005: Knife in the Back (Locked to the Adults.)

[tarnishedavenger]

[Yup. No teenagers allowed in this filter. Mac is only included after a very, very long and intense mental debate. The toys and the Easter Bunny, as odd as they are, are also in on it.]

So, I've been thinking. Jorgmund's doing a... job of getting everyone some sort of physical training, and there's some of us who don't mind getting a little bit of an extra hand. But we're going to be here for longer than I think any one of us anticipated.

One of the things Jorgmund isn't touching on, though, is education for anything that doesn't apply to missions. Some of these kids and, yes, some of the adults, have serious knowledge gaps.

This is going to be an unpopular idea for some of them, but I think they, and we, would benefit from setting up some sort of lesson plan, get some schooling going. Obviously not history or anything tied so closely to our worlds, but universal things like physics, math, computer skills, locksmithing, other things that could serve them later.

Any opinions? I should probably say that I'm not the most experienced when working with and educating young teens, my only experience is a few guest talks and 'field trips' with the kids at the Ravenswood Academy (I don't think Rowan's desire for secrecy there applies when there's no one from my world here) and Generation VIPER.

Comments

[cachedout]

Well.

I can give you a hearty clap on the back and wish you good luck?

[ Helping. He's helping. ]

[heterochrocatic]

who cares? they'll be fine

it's bad enough to be stuck here, i didn't sign up to babysit, too.

[walkingballpit]

I am going to regret this.

[ He sighs and scrubs his face. ]

I may have experience as a teacher. With... slightly abrasive super kids who could theoretically been called a “handful.”

[walkingballpit]

If they have more life skills, they’ll bother you less.

Teach a kid to fish.

[heterochrocatic]

if you want to waste your time, go ahead. just don't expect other people to do the lifting for you

[grimbiker]

I have a feeling I'm one of those adults who will need lessons. Unless you find a motorcycle, the only possibly useful lessons are some herbology, care of magical creatures, and ancient runes.

[Well, probably not ancient runes but you never know when you'll run into them a cursed veil door.]

[wheyoftheadept]

i like the idea of classes for everyone - swap skills, brainstorm, that sorta thing. but why lock this post only to adults?

[just_rogue]

Back home I spent most of my time at a school, trying to help young mutants find their way with powers and with life just like you're saying.

I have some experience with the teacher and mentor thing, I could do it. And kids need someone they can talk to and to show them the ropes.

Count me in.

[walkingballpit]

Helping people isn’t a waste of time. Even if they don’t want your help, it’s still worth the effort. You should try it sometime. It really amps up serotonin production.

And no. That’s not my way of getting you to do the lifting for me. You look like you weigh a hundred pounds soaking wet.

[heterochrocatic]

trust me, trying to 'help' people who don't want it doesn't do anything except give you some self-righteous happiness.

people don't want your help for a reason. don't act like you somehow know what's best for them if they tell you to fuck off.

people like you make me sick

[walkingballpit]

You’re wrong. Sometimes, it’s not just self-righteous. Sometimes it’s just plain old happiness.

I’m not talking about forcing them to eat their broccoli - I’m talking about helping people. And yes, sometimes they don’t want the help, but I still try. If I see someone about to be attacked by a gang of homicidal nuns, I kind of don’t care if they don’t want my help, because I don’t want them to die. How does doing the right thing make you sick?

[heterochrocatic]

because you think you know what's best for everyone and then force it on them whether they want it or not.

you act like some kind of hero but it's all about making yourself feel good.

[walkingballpit]

I don’t actually know what’s best for anyone, once we get away from obvious things like not letting a piano fall on someone’s head.

It can be both. I’m not going to lie - saving someone’s life feels great. It feels great because they’re alive. It’s not because I think I’m awesome. I’m not awesome. Take volunteer work - people enjoy it. That doesn’t mean that volunteers aren’t doing something nice. You don’t have to live your life in misery and torment for your good deeds to “count.” If that were true, there’d be no such thing as a good person.

