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Eimear listened, an elbow on the table and her chin resting in her hand, and tried to engage with the topic. She wasn't really a morning person and Professor Schmoe's cheeriness was - especially when she was in a grumpy mood (thankfully she wasn't in one of those today) - too much for her sometimes. Today, however, it made her smile just a little. He was a goof. And he definitely had a way with words. Not at all soul crushing topic. Riiiiight. She continued to listen as her classmates began giving their answers, though she ignored some of the more dramatic one. Eimear had never done muggle science classes, so words like... 'carbon footprint' meant very little to her. She made a note of them to look up later if they weren't explained during class. From context, she could sort of understand what they meant but some of it was still confusing to her. Like the carbon footprints. What did that mean? After she finished making a few more notes, she raised her own hand. "I don't know that much about pollution, sir," she admitted, "but I know that the word pollution comes from a Latin word that means defilement... so, um, pollution is defiling the planet... ruining it and making it unhealthy for us and creatures to live in." Her voice was small, naturally, but she had a New York confidence and a no-nonsense air to her regardless. It wasn't a mind-blowing answer but at least she had said something. In the past, teachers had criticised her for not contributing much in class. She didn't want to give them that opportunity again. |
Guess Eron thought of the text more panicky than he should. Mr. Finneas seems to be all chill about it so Eron shrugged his shoulders lightly before taking his seat and smiled at the man. His attention quickly turned back at the professor the moment he started the class with of course, the topic they will be discussing today. The earth is dying. Depends on how you read it and somehow, even despite Professor Schmoe's chill vibes from earlier Eron is still reading it like it's the end of the world. Whats up with him today? The answers have mostly been called out already so the seventh year is just looking for more answers but unfortunately he can't think of anything else. Insisting on answer right now would just be repeating what the other 10 students had just pointed out. He smiled. Not that he was shy but yeah, what they said. |
Minjae turned his gaze away from the window and placed his chin on the palm of his hand, his elbow resting on the table. He was not in the mood for classes, that much was clear. He also wasn't in the mood to interact with others so he sat in his seat until the professor started the lesson. Pollution. He felt a tiny sting of guilt because he knew he was probably a big cause of it as he drove everywhere. Well, not him personally because he did not have a license but he did make the orders to his driver to drive him everywhere. It was easier, and much safer. Of course he wouldn't say this, he'd be stupid to especially in a room with some of them being so... Against it.. The teenager held his hand in the air before lowering it without an answer. Most was said already so who cared? |
SPOILER!!: Responses After having finished jotting down some of the ideas that were shared, Finneas turned back to address the class once more. "Errrr excellent brainstorm, everybody!" He bobbed his head, side-stepping so that they could take a look at the VAST arrays of answers on the board. "As Ms. Caffery shared, pollution is caused by muggles and wizards alike! As some others noted, however, the errr muggle contribution to pollution is vastly greater. But, but, but we mustn't play the blame game here. Muggles have less means to work around pollution because in order to live their lives san magic they err, use technologies such as cars and heavy duty machinery." He paused for a moment, to allow for note takers to get all of this. "Still.... Even if the contribution to pollution might lean heavier in one direction, pollution is an EVERYONE problem." Did they see the point here? "This is why it's important for us, er, magic folk to be aware of the problems because we live on this planet too. Anything that is errr done to damage it will have an effect on us whether we like it or not." Finneas paused again, but this time to take a HUGE sip of water. After GULP, GULP, GULPING loudly a few times, he set his water bottle down and looked at the class again, fixating on a point at the back of the room. "AnYwAy. The first step to solving a problem is admitting there is a problem. And, er, now that we have identified many problems," he gestured to their running list, "Let's think about ways we can address them. What do you think muggles can do to reduce specific kinds of pollution? How can we, as wizards, also do our part?" They could answer either or both.
