessment and Grading

Sean: Right. Some people think that formative assessments cannot happen if you give any type of grade at all.

So for me, it’s less a matter of giving them a grade, and more a matter of giving them feedback, giving them help, giving them opportunities to improve.

The Frequency of Formative Testing

Vicki: So they’re actually taking these daily…

Sean: Right.

We coded for warm-up activities, for exit activities — which was wonderful because we just go to our computer, refresh your menu, and you can see real time exactly how students are performing.

So those, they take every day. When we take any type of quiz or test, then all they need to do is…

So, we started doing things like telling them that they needed to have all of their work completed, they needed to come in for…

Different teachers make different decisions, but usually it’s at least one or two sessions of tutoring so that they can learn from their mistakes, so that they can re-take it again.

Student and Teacher Feedback from Formative Assessment

Vicki: So, are they getting instant feedback on each question as they answer it, or are you the one giving the feedback after you look at their results?

Sean: You can do both!

And that was one of the amazingly wonderful, unforeseen circumstances.

But also, you can code in responses. So if somebody’s solving something like 2x + 4 = 8.

So maybe they added 4 instead of subtracting 4.

So you could have the hints like, “Did you subtract the 4?” or something more vague, like “Watch the signs.”

So you can code in the major misconceptions so that they can get instant feedback, and they can know the right answer. Or you could block that. Like you could give them hints as well.

Vicki: Sean, it sounds like your view of excellent math teaching has evolved with using formative assessment.

How Sean’s Views of Excellent Math Teaching Has Changed

Sean: It has, quite a bit.

There’s actually a few things that have made it evolve.

One is that over the years, I’ve passed probably 40 more students per year than I should have, if I was the average math classroom.

And it’s not me. It’s not that I’m a wonderfully excellent teacher that’s reaching all the students.

They never have to give up, up until the semester ends. They can always try again.

Another thing that’s changed my perception a lot is teaching at American College of Education and Cal State San Marcos.

I see a lot of credential students and Masters students and Doctorate students. With the papers they write, quite honestly, we borrow a lot in education.

Vicki: So if you could condense this down. Math teachers across the world are listening to this show.

Does that summarize it, or are there other things that you want them to take away from what you’ve learned?

How Formative Assessment Changes the Conversation

Sean: Most of it is how it changes the conversation, because when you give them feedback and they have a chance to do it again…

So it absolutely changes the conceptual and procedural conversation that happens between you and students, and between students as well.

Testing for Concepts but Using Different Numbers and Problems for Each Student

Vicki: Oh, wow! So I think I missed that.

So what’s actually happening is, they’re having a warm-up activity, but each student is being asked a similar conceptual question but the numbers are different.

Sean: Right. So like for the problem 2x + 4 = 8, you can set up the parameters to where the student next to them has 3x – 9 = 16.

Vicki: Ahhhh.

Sean: I would try as much as possible to find resources that are already out there. As teachers, we have a ton of work. There’s not enough hours in the day.

Otherwise, you would have to spend your own money, which I don’t want any teacher to do. And you would have to get a website, and you would have to house it on your own website.

Vicki: (sighs)

Sean: Right.

So I think what it really boils down to is giving students multiple opportunities, and doing something I call Grading for Learning which is letting them retake assessments until they achieve mastery.

There’s nothing wrong with standardized assessments. It’s just the meaning that we’re making, and the way we’re using them — concerns me.

If I had it my way, one of the major thing I would change is to always look at the student as a whole, and always look at multiple measures of how the student is doing.

So assessments are important, but they’re no means the only thing.

Vicki: So we’ve been listening to Dr. Sean Nank.

We’re also going to be doing a giveaway, of Teaching Over Testing.

He has a lot of other resources, so check the Shownotes.

This is a fascinating conversation about excellent math teaching.

This whole idea of randomized formative assessment is definitely one that I’ll be investigating more.

I think it’s one that all math teachers should be discussing, as well as teachers of other subjects.

So thank you, Sean!

