Heyy (:
So, if you don't know me, you won't know that i have lots of really, really weird and random dreams. If you do know me, you know that my mind is really messed up, and that my dreams manifest that...
Anyways, i wanted to write about this really random and weird dream i had last night... and I'm going to write it from my perspective that i had while dreaming.... But first i will explain things as best i can so you're not just like what the heck!?!?
Just a slight note, this stuff is really weird, and doesn't make much sense if you think logistically... so leave behind your logic while you're reading this please, so i don't have to bother with stupid questions :P
So:
I was at this private school for kid's who get out of juvenile hall or something like that, and there was this guy there who was from the past or something, and he came to class with me, and was totally bored because he already knew everything we were learning... and so we were in Astronomy, and the techer was really geeky and totally loved astronomy, but everyone else in the class hated it except me... and so the guy from the past (lets call him Marvin ;) was soo bored because he already knew all of this, and he showed it.
The teacher was fed up with everyone hating the subject he loved so much, and so he started picking on Marvin, and got Marvin mad. So he said that the teachers teaching really sucked, and so the teacher was fed up and just handed him his notes and said, 'fine! then you teach the class!' and so Marvin got up and did o.O
I sat cross legged on top of my desk, my binder in my lap as i watched the fight going on between Mr. Estrella and Marvin. I grinned as Marvin grabbed Mr. Estrella's notes and sauntered up the front of the classroom. For the first time since i could remember, the whole class was sitting upright and paying total attention.
"Right, so i noticed that everyone in this room is either as bored as i was, or just have no clue what the heck is going on, and don't bother to pay attention and figure it out. That's not going to happen today." Marvin stared around at everyone in the room, as though daring them to contradict him. I bit my lip, trying hard not to giggle. Everyone in the class was staring avidly at Marvin, waiting to see what he was going to do.
"So, Mr. Estrella here is doing a pretty good job of teaching, but since none of you are paying any attention, all his hard work is going to waste. I don't have enough patience to deal with you if you don't pay attention, so if you aren't going to pay attention, then you can get out of this class." No one moved. Marvin shrugged.
"Alright then, i want you all paying attention then. You had your chance to leave." he turned to the blackboard behind him and picked up the chalk. he consulted the notes Mr. Estrella had handed him, and then looked up and said, "Right, so here it says that we're supposed to be learning about the planet Mars. Who here knows anything about Mars?" i didn't raise my hand at first, hoping that someone else would answer for once. To my surprise, one of the boys in the back raised his hand hesitantly. "Mars is the fourth planet in the solar system, and it is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. it's the site of Olympus Mons, the highest known mountain within the solar system and also Valles Marineris, the largest canyon."
I looked around, surprised. The boy who had answered sunk down in his chair, looking uncomfortable to be in the center of attention. Marvin smiled. "Thank you. Right, now i think that's enough about mars, don't you? How about we move on to something more interesting..."
He turned to me. "Melody, will you come up here and help me, please?" surprised, i jumped up off my desk and went up to the front of the room to stand by him. he whispered softly in my ear, "Do you know how to find the latitude and longitude of a star on earth?" even more surprised now, i nodded. "Do you think you can show them?" he gestured to the rest of the class. i nodded hesitantly. "but that's like collage level math! how will they get it?" i whispered back.
"Well, you yourself said you're not good at math. How did you get it?" i bit my lip and took a deep breath.
I took the offered chalk from Marvin, and walked up the the blackboard. "Right, so i know most of you in here are about as bad at math as i am. Therefore, you should be able to get the math required to know this." I said over my shoulder. I then drew a half circle on the chalkboard, adding the Little Dipper to the right of the circle and the Big Dipper on the left.
turning back to face the class, i took a deep breath and said, "OK, so i'm going to show you how to find the latitude and longitude of a star on the earth." one of the girls in the front row raised her hand. "yes?" "isn't that college level stuff though?? how are we going to learn that??? won't it be really hard?" i laughed softly. "yes, it is college level, but that doesn't mean that you can't learn it. I did, and i'm not even good at math! it will only be hard if you think it will be and won't let your mind figure it out." i shrugged and continued. "So, a long time ago, some scientists figured out the latitude and longitude of the stars that make up the constellations of the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper. If we use the facts they figured out, we can figure out the latitude and longitude of any star, and find where they would be if they were on earth. why exactly anyone would want to know this, i have no clue, but it is kind of cool." i grinned.
"So anyways, we take the position of the stars in the Big Dipper, and we add them together to find out the Latitude..."
I drew the mathematical signs on the board, and then turned to the class, grinning. "Now, if you're anything like me, when you see this you're mind will freeze up, thinking 'omgsh thats soo hard there is no way i will ever get that!'" the class laughed. "But, when I studied it for awhile, i noticed that there was a pattern. To make the math easier, lets say that E=10, X=8, and P=15. now, on the other side we see that the Little Dipper also has three main points. so, let's say that B=20, K=18, and R=5. Are you noticing the pattern yet?"
i turned and saw a few heads nodding here and there, but there were still a few people who didn't get it.
"Okay, so if you're like me and like words better than numbers, you might have noticed that B looks a lot like E, X looks a lot like K, and P looks a lot like R. and if you look at the numbers, you notice that they are a lot alike as well. That's a pattern. Now, the actual numbers are a bit different, so the math is a bit harder, but it’s not that bad.”