OOC: Thanks for the answers and all your lovely contributions!! I'll post in another 24 hours to move us along to our first activity. |
Well it's true his mum (who was a muggle) used way more means of polluting, Professor Schmoe was right ....... but Blake didn't want that to go to his head .. so he kept quiet about that part. "Well I know some muggles recycle their plastic, but it's not enough. We need more people to do it .. and to reduce the overall use of plastic in general ... like reusable water bottles instead of plastic ones." Blake added ... eyeing up Schmoe's bottle to see which of the two it was ... ... What kind of water bottle do you have with you there Sir?" Blake asked ... |
"Well you always need to reduce the bad stuff that you use, reuse the stuff you have, and recycle the stuff that you can." Y'know, the muggle saying, 'reduce, reuse, recycle'. "And since wizards have magic, we should try and use it to be environmentally friendly, like by using magical transportation. A lot of muggles don't want to pollute the environment but you can't exactly walk to work if your work is in a different state, you need a car or train. But wizards have brooms and floo powder and apparition." She was glad that the professor didn't want to blame muggles for everything. |
It wasn't a super cheery topic, pollution, but Ivy did agree that it was important for them to understand and discuss it. She liked living on this planet after all! It was good to do what they could to take care of it. So how could they all help reduce it? "Well, for things like litter," she began, raising her hand, "maybe wizards could go around Vanishing pieces of litter when we see them. And when there are no Muggles around to see us do it, of course. So then that's less rubbish that has to go into a landfill or anywhere else." |
Sooo whoever assigned Muggle Studies the nine am slot on a Monday it was honestly brutal! Although it could have been worse as it could have been a class like History of Magic or Ancient Runes that required much more brainpower (no offense, Schmoe), so for that Carsyn supposed she was grateful that it was just Muggle Studies. The lesson was kicking off with talk about what pollution was and it was weird because Carsyn's first thought was literally that homework was pollution because well paper, which came from trees and contributed to climate problems. Also the litter problem of parchment too. Moving on though to what they could do to combat the pollution problem? Carsyn chewed thoughtfully on her lower lip. "We could like not ... have physical homework because less paper which would mean less litter and pollution and better for the forestry." |
Sophie wasn't sure what to think of Professor Schmoe. He was very clumsy and said um a lot and struck her as rather silly. She found it a bit hard to take him seriously. He was like the exact opposite of the Headmaster. Still, he was a Professor, and he automatically deserved respect in her eyes. She thought about his question. Although he said that both Muggles and wizards were responsible for pollution, it seemed super obvious that it was mostly the Muggles' fault. Why did they have to clean up after their mess anyway? Yeah, yeah they all lived on the same planet, but it was their fault! It seemed like witches and wizards were always cleaning up Muggle messes or trying to avert Muggle disasters. Sometimes Sophie thought that the wizarding world should just reveal itself to Muggles already, because clearly, in a lot of ways, they were the superior world. This is why the Sorting Hat put you in Slytherin, she thought to herself with some amusement. Then she sighed. She shouldn't really be so hard on Muggles though. After all her dad was a Muggle, even though she didn't really think of him that way usually, and she loved her dad. "Professor Schmoe, I've heard about sustainability when it comes to the environment," said Sophie. "Sustainability is important to prevent more pollution and is better for the environment, and I think it's something both us and Muggles could practice." |
Aboli's mother, Ziggy, was very in touch with being green. There were many rules Aboli didn't even realize other households had, and the most COMMON one that most people were aware of was something Aboli would raise her hand and say! "Professor - straws. Reusable or even EDIBLE straws can replace plastic ones....I really like the edible ones, but they get slimy if you forget about them in your drink!" she crinkled her nose. "Straws are bad for sea creatures." Aboli didn't think she had ever used one in her life. "Lots of muggle businesses got rid of straws awhile ago.....using lids that don't require them or whatnot...but I think since it's been so cheap to use plastic...it makes it hard to get rid of completely," she sighed and shrugged. |
Professor Schmoe was very much welcome even though Claudine could see that she had made him somewhat uncomfortable. A mental shrug came from her; after all, a lot of students and situations probably made him feel weird and awkward. The girl ducked her head and made her notes ardently. There were more forms of pollution and information about them than she had ever considered. It was decided that she liked this topic. Great choice, Professor Awkward. The man’s loud gulping amused Claudine. Poor Schmoe; he talked a lot and probably needed just as much water. This gave her time to finish up with the notes. Looking up at Schmoe, she immediately realised that he was staring at the back of the class. He didn’t know this, but this action of his was something that had made Claudine feel there was kind of a… kinship? between the two of them. Why? Simply because she didn’t exactly look at anyone in the eyes. The exception was Heath. Sort of. “Fireworks… they’re a hazard in terms of noise and air pollution to humans but such loud noise is especially harmful for animals.’’ Claudine lowered her hand thoughtfully. “Professor? Is there such a thing as silent fireworks in the Muggle world? If not, Muggles should look into inventing that. As for wizards, I guess we can cast Silencing Charms on them.” |