Sean: Thank you!

Transcribed by Kymberli Mulford

[email protected]

Bio as submitted

He has authored several articles:

Nank, S. D. (2017). Seven steps for adapting technology to the classroom. Southeast Education Network (SEEN) (19, 1). Retrieved from: http://www.seenmagazine.us/Articles/Article-Detail/ArticleId/6500/Seven-Steps-for-Adapting-Technology-to-the-Classroom

Nank, S. D. (2011). Editor of The making of a presidential mathematics and science educator. Volume 1. Chicago, IL: Discovery Association Publishing House. http://www.seannank.com/Presidential_Book.html

Nank, S. D. (2011). Testing over teaching: Mathematics education in the 21st century. Chicago, IL: Discovery Association Publishing House. http://www.seannank.com/Testing_over_Teaching.html

Blog: www.SeanNank.com

Twitter: @Sean_Nank

The post iPads for Masterful Math: Randomizing Formative Math Assessment appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher helping educators be excellent every day. Meow!

from Cool Cat Teacher BlogCool Cat Teacher Blog http://www.coolcatteacher.com/ipads-masterful-math-randomizing-formative-math-assessment/

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patriciaanderson357-blog · 7 years ago

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iPads for Masterful Math: Randomizing Formative Math Assessment

Dr. Sean Nank on episode 228 of the 10-Minute Teacher Podcast

From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis

Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter

Opening Graphic

Middle School Science teachers should get the FREE Xplorlabs Fire Forensics kit.Solve a mystery. Meet Next Generation Science Standards. Have fun!

Go to http://www.coolcatteacher.com/firelab today to get your Free Fire Forensics Kit.

Sean’s book is Teaching over Testing. Enter the contest to win a copy of the book. Just go to the show on iTunes and leave a review and your Twitter handle. We’ll draw one random winner.

Listen Now

Listen to the show on iTunes or Stitcher

Stream by clicking here.

***

Enhanced Transcript

Masterful Math: Randomizing Formative Math Assessment

Link to show: www.coolcatteacher.com/e228

Date: January 10, 2018

Vicki: Today we’re talking to Dr. Sean Nank, @Sean_Nank.

He is a Presidential Award winner for Math and Science Teaching.

But he’s really quite unique, in that he teaches for two universities, and he also teaches high school math.

Now, Sean, you’re currently working with iPads and some online formative assessments for STEM classrooms.

What kind of research are you doing right now?

Sean: About seven years ago, three colleagues and myself wrote a grant proposal for a quarter of a million dollars to implement iPads into math and science classrooms.

Honestly, when we started it, we didn’t know what to expect. We didn’t know what was going to work, what wasn’t going to work. So we started doing research.

In the past seven years, I’ve found that the single biggest factor for student success with the iPads is being able to use online formative assessments. More so than any apps or anything else.

Vicki: So, what kind of formative assessments are you doing on the iPads?

Formative assessment on the iPad that Works

Sean: We decided to code certain assessments ourselves.

Quite honestly, the first time I coded the first test, it took a little bit of time, and I thought to myself, “I’m never spending this time making an assessment again.”

But then, seeing the students’ results after the first test, I thought, “There’s no way I can’t do this.”

So what we do is use randomization. We use Moodle as a Learning Management System. We created Assessment Items.

So what happens is that the students can take tests as many times as it takes for them to achieve and show mastery.

Vicki: So… formative, typically, you don’t give a grade. It’s while while you are forming knowledge, right?

Formative Assessment and Grading

Sean: Right. Some people think that formative assessments cannot happen if you give any type of grade at all.

So for me, it’s less a matter of giving them a grade, and more a matter of giving them feedback, giving them help, giving them opportunities to improve.

The Frequency of Formative Testing

Vicki: So they’re actually taking these daily…

Sean: Right.

We coded for warm-up activities, for exit activities — which was wonderful because we just go to our computer, refresh your menu, and you can see real time exactly how students are performing.

