Adorah enjoyed the buzz of the first week of classes. The first years, no matter what semester, had a little air of chaos around them, trickling throughout the castle. The second years weren't much better, but at least they knew where they were going around the castle. The rest of the students fell back into their routine of causing trouble or studying, and Adorah was becoming more adjusted to all of it as a professor. As the students came in, she stood at the doorway greeting them and letting them know they could sit anywhere. As the bell rang, she went to her desk, took attendance, and then looked up at the numerous eleven year olds in front of her.
"Hello, hello! Welcome to your first ever Astronomy class! I'm Professor Zumwalt, and I'll be your Astronomy professor until the fourth year," she said, feeling odd as she let those words come out of her mouth; that was such a long time, and she wondered if she'd still be happy teaching at their fourth year. "Over the course of this subject, we are going to explore the Solar System, black holes, galaxies far away, and even our closest neighbors in space," Adorah continued excitedly.
"So, can anyone tell me - what is Astronomy?" Adorah asked generally. A few hands went up, and she let each of them take a guess, absorbing their answers. She continued as she walked around the room, as it eased some of her anxiety. "All of those are wonderful guesses, two house points to each of you who were brave enough to take a guess. If we're looking at a very simple definition, astronomy is the study of things in the sky! All the stuff out there in space is our subject, and we, as budding astronomers, are going to explore from the comfort of our own astronomical home." Professor Zumalt paused for a moment to catch how the first years were reacting. There were a few wide-eyed looks of confusion, but most of the eleven year olds were paying attention.
"When you look through a telescope to study the phenomena of space, you become an astronomer, and for as long as intelligent creatures have been present on Earth, we've been looking up to the sky and studying the stars," Adorah continued. "Astronomy is probably one of the only classes you'll study here that has a direct link in the muggle world. For nearly all of history, we wizards have worked with exceptional muggles in the field of astronomy, even passing things we have learned along so muggles can further advance their own scientific findings," Professor Zumwalt said, leaning into their first conversation for the year. "Copernicus, in fact, was the first wizard to inform muggles that the Earth is not the center of the universe. His logic wasn't exactly correct, but it ultimately began to pave the way for astronomy and the understanding of the Universe we have today," she said glancing up at the clock, noticing they only had a few moments left together.
"Well, we're about out of time so I'll have to leave my lecturing at that. This week, we just have some simple homework, a sort of getting-to-know-you questionnaire, probably something you've done in other classes. Please hand this in next week! I look forward to seeing you all then!" Professor Zumwalt said waving her wand so the door flew open, letting the students flow out as they will.
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For full credit, RP the Lesson.
Any student who makes a guess at what astronomy is, correct or not, will receive 2 extra credit points.
For additional extra credit (3 points), fill out the sheet.
Code:
[b]Name:
House and Year:
Favorite Book:
What are you hoping to learn about in Astronomy?[/b]