"NOISE POLLUTION IS WHEN YOU---" Bernie started to answer, fully intent on demonstrating her answer to the first question, in lieu of just vomiting up a textbook like everyone else, buuuuuuut there were already moving on. Oh well. Those who knew her and used-to-know-her (lookin' at you, Blaze) were familiar with her shenanigans in this class. They knew she knew what noise pollution was. "To REDUCE noise pollution," Bernie switched gears real quick, like the Muggle Studies genius she was, "you could close your windows, stop honking at idiots who cut you off, play your music at a reasonable decibel, uhhhhhhh, not yell at your kids in the supermarket queue...." Did she need to go on? Well she was gonna. Bernie took a big breath to continue. "Wizards could also use more of those muffliato spells? Like to silence things? And silencio! It works wonders on whiny little kids....er, so I've heard." She shot an extra-dirty look at the back of the heads of the first year Ravenclaws in front of her. Didn't take her threat seriously, did they? Little did they know... LITTLE. DID. THEY. KNOW. ABOUT. HOGWARTS. Sofar. Probably. |
Naya took notes as her classmates answered the question and the professor gave his comments. Good notes were essential, especially with NEWTs coming this year. Then it was time to move on to the next question. What could muggles and wizards do to reduce pollution? Naya thought about it. ‘At the same time, she was listening to all of the answers given by others. She smiled when her housemate, Carsyn, gave her response. No homework. Save the trees. Worked for her. Finally, Naya raised her hand. “Since muggle cars contribute to air pollution, switching to electric cars would be a better option. They wouldn’t have as much of a negative impact on the environment. Oh.....and planting trees could help the air as well.” A totally random addition, but it was true. |
Valentina couldn’t help but giggle at the professor’s response. She definitely caught the wordplay there, mr. Schmoe! UMMM. WAIT. She noticed that people around her were actually taking notes so she pulled out a quill.. and started drawing a cat because?? that was a lot more fun?? and it wasn’t like the Professor was going to notice anyway. Ooooh!! OH! She raised her hand eagerly. “Muggles should use cars less often!! Cars cause pollution, don’t they??” |
Yikes. You know, if he had a sickle for every time his mouth turned the shape of his foot he may not have to be pigeon holed down the path of becoming a quidditch player. But anyway...aNyWaY... Josh found himself looking over at Olivia with nothing short of an apologetic glaze to his eyes because he could tell that he had touched a nerve. Or hit it with a beater's bat. He wasn't quite sure but his statement had meant to be something productive and positive, in his mind at least...execution almost always left much to be desired. But the look was short-lived as Thing 1 started shouting at him about how he ruined things. And...Professor Schmoe was...not going to acknowledge that? Cool...cool cool cool cool ... fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine. But before he could return her frustrations with some of his own dry commentary on how he was not out to ruin her life because he was entirely too busy ruining his own and she was just catching some by product, she went on to stir the pot with Idiot pollution. "That's not even a real thing," he grumbled to himself as he idly drew some music notes in the margin of his parchment, outlining a verse to a song he had had in his head for a while now. Moving on though...well, his quill was moving on at least, finishing up the verse he was writing and scratching out a few notes that he changed his mind on when he hummed them under his breath to himself. It wasn't that he wasn't an environmentalist or that he didn't care about the topic of saving the planet and reducing waste...he just...didn't have much to say on the topic. And a lot of what he was Also, so many of these suggestions were just...way over his head. Electric cars, what? "Whatever we do...it should be things that ... educate and are also things those without magical ability can do, yeah?" He was half thinking aloud here despite raising his hand. "Like...a Vanishing Spell would just be covering up the problem, in a way. So...organizing events for us to work along side no-maj, a litter walk. Everyone walking together in a certain area and picking up whatever trash they see and then deposing of it appropriately." |