So those, they take every day. When we take any type of quiz or test, then all they need to do is…

So, we started doing things like telling them that they needed to have all of their work completed, they needed to come in for…

Different teachers make different decisions, but usually it’s at least one or two sessions of tutoring so that they can learn from their mistakes, so that they can re-take it again.

Student and Teacher Feedback from Formative Assessment

Vicki: So, are they getting instant feedback on each question as they answer it, or are you the one giving the feedback after you look at their results?

Sean: You can do both!

And that was one of the amazingly wonderful, unforeseen circumstances.

But also, you can code in responses. So if somebody’s solving something like 2x + 4 = 8.

So maybe they added 4 instead of subtracting 4.

So you could have the hints like, “Did you subtract the 4?” or something more vague, like “Watch the signs.”

So you can code in the major misconceptions so that they can get instant feedback, and they can know the right answer. Or you could block that. Like you could give them hints as well.

Vicki: Sean, it sounds like your view of excellent math teaching has evolved with using formative assessment.

How Sean’s Views of Excellent Math Teaching Has Changed

Sean: It has, quite a bit.

There’s actually a few things that have made it evolve.

One is that over the years, I’ve passed probably 40 more students per year than I should have, if I was the average math classroom.

And it’s not me. It’s not that I’m a wonderfully excellent teacher that’s reaching all the students.

They never have to give up, up until the semester ends. They can always try again.

Another thing that’s changed my perception a lot is teaching at American College of Education and Cal State San Marcos.

I see a lot of credential students and Masters students and Doctorate students. With the papers they write, quite honestly, we borrow a lot in education.

Vicki: So if you could condense this down. Math teachers across the world are listening to this show.

Does that summarize it, or are there other things that you want them to take away from what you’ve learned?

How Formative Assessment Changes the Conversation

Sean: Most of it is how it changes the conversation, because when you give them feedback and they have a chance to do it again…

So it absolutely changes the conceptual and procedural conversation that happens between you and students, and between students as well.

Testing for Concepts but Using Different Numbers and Problems for Each Student

Vicki: Oh, wow! So I think I missed that.

So what’s actually happening is, they’re having a warm-up activity, but each student is being asked a similar conceptual question but the numbers are different.

Sean: Right. So like for the problem 2x + 4 = 8, you can set up the parameters to where the student next to them has 3x – 9 = 16.

Vicki: Ahhhh.

Sean: I would try as much as possible to find resources that are already out there. As teachers, we have a ton of work. There’s not enough hours in the day.

Otherwise, you would have to spend your own money, which I don’t want any teacher to do. And you would have to get a website, and you would have to house it on your own website.

Vicki: (sighs)

Sean: Right.

So I think what it really boils down to is giving students multiple opportunities, and doing something I call Grading for Learning which is letting them retake assessments until they achieve mastery.

There’s nothing wrong with standardized assessments. It’s just the meaning that we’re making, and the way we’re using them — concerns me.

If I had it my way, one of the major thing I would change is to always look at the student as a whole, and always look at multiple measures of how the student is doing.

So assessments are important, but they’re no means the only thing.

Vicki: So we’ve been listening to Dr. Sean Nank.

We’re also going to be doing a giveaway, of Teaching Over Testing.

He has a lot of other resources, so check the Shownotes.

This is a fascinating conversation about excellent math teaching.

This whole idea of randomized formative assessment is definitely one that I’ll be investigating more.

I think it’s one that all math teachers should be discussing, as well as teachers of other subjects.

So thank you, Sean!

Sean: Thank you!

Transcribed by Kymberli Mulford

[email protected]

Bio as submitted

He has authored several articles:

Nank, S. D. (2011). Testing over teaching: Mathematics education in the 21st century. Chicago, IL: Discovery Association Publishing House. http://www.seannank.com/Testing_over_Teaching.html

Blog: www.SeanNank.com

Twitter: @Sean_Nank

The post iPads for Masterful Math: Randomizing Formative Math Assessment appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher helping educators be excellent every day. Meow!

