“I am a Jedi, like my father before me.”

when you finally realize at the ripe age of 26 that you have autism and suddenly it all comes together

Day Thirteen

So, the math teacher next door, Mr. F, acquired a mini-me when Mr. Z joined the faculty last year. I’m saying, it’s eerie how much they look and act alike. So, obviously, for today’s spirit day- dynamic duos- they wore the same outfits (red shorts, plaid shirts, orange hats- it’s kind of their iconic look). And Mrs. R and I decided to dress up as them, so we wore the same thing. The Principal said we “won” this spirit day. We certainly amused ourselves and our students. Ms. A, who has to deal with Mr. F and Mr. Z in PLC on Thursday mornings, took one look at us, shook her head, and walked away. Heh. 

Some of the other excellent duos: Lilo and Stitch, Coke and Pepsi, ketchup and mustard, Pooh and Tigger, Brady and Gronk. And some folks who couldn’t find another person to dress up with them got creative on their own, Like, one of my ninth grade boys dressed as Luke Skywalker and had a Yoda doll perched on his desk. That was pretty excellent. 

The students have been discovering that I’m a Star Wars fan. The convo I had with “Luke Skywalker” today clued them in, and a few have spotted the stuffed porg on top of my cabinet (sidenote: my default response when they ask me why there’s a porg on top of my cabinet is “Why wouldn’t there be?”). Soon they will learn I am, in fact, a Jedi Master. Heh. 

Anyways.

The teaching was good today! I mean, there was a test in GOV, so I didn’t really teach a lot, but the homework is to read the Articles of Confederation, so I fielded a few questions about that after students were finished with their tests. And I showed off my lights peed grading by returning the tests before the block was over (it’s a short test- other ones will take me a day). Some students crushed, some did not, and it was an opportunity for me to talk about how studying effectively for tests in AP classes might be different than it is for their other classes. In GOV, there are a lot of very precise terms, processes, and so on that students have to be able to recall quickly, and for some of them it’s a challenge. I’m encouraging them to meet with me, figure out some strategies, and do a retake if that’s the case.

Meantime, my World students continued to explore the SDGs and do some related research. I had them pick a goal to read about in detail, asked them what they thought of the targets, and then had them find out where countries stand- like, if they chose the goal “no poverty,” I had them find out which countries in the world are the richest and poorest, and which currently have the most rapid poverty reduction. It’s a quick assignment- and one that allows for more research and citation practice- but it sparked students’ curiosity. Some of them called me over so they could ask questions, some looked up more information on their own (to identify where various countries are, find out how rapid improvements are occurring, etc, etc...) So that was pretty cool. 

I really like the vibe in both my sections of World right now. Block 2 is huge (22 kids, two paras, and me), and I definitely have to project my voice to teach it, but it’s a lot of fun. I have some really eager learners in that section, as well as a few who find the course content or the strict structure of high school (or both) really challenging. So far they’ve been willing to trust me and at least try to do whatever I’m asking, though. Today I even made progress with the one I mentioned yesterday. Block 3 is a smaller class, but it’s no less lively. That’s my hands up all the time class. They have so many great questions and comments. I’m sure both sections will have rocky patches- it happens- but, so far, things are going really well!

he sit

God I’m just thinking. And ugh, the Jedi’s martial arts must have been amazing. They had seven distinct styles, passed down over a thousand generations, by uncountable lineages.

Every lineage must have had their own katas, their own training methods and distinct variations on the forms. There were probably inter-lineage feuds on what type of sparring they taught, variations on specific katas, which techniques were acceptable in sparring, anything. You KNOW those High Republic Outpost Jedi must have created new styles that were gradually subsumed into the 7 forms.

What would a Jedi Tournament have looked like? Were there ones for specific forms, like Soresu-only competitions? Did they have some kind of point sparring? Was there an endurance/blocking division? How would they have measured Force abilities in a tournament setting? How did they score?

In conclusion, SHOW ME THE SECRET JEDI MARTIAL ARTS LORE LUCASFILM

Listen it might already have been said but the thing that makes Knives Out and Glass Onion distinct and great compared to mysteries with Sherlock Holmes or Hercule Poirot is that they are both very importantly not focused on the detective.

Benoit Blanc is an great character to be sure, but the journey is focused on the injustice towards the victim. The thing that drives the movie with the thirst and want for an answer is NOT in the pursuit of showing off how smart and intellectual our main detective is, but instead is driven with the pursuit of showing off the compassion and humanity of the main character WHICH is NOT just the detective, but also the victim.