Professor Schmoe did make a good point. It was definitely harder for Muggles to live without causing pollution, because they didn't have magic to get by. How else were they supposed to get around without broomsticks or apparition? Cars already seemed like a slow method of transportation to Avalon, so biking or walking would take them even longer to get from place to place. Maybe the Muggle governments could make a rule that all cars should be electric. After she jotted down a few notes, Avalon felt herself zoning out just a bit. Her mind drifted to other things, like the fabric she would need for her latest dress design and a cute Slytherin boy she had see in the courtyard the other day. It wasn't that Muggle Studies bored her, but the topic of pollution was a little.....well, dry. Blinking a few times, she tried to regain focus before offering an answer to the last question. "What about using different forms of energy, rather than the types that cause pollution? Like those windmills out in the countryside. Or those metal panels on Muggle roofs. I think they're called space panels?" Her mom had told her the name of them once, but she couldn't remember for sure. Space panels, star panels, sun panels, maybe? |
Heath wasn’t crazy about the answer he’d given, but Professor Schmoe accepted it so it must not have been as terrible as he thought. He returned the professor’s smile with a slight nod, then got to work jotting down the other answers. He was almost finished when an unexpected voice startled him. Gah! Okay, that was loud! Why? He inwardly groaned; he didn’t even have to look up from his notebook to know whose voice it was. It seemed he’d be used to it by now, but loud noises never failed to catch him off guard. Sorry, Bernie! It was nothing personal. Heart still racing slightly, Heath attempted to refocus his attention on the professor and the next question. Ways to reduce pollution… He could think of quite a few examples off the top of his head, most of which were already said by his classmates. Maybe it was his interest in machinery, but whatever the reason, his mind kept going back to thermal energy. His hand shot up and he said, “There are lots of measures industries can take to reduce thermal energy. For warm water pollution, they can use cooling towers to transfer heat into the atmosphere instead of water. For cold water pollution, they can redesign their dams to release the warmer water at the top, rather than the cold at the bottom.” It was quite fascinating, really! It was only after he’d spoken that Heath realized he went into full Ravenclaw mode with his answer, and now the nerdy side of him that he tried so hard to hide was on display for the entire class to see. Embarrassed by his blunder, he looked down at the floor so that his hair would fall into his face and hide him from any judging eyes. |
The smile was wide and it was back better than ever as Ingrid grinned at Professor Schmoe’s enthusiasm at her answer, glad that he understood how important it was to preserve the habitats of magical creatures although she didn’t quite understand his apologetic nature for muggles. They didn’t have to pollute so much. It was a choice for them. A choice of convenience. She did agree that it was a problem for everyone though so her ears still listening intently. Her eyes wandered around the class from person to person as she took in the answers of the other children and just nodded as each gave an answer. It seemed that recycling was a big deal because it kept on coming up but to her, just like Ivy had mentioned, their rubbish had always been recycled. A small smile was even spared for the Gryffindor prefect as she mentioned no paper homework (Carsyn) and secretly, she agreed, not that she really minded homework. And then there was the LOUD Gryffindor girl sitting behind her. The definition of noise pollution. She may not know much about Hogwarts, but she knew enough to know that some people were just hot air. “Silencio does work well on whiny little kids”, her head now turning around to shoot a glance at the little hot air balloon behind her, “But really, I think there are more important things to tackle than a little noise pollution. Priorities Professor”. Turning back around, she paused for a moment to listen to another answer before she continued “ I think teaching people what they could do differently is important. Or maybe even trying to find new and better ways to live. Like uh…someone said (Valentina), muggles should use cars less. Finding a better way to travel I think is the most important thing. They use those cars a lot, right?”. Her knowledge of muggles wasn’t exactly extensive, but she had read a book or two about muggles although they had been somewhat out of date. |
Schmoe looked confused, super confused, like he'd never heard of idiot pollution confused. In fact, he just admitted he'd never heard of it and there was nothing more tragic--in this second. She would have to tell him all about it, help him screen the kids that came in, starting with a certain Gryffindor who was not nearly half done being aggravated by her yet. Not by a half. Emm would get back to him in a bit, for now Schmoe was moving on and it was another thing that wasn't her problem. "If you ask me, we should leave them to it. I don't like fixing other people's messes and I don't own a car that makes messes. I don't do anything that makes messes." Practically a perfect human being, her mama said so...sorta...in less words. It was the feeling that counted. "But if you really want an answer, the only way to reduce idiot pollution is to reduce idiots. Pack them all up in once place and send them off down the river. You're a delicate sort, you probably wouldn't have the stomach for it. I can help. I'm always helpful." |