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junker-town · 8 years ago

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NASCAR’s troubles aren’t over yet, but there is finally reason for optimism

With retiring stars as well as declining attendance and TV ratings, the opening months of the 2017 season have been a struggle.

All the makings for a transformative race were in place, one that would give NASCAR a much-needed boost following a week where the sport’s most popular figure announced his pending retirement and a string of races produced uninspiring television ratings.

And on the track, Richmond International Raceway delivered last Sunday, hosting one of the better Monster Energy Cup Series races of the season. A classic short track battle with no shortage of passing, three- and sometimes four-wide action, plenty of dramatic twists, a host of notable names in contention, and a finish in doubt until the very end.

So why then were the grandstands sparse and the television ratings disappointing?

Why did only an estimated 30,000 show up to watch, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch? Why did the Toyota Owners 400 equal the least-watched spring Richmond race since 2001, according to Sports Media Watch? Why did one team executive team tell SB Nation he spent Monday and Tuesday calling sponsors to assuage concerns that the sky wasn’t falling and NASCAR was still a worthwhile investment?

Throughout the week there have been no shortage of theories volleyed on social media and talk radio as to why Richmond was a bust at the ticket office and a dud on television. The list of reasons includes:

--An unseasonably warm Virginia afternoon with the temperature in the low 90s for a race that before 2016 had annually been conducted on Saturday night. “I mean, it's 90 degrees and coverage on TV is pretty excellent,” third-place finisher Denny Hamlin said. “It's tough to sit in the bleachers when it's 90.”

--Three Cup races in the same region within a five-week span was asking too much of fans and spread them out among Richmond, Martinsville Speedway (April 2), and Bristol Motor Speedway (April 24).

--The current schedule featuring 38 races over 41 weeks (36 point races, plus two exhibitions) is simply too robust with too many races having distances that exceed three hours; a less than ideal combination in an age of instant gratification.

What further steps can NASCAR take to combat what is now a decade-plus slide?

--Consumers having more options than ever before, and with America no longer considered a car culture hub, tuning in or watching a race on television of any kind isn’t appealing. Evidence supported by roughly 7,000 spectators attending an IndyCar race Saturday night at Phoenix International Raceway, according to The Associated Press.

Each offers varying degrees of justification, yet outside of the weather, none could be considered unforeseen. Which leads to the question: What further steps can NASCAR take to combat what is now a decade-plus slide?

Hamlin tweeted his list of the three most important things he would like to see changed within the sport, while Brad Keselowski stressed it was time for the industry to collaborate and come up with fresh concepts to spur a turnaround.

1. Schedule (32 events,weeknights, 2.5 hour race length) 2. Get cars (sideskirts,quarter panels) off the ground 3. Upgrade track facilities https://t.co/ieYi5Zcclq

— Denny Hamlin (@dennyhamlin) May 2, 2017

“The sport is bigger than 1 person & their specific ideas,” Keselowski tweeted. “My answer- 1). Industry must work together 2). Be bold 3). Take nothing 4 granted.”

As if it wasn’t already apparent, any and all ideas should be on the table.

But what makes the situation exasperating is that NASCAR made a concentrated effort to seek outside council on ways to improve. Soliciting feedback and being open to change is something the sanctioning body has made considerable strides in, polar opposite of the iron mentality it had for years and years.

Last summer, pushed by drivers, NASCAR went with a lower downforce aerodynamic rules package for this season that better allows drivers to showcase their skills. Most pronounced, this past offseason saw NASCAR executives, drivers, car owners, network executives, and track promoters unite in an unprecedented showing of collaboration to combat the growing list of issues within the sport.

From that came the implementation of a three-stage format that incentivizes drivers with bonus points that apply toward the championship so that they push hard from green flag to checkered flag in every regular season race.

