I used to hate the news. So it doesn’t really surprise me when my kids have at best a meager knowledge of local, national, and international events. But I was pleasantly surprised when quite a few of my students indicated that they had heard of the US Navy’s shooting down of a spy satellite hurling toward earth. Given the “coolness” of the event, I decided to bring it a little closer to home for my students.

Imagine holding a basketball in your hand, I began. An ambivalent nod of heads permeates throughout the classroom.

Now imagine that your life depended on you throwing that basketball at a school-bus size target. How many of you think you could hit the target. Most of the students quietly raised their hands.

Only imagine that the school bus is moving….how many of you still think you could do it? A few cocky students still have their hands raised.

OK, let’s just say that the school bus is moving at a speed of 17,000 miles per hour. How many of you think you could hit it with the basketball? No more hands.

Oh yeah…I forgot…one more thing….the school bus isn’t 10 feet away, or 100 feet away, or even a mile away. The 17,000 mph school bus is in San Diego. Wide eyes.

And just to make it fun….every time you miss, you have to save up another $10 million dollars to buy a new basketball. Sounds like fun, right?

And with that we transition into something completely different, and begin the day’s lesson…