I finished writing out the math problem, and then turned to the class. “Okay, be honest here. Am I boring you?” one of the guys in the back shouted out “Yes!” and the class tittered, but a few of the girls turned around and shushed him. Someone called out “If you’re going to quit on us at least show us a star!” I laughed. “I’m not planning on quitting, I just want to make sure you’re all listening to me, that I’m not just talking to myself. That would be rather pointless, as I already know everything I’m talking about.” I smiled.
“So, I’m going to make you do that math. Once you figure out the problem on the board, then I’ll search it and we’ll see how it worked.” I shrugged and handed the chalk to Marvin, then walked back down to my seat. The class sat there silently for a moment, and then one of the kids spoke up. “You seriously expect us to be able to do that!?” I turned around to face the speaker. “Of course. Can you give me any reason why you should not be able to do this problem?” He sat there for a moment. The girl sitting next to him said quietly, “Because we haven’t learned the math yet. That problem up there is Algebra. The first level of Algebra, yes, but it’s still Algebra. And no one in the class except maybe you has learned Algebra yet.” I rolled my eyes. “I haven’t even learned Algebra yet. It’s not a matter of what you’ve learned. You can do Algebra if you still don’t even get Fractions yet. You might not understand it all, which is understandable, but you can still do it.” The girl looked at me incredulously. I smiled softly.
“You don’t get it, because you have been taught all your life that you can’t learn something if you don’t know all the other things associated with it. And to some extent it’s true – you do need to know the other things before you can get to Algebra and it will make sense. But you can still do it, even if you don’t know all the rest. You might require a calculator, but you can still do it. But if you still don’t believe me, then why don’t you try it? If you can’t get it, then you don’t have to do it. But I’m willing to bet that every one of you will be able to get that equation up there by the time this class is over. And if you don’t get something, don’t be afraid to ask. Mr. Estrella, Marvin or I can all help you. I didn’t learn this on my own. I had teachers and friends who explained it over and over until I finally got it. But it was actually doing it myself that made things finally ‘click’ and I got it. So just try.”
I turned back to my desk. After a few seconds, I heard the rustling of papers and books and when I turned around, I saw all of the kids starting to work through the problem I had put up on the board. I smiled softly to myself.
Mr. Estrella came up behind me and grinned. “Melody, that was amazing. I don’t think I’ve ever seen these kids listen to somebody like they listened to you today.” He laughed softly. “Maybe you should be the teacher here, instead of me.” I smiled and shook my head. “No. Even though they might not look like their listening, they do. You can tell from everything they’ve said today. And besides, I wouldn't even know all of this if it wasn’t for you and Marvin.” Mr. Estrella shook his head and started to say something, but just then one of the girls in the back raised her hand, and I shrugged apologetically at him and went over to help her.
Once everyone in the class had figured out the equation, with lots of help from Mr. Estrella, Marvin and I, I went back up to the front of the room. “Well, there. I hope you’re all as proud of yourselves as I am.” I grinned. “Now, I promised you a star beam, didn’t I?” the class cheered. Turning to Mr. Estrella, I asked for permission to use his laptop. He nodded, so I went over and started it up.
“Right, so now that you’ve all found the equation, we’re going to enter it into the search box on this website, and then we will see if it’s right.” The girl who hadn’t thought she could get the equation raised her hand. “Yes?” “I was just wondering, what will happen when you search it? Will it just show it on the map or something?” I grinned. “That’s the cool part. Once I enter the latitude and longitude of this star, the website will send out a signal, and a satellite will send down a ray to where the star would be if it were on earth. And if I did the math correctly, then it should be right about…” I pointed to my chair with my pen. “There.” The girl looks apprehensive. “And if you did the math wrong?” I shrugged. “Well, then I have no clue where it will be.” I grinned. They looked a bit scared, but also excited.
I typed in the answer, and a window popped up. ‘Once this website is reached, the IRSOA (Internet Research Society Of Astronomers) will send out a signal resulting in a high-energy beam sent from space. Do you wish to continue?’
I clicked ‘OK’ and the class leaned forward, watching in anticipation. A second passed, and then someone screamed. A bright purple beam had just shot through the ceiling and went straight through my desk. I grinned and walked forward. A small shock went through me as I got closer to the desk, and I warned the gathering kids not to get any closer. We all stared in awe at the shimmering beam of energy. Suddenly the beam pulsed bright, and then disappeared. The kids all started talking at once. Mr. Estrella stepped up. Alright, alright, everyone. Back into your seats everyone. Melody, you might want to check yours first.” I grinned at checked my seat before sitting down. The rest of the class slowly settled down, still talking excitedly. Mr. Estrella raised his hands for silence. “Okay everyone, let’s all give a big round of applause for Marvin and Melody today for giving us such and exciting lesson. I would let Marvin continue on, but our time for today is up. For your homework this week I want a research paper on Mars and what it’s latitude and longitude would be on earth, whatever length you desire, but I want an equation!” the class groaned, but I grinned. “Okay, class dismissed!” I grabbed my bag and headed out into the hall with the crush of students, talking and answering the excited questions of all the kids surrounding me.
Right, so that was my dream, sorry it was so long ;P anyways, I thought that It was rather interesting, and thought I would share it with you. I might expand on it and make it into a story, I don’t know, but for now that’s enough. Thanks for Reading!!! ~LizzNerd :D