Reducing garbage and waste was actually something Adam had learned a bit about. He remembered reading in a book about how to help save the oceans - and of course he had been drawn to the book in the first place due to his LOVE of amphibians. He eagerly raised his hand for the first time in the lesson. "Well, muggles have these things...it's a drink, sort of like butterbeer, but they sell them all connected in these plastic ring things....you're supposed to cut them up before you throw them out or recycle them because they can get stuck on birds or turtles and then they could CHOKE!" he said in one long, hurried breath. SAVE THE TURTLESSSS! |
SPOILER!!: Responses "As you can see! There is much to be done!" He looked around with a BIG smile. See? There was HOPE for planet earth. "Ms. Song brought up an excellent point in regard to obstacles that one may come across when trying to put forth efforts to reduce pollution. It's errr not easy trying to change people's habits, but Ms. Luck raised an excellent point in offering solutions that involve ALTERNATIVES." Yes, yes. Big nods. He hoped everyone was getting this all down. He paused momentarily for the notetakers to do their ~ thing ~ . "Ms. Sinclair touched on some of these alternatives with the suggestion of alternative energy sources! Wind, water, and the sun, can all be used to harness CLEAN ENERGY!" They'll speak to that further in another lesson though. Ahem. AnYwAy. "Many of you touched on recycling and lessening the reliance upon cars," he focused on a spot somewhere in the back of the classroom as he spoke. "But there are SO many ways we can all do our parts that extend far beyond what one may first consider. For example, errrr, the cattle industry! Did you know that cow burps and farts contribute to air pollution too!? If we all reduced our meat consumption, perhaps we could see environmental benefits!" Funny yes. But real facts. As he spoke, Finneas walked over to his storage closet and began pulling out some blank poster boards. Speaking of cow farts, what was that SMELL??? Something in the storage closet was REAL stinky. "For the next fifteen minutes, we'll do a quick art activity! Everyone will have the opportunity to make an educational poster all about reducing pollution. You'll need to think of the specific problem that your poster is addressing because as we've just learned through our discussion, pollution comes in many forms! I also want you to include what can be done to fix the problem or the suggestion of an alternative and perhaps consider adding a catchy tagline or motto to really sell your point!" Did this all make sense? Easy enough, yes? "Feel free to work with a partner! I'm putting art supplies on the front table and once you've finished your poster, we'll hang them all up outside in the corridor." And then they'd get to the FUN activity. Man. It was getting real STANKY up in here. Anyone else smelling that? "Let's begin!" OOC: Hello, this is the Mini-Activity! |
Looking for Partner who wants to destroy plastic! "Glad to see it Professor." Blake added nodding toward the reusable water bottle ... would be poor form really to have a plastic one when discussing ways to reduce pollution really .... Ugh ... art work .. Blake was not a fan of drawing. Maybe he could find a partner who was as into riding the world of plastic as he is and is good a drawing! He had lot of good ideas, but couldn't draw with a darn. Collecting some art supplies and looking around to see who was interested in being a #Plasticdestroyer .... get it?? |
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Ashley walked over to an older boy. "Wanna be partners? I can draw really good. And then we don't have to work alone, and we can split the work! I have some good ideas about reducing plastic consumption." Truth be told, Ashley was interested in this project but not interested in doing it all by herself. |
Kale was a creative boy-o. But his artistic talent came through in his acting, his singinG AND HIS DANCING. If he was asked to create a one-man-show about the dangers of pollution? Oof. He’d kill it. But the drawing stuff wasn’t his forte. Stick figure men and glitter were about the extent of Joan prowess. Still, he collected the tools he needed (see: mostly glitter) and started to think about his options. There was all kinds of pollution. Hair spray was bad for the ozone layer. Did that count? Hairspray was also an EXCELLENT musical. The more ya know. So, Kale raised his hand and asked, “Professor, does hairspray count?” He sang the word hairspray for extra sparkle. |
The tips of her ears turned a little pink as Schmoe mentioned something she had said in his recap for the whole class, but she made herself sit up a little straighter. Prefects DID NOT SLOUCH. She didn't really feeeeeeeeeel like working with someone, so she went ahead and brainstormed on her own. The guy singing about hairspray actually had a good point - hairspray WAS a bad thing for the ozone layer. She could steal his idea, but eh. She was much more passionate about straws, the example she had just given Schmoe aloud. But like. Shouldn't she be creative? Did she FEEL like being creative? There was an awful smell permeating the air, permeating her NOSTRILS, and it was making it a little harder to think. She plugged her nose with her left hand and flipped open her notebook with her right. She'd want to write everything out on paper before she went and made a big poster. And if anyone ASKED to work with her, she certainly wouldn't say no unless it was someone annoying. Like...well, she couldn't say no. PREFECTS DIDN'T SAY NO TO WORKING WITH SOMEONE, DID THEY? Quote:
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