Across the board both changes created the intended effect. Stage racing has stimulated the middle portions of races that before often saw drivers prefer a conservative approach, and the new rules package is a large contributor as to why the on-track product is improved with increased passing. At Richmond, there were 2,495 green-flag passes, compared to 2,083 green-flag passes in the same race the year previous, and 1,688 green-flag passes in 2015.

And yet, while none of the decision-makers expected an immediate bounce back and stressed time was needed to cultivate new fans and demonstrate that NASCAR was a sport on the upswing, concrete evidence is lacking to suggest such a rejuvenation is afoot.

Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images

Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott are NASCAR’s future stars.

In fact, conventional wisdom suggests the downturn will continue.

Nine races into the season, ratings and attendance have not only not improved -- or at a minimum, flattened out -- they’ve continued to dip. Six of eight Cup races (not including the one-day postponement at Bristol) have suffered viewership declines. Last week, Speedway Motorsports Inc., the operator of eight tracks that host a combined 13 Cup races (including the non-points All-Star Race), reported a first-quarter profit loss where revenue from ticket sales dropped by 4.5 percent from the same quarter a year ago.

Soft attendance will likely continue into next year with Dale Earnhardt Jr. announcing last week he will retire from full-time competition at the end of the current season. NASCAR’s 14-time most popular driver joins Jeff Gordon, Carl Edwards, and Tony Stewart as superstars who’ve all walked away within the past two years, and tracks have already cited the retirements of Gordon and Stewart as reasons for fewer people buying tickets.

NASCAR CEO and chairman Brian France spoke confidently at Richmond that the sport he oversees is experiencing the same trials and tribulations other professional leagues are facing. Consumers have more options than ever before, sports no longer remain atop the priority list of many -- especially for millennials -- and while there are new avenues to view games and races, that doesn’t counteract all those who’ve cut the cord.

"We're not isolated here," France said. "Every sport is trying to unlock the new consumption levels and fan interest by a younger demographic. Of course we love our core fan and everyone does, but every sport is thinking carefully about how to reach the millennial fan to get them excited about their sport."

All fair points and a sound, levelheaded mindset to have amidst a search for tangible solutions.

The optimism is not unfounded, but Monster Energy is the key.

Along with the enhanced racing brought about by the three-stage format and updated aero package, NASCAR has an impressive crop of young drivers that it can build around for years to come. Many times over, Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott have demonstrated they are outwardly talented, much in the fashion Stewart and Gordon did before them.

Within the industry the hope is Monster Energy, the new entitlement Cup Series sponsor, will be the bridge that brings NASCAR to a fresh, younger audience that may not have familiarity with stock car racing. The energy drink company is expected to be the conduit that effectively markets the 24-year-old Larson and the 21-year-old Elliott into the crossover stars NASCAR is lacking following the departures of Gordon, Edwards, Stewart, and soon, Earnhardt.

Being NASCAR’s biggest partner is a role Monster has grown increasingly comfortable with, after an initial ramp up period brought about by the deal between the two parties not being finalized until December. Monster’s fan zone display at various tracks has included an appearance by Rob Gronkowski at the season-opening Daytona 500, a stunt motorcycle shows, MMA fights at the upcoming All-Star Race.

It’s these initiatives NASCAR is banking on to draw new and younger fans to the track, while also offering long-time fans more bang for their buck when attending a race. That Monster signed only a two-year contract (with options) raises concern about the long-term viability of the partnership, though any boost even in the short-term is welcomed.

Whether NASCAR ultimately emerges from its current descent to become a major sports property again will be determined not so much on the track, but off it. Competitive racing can only go so far, and just as Gordon and Earnhardt carried NASCAR to unprecedented heights on their megawatt personalities, Larson and Elliott will need to do the same.

The harsh reality, however, is Larson and Elliott are still not close to being the next mainstream breakout stars NASCAR desperately needs. They may each be brilliant behind the wheel, but they have a long way to go in the charisma department that compels the casual observer to watch them race on Sundays. And if neither can’t assume that mantle, then the television ratings and attendance figures seen at Richmond will become the norm. A standard no one within the industry is prepared to deal with.

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