[tarnishedavenger]

Because, from what I've seen of the kids here, we're going to have some of them throwing tantrums at the idea of schooling. Like the song goes, "We don't need no education," etc.

I'd rather see if there's any interest in lending a hand with doing something like this without having to take breaks to explain to, say, Dave or Jack why this might be a thing.

[tarnishedavenger]

You know how to hotwire a bike?

Some basic herbalism won't hurt. Surely all of the worlds we run into won't have a totally alien ecosystem.

[tarnishedavenger]

What kind of teacher?

I don't mean any offense, but when it comes to superkids, there's a difference between "This is how you find the area of a cylinder" and "This is how you stop a bus." I don't know which one you fit in under.

[tarnishedavenger]

Did you teach academics or just powers and life skills?

Don't take this as me downplaying the importance of either, but, as a teacher, you'll understand why I'd want to know.

[just_rogue]

History, mechanical engineering, and fighting with and without powers.

Probably could pinch-hit a few other things if need be too. I know a few languages decent enough. But Remy's the one who could do that better. He's got a fair eye for art and some other things if he was inclined to teach.

[tarnishedavenger]

Those can definitely help. I never got big into mechanical engineering, but calculus has definitely been a lifesaver. Quite literally.

Unfortunately, much like the current school situation in America, I don't see the arts getting that much funding. We'd have to do some scavenging for that, I think.

Still, gives us a little shopping list when we go on missions again.

[just_rogue]

Like I said, I'm here if you need someone. Not sure what else good I can offer but I've been a fairly good office assistant before and it has been said I have a way with people.

[walkingballpit]

None taken, but stopping a bus is harder than it looks. I co-taught Superhuman Ethics, and we all ran PE or powers training sessions, whatever you want to call it.

It’s not as handy as physics, but when do you ever need the volume of a cylinder - don’t at me, math nerds. I’d probably be better as a substitute teacher or basic computer skills. “How to deal with future tech when they think you’re a barbarian for liking water-based showers.”

Pretty sure teaching real ethics is a violation.

[heterochrocatic]

[ You don't have to live your life in misery and torment for your good deeds to count, he says. Catra, for her part, wasn't sure if her good deeds would let her live at all. If she ever did any, considering her previous trajectory in life. Her reply is a long few minutes in coming. ]

maybe there are only bad people and people who pretend they aren't.

[ It would be easier that way. ]

[walkingballpit]

[ Woah. That’s a dark way to view the universe, and it makes life bleak. No wonder she’s alway so snappy. That kind of mindset makes you bitter, broken, or crazy. ]

I don’t know about that. If you pretend to be something hard enough - and you’re good at pretending -eventually you kind of become what you’re faking. At least enough to muddy the waters.

[ He shrugs a bit and draws a knee up. ]

Like the volunteer thing. Say you want someone to think you’re a good person, so you start volunteering at a hospital. You hate it, but you put in a decent effort to impress Dallas because you like them. After a year, you get recognized for volunteering over 400 hours that year.

... so, is a tick mark in the Good Person column, because you’re candy striping your heart out, or is another tick in the bad column, because you only did it for Dallas? The way I see it, the flowers got delivered, books got read, pillows fluffed. There’s a net good for the world.

[ He drums his fingers on his knee, before dipping a toe into the pool of more personal experience. ]

Besides... nobody wants to live in a world without good people, where everyone just takes or breaks until they die. I used to think like that, that everything good I did was selfish unless I had nothing. You can’t breathe thinking that way.

[tarnishedavenger]

I'll keep all that in mind. Thanks... Rogue, was it?

[Everyone can help, but Rogue's probably gonna be more useful than most of the others.]

[tarnishedavenger]

Back home, I've stopped one. It hurt for a little bit afterwards, but it beat the alternative.

You need the volume of a cylinder to get a gold sticker. We should pass those out, I think kids respond well to those. Stacia did, at least.

We don't need to bog the kids down with ethics. No need to make working at Jorgmund more stressful for them than it already is. That'll be one thing I want to hammer in, punishing them for poor educational performance isn't going to do us any good. We need more carrot, less stick, if we're going to keep them at this.