open | text

[beariot]

Name: Ursula Callistis
Date: Octeuril 3
Format: text

Hello, everyone! I'll try to make this brief, as typing on these things can be a bit of a pain. [ but god help her if she did anything that put her face out there to more people than she was comfortable with... ]

My name is Ursula Callistis, and back home I was a teacher. Now as I'm sure you've all noticed, or at least heard, refugees from Dorchacht have come into this city. Some of you have been volunteering to build their shelters, but I had noticed there was an un-assigned building, and I've sort of taken it over as a space for them, but not as living space.

You see, a lot of the refugees are kids. Orphans, even. And I am going to convert that space into a classroom. The Coven has already agreed to help me with supplies and costs, so there's no worries there, but while I am an experienced educator, I'm still only one woman.

So! That's where you all come in! I'm looking for some volunteers to help take up some of the class schedule. Just let me know if you have any experience, what basic subjects you're willing to teach, and we can go from there!

And, just so it's clear, I appreciate any help at all, even if you're not taking on a class subject. These kids are really depending on us. So. Thank you.

Comments

[fiddlestick]

This sounds like a wonderful idea!

I'd be willing to help teach music. I already give lessons in the city, but I'd love to have a chance to help the refugees.

[beariot]

That sounds wonderful! What sort of instruments would you want for the kids? Though I suppose different monsters might struggle to play different tings.

[fiddlestick]

I'm thinking of starting with very basic instruments. Music was extremely limited in Dorchacht, so I'd imagine most of these refugees will be at square one for music education.

So...I'd say simple percussion like triangles, tambourines, xylophones, etc. I have plenty of recorders I can bring myself for the wind instrument units.

Oh, and a piano would be helpful for singing lessons.

[beariot]

Excellent! I'll add all of this to the supply list.

I think we can keep a wall piano in the room and keep the rest in the nearby storage shed.

[fiddlestick]

Oh that'd be perfect!

So what kinda schedule were you thinking of?

[beariot]

Regular school hours. Late morning until early afternoon, with scheduled breaks!

Though how many days a week we can do this is largely dependent on how many volunteers I get, and how much time they're willing to put in.

[fiddlestick]

I see...

Well, if it's volunteer work, I don't think I'll be able to do a full school week. I still have to make a living, and I have other obligations on top of that.

[beariot]

I definitely understand. Honestly anyone who can give me any amount of time is appreciated. None of us are being paid to do this, after all.

[fiddlestick]

So in other words, the Coven doesn't consider teachers and staff as a legitimate "cost" to cover.

[Boy, fun]

Alright, well put me down for once or twice a week for now. When you have a better idea of what times the core classes will be, I can see where to fit in music. [Because as much as he loves music, he does understand learning to read is a mite more important]

[beariot]

I'm trying not to look a gift horse in the mouth, here.

I really am grateful for this, Elliot. I'll get you a schedule as soon as it's final.

[fiddlestick]

Right, okay. [It's her project, so he's won't keep pressing it]

Sounds good! Thanks. I'll start thinking about lesson plans in the meantime.

[beariot]

Thank you. I'll contact you as soon as possible.

And I'll think of ways to compensate all of you for your time, even if I can't do so with actual money.

[fiddlestick]

[A pause because boy he was about to let it drop and let it be but. Ngh.]

Listen...I didn't want to say anything because your heart's in the right place, but...

Well, I come from a family of music teachers. All of us were or are self-employed, so we had to handle the financial aspect ourselves unlike teachers employed at schools. Which is pretty crappy to deal with sometimes, but that's the trade-off for the freedom we have over our lessons.

Anyway, the point is. Money matters. And it's not because we're greedy. I'd love to teach everyone for free if I could ... but I still need to eat and pay my bills. And there's a lot of work that goes into lessons, as I'm sure you know.

It's fine if you want to want to start the school off with volunteers as you're still figuring things out. I'm okay with that. But in the long term? There's really no compensation that's equal to pay. Especially if you hope for these kids to have a good, consistent education. And considering their backgrounds? They're gonna need a lot more extra support and consistency than the average student. I mean think about what they've been through.

In other words, if you care about this school, you're eventually gonna have to look some gift horses in the mouth and be willing to have uncomfortable conversations about funding.

Sorry, that's all I'll say about it.

voice; private;

[beariot]

[ There was a pretty length amount of time where she considered just not replying at all, just... brushing it off, and probably even neglecting to contact Elliot later. Just sort of running away from the issue. But that was both practically impossible (it wouldn't be difficult to find her later) but also just... felt like stepping too far backwards.

But the weight of guilt and anxiousness was still pretty clear in her tone. This wasn't easy for her. ]

You shouldn't apologize. I'm the one who should be apologizing.

voice; private;

[fiddlestick]

[Elliot wasn't sure what to expect when she didn't respond right away as she'd done previous messages. Maybe she had gotten busy or maybe she was ignoring what he said. Which was a little anxiety inducing, he doesn't like stirring the pot much, but there wasn't much he could do. It wouldn't be the first time someone's brushed him off. So he did his best to carry on with his day. Music lessons and practicing magic.

He wasn't expecting a private voice message from her eventually. He wasn't really offended or upset, so he sounds a little more puzzled than anything.]

Huh? Why're you apologizing?

Re: voice; private;

[beariot]

[ His reaction just pointed out to her how reflexive it had been, even if delayed, because when she searched her thoughts she really... didn't have a good reason to apologize. She just had taken the dissatisfaction others had with the endeavor and started putting them on her own shoulders. Like usual... ]

Truth be told, I suppose I don't know. It just... felt like something I should do.

voice; private;

[fiddlestick]

[Ah. Anxiety. My old friend. He keeps his tone gentle]

I wasn't mad at you, really. I was just stating my own view of things. I thought it'd be good to say it now before it became a bigger issue down the line.

Sorry if I made you think otherwise.

Re: voice; private;

[beariot]

I feel like it's already a big issue... and it's one I'd barely even thought about before. I just feel... foolish.

voice; private;

[fiddlestick]

Look...running a school is a massive undertaking. It's really important and I'm glad someone is taking a chance to do it, but there's a lot that goes into it.

Don't...beat yourself up for not thinking about it. Stuff like this will come up sometimes. We're kinda winging a lot of things to make it work here.

Re: voice; private;

[beariot]

I'm a professional educator, Elliot, not some upstart neophyte with more ideals than sense. I should have seen this coming. [ A tired sigh. ]

... But I know there's not a lot to be gained from circling the drain like this.

[fiddlestick]

Being a teacher in a classroom is different from running administration things. It's going to be a learning process. There's plenty of things I don't know about running a proper school.

[He just knows about holding private lessons. He'd probably die under all the paperwork and testing school teachers have to do]

Haha, nope. Best thing you can do is learn and be open to other people's ideas. We have people coming from a lot of different backgrounds, it might help to hear their input!