The inherent cold, factual apathy that is present not only in many typical fictional detectives, but in the very nature of our obsession with crimes and mysteries--whether it be a TV show highlighting a detectives’ intellect by showing how little they care for emotions, or a documentary on the “insane brilliant psyche” of a real life serial killer. The FOCUS is always on the crime, on the murderer, on the unfeeling facts and sciences that “must always lead” to an eventual answer.

And that is why it is so refreshing when these movies subvert these tropes, not just on the surface level of telling you who the killer is midway through, or making a perfect crime look idiotic. No, it’s also that they change the very object of desire and that it is not just looking to see who the killer is, but to see who the victims are, and where the justice is. It’s about the victims and their pursuit of closure when the justice system fails them! It’s about the detective being a caring human being instead of a knowledge machine! It is about how there is more to the crime than just solving the crime! but also yeah the movies are good because benoit is gay with hugh grant that too

there is quite genuinely not one single day where i don’t think about this and feel like i’m going to be fucking sick.

they purposely isolated Cody from not only grieving over Obi-Wan but also from other people close to Obi-Wan because they didn’t want any risk of the mission failing. i’m gonna be fucking SICK do NOT talk to me!!!!!

don't trust the jedi

just unlocked a new poncho wtf does this mean

love the star wars german dub. like you'd figure anakin and obi-wan would address each other with peer pronouns (du) by the time RotS rolls around. but no. they don't even use the formal ones (sie).

anakin addresses obi-wan with the fucking PLURALIS MAJESTATIS. like. "ihr"??? did this space opera backflip into the regency period? imagine that in english. don't make me kill you my liege. your grace, you underestimate my power. what the fuck

Day Twenty-Two

This morning I chatted with my GOV students about our recent guests for a while, and told them how proud I was of them for asking great questions. Then I went back to the regularly scheduled program: foundations of American democracy. It was definitely The Me Show for a bit because I was giving an overview of federalism, but then I assigned some research on various SCOTUS cases that address the balance of power between the state and national governments and students worked collaboratively to understand the rulings and their implications. 

More on that tomorrow.

My World students did some reading, as they always do. At least, most of them did; there are a few whose stamina is starting to run out, so they’re trying to avoid it, but I’m doing my best to help them. And here’s a cool thing: even my most talkative and/or most reading-avoidant students stay silent for the whole twenty minutes so as not to distract their classmates. That awareness and respect for others was so lacking at times last year, so this is definitely a change for the better. I plan to mention it tomorrow when we reflect on the year so far.

But anyways, after students read, they had the remainder of the block to work on their Culture Projects. If they finished early, I told them they could do anything as long as it was legal and didn’t disrupt their classmates. Some opted to move onto the next assignment (peer review), some did work for other classes, and some just played snake or solitaire on their chromebooks. It’s all good with me. It’s time management practice, students learn it by doing it.

My Block 3 students started to get a bit restless towards the end of the block because they’d all finished their projects early, so I called for everyone’s attention and went over what we’ll be doing tomorrow and beyond. I mentioned we’ll be starting a new unit on religion and philosophy, and a student asked which unit was my favorite. I said they’re all cool, but that in this next one my friend, Mr. W, would come by and we’d do a karate demo.

Cue students asking me to show them karate moves.

I gestured at my high heels and said, “In these shoes?!” but then I obliged with some kicks (I had shorts on under my skirt) and knife hands. And I showed them one of my usual tricks: the unbendable arm. That blew a few minds. I have Star Wars fans in that class, so I said that I was using the Force, obviously. 

I can’t wait for rumors of my ninja skills to spread.

I joked with one of the paras that I’d just done wonders for my reputation, and he said I probably had. 

I spent my prep time plus about an hour grading Culture Projects, getting ready for tomorrow’s lessons, and a few other things that came up. I got an email from Mrs. Z canceling tomorrow’s PLC meeting, so I thought about leaving some stuff to do in the morning, but I was so close to done, at that point, so I decided to just stay and finish everything up. I’m sure I’ll be able to find other work to do in the morning.

Cody: Are my feelings for General Kenobi real or just a side-effect of having been made for the Jedi? Best to assume it's the latter and not do anything about it.

Cody, two minutes after meeting Anakin: Kriff, I'm definitely in love with my General.

Merrin and Cal hugging.