Weekend Entertainment

[ceitfianna]

It's weird to think that the summer's almost over. Since my new job is as a school librarian, let's talk about pups and learning. Do they have any connections to schools or teaching? Would they be a good teacher, why or why not?

As an example from mine, Charles is canonically a teacher, a tutor/lecturer at Oxford then he's the force behind all the training for the X-Men before opening his school. He's a good teacher because he knows how to listen and his mutation helps him constantly shift how he approaches a student during the lesson.

Comments

[a1enzo]

Enzo has fallen into the role of prophet, in a purely professional, non-mystical sense: he's teaching the other Guardians as best he can about Users. He's doing reasonably well; his writing on the subject is a bit clumsy and very haphazard, but he has the sense to bring books, movies, guest speakers, etc. and basically let other people do a lot of the work for him.

[ceitfianna]

That must be challenging for him but seems like an important function to have taken on. He also seems to do the same in Milliways where he talks about Sprites.

[death_gone_mad]

Amascut, in canon, is cajoled into being a teacher.

Her teaching method is to throw her student into dangerous situations they might not be prepared for. She does offer non-lethal training, but that is purchased with points earned from doing the lethal live fire stuff. If her student dies, oh well, she's done her good deed for the day, and if not, her student has killed a hundred and some dangerous monsters. She's still done her good deed for the day.

*facepalms at her thought process*

Soooooo, probably not the best teacher.

[ceitfianna]

Oh Amascut, this all quite makes sense for her, she's good at violence.

[camwyn]

Gordon did some time as an introductory physics lecturer before leaving academia for Black Mesa. He wasn't very good at it. He's privately embarrassed by this, because he idolized Richard Feynman and Feynman was of the opinion that if you couldn't properly explain a subject to someone who didn't know about it, you didn't understand it well enough yourself.

Adrian Shephard doesn't belong anywhere near a classroom, either as a teacher or as a student, and he knows it. He went straight into the Marines from graduating high school (he was a B student, probably could've done better if he'd actually cared). On the other hand, he'll make a splendid drill instructor for purely physical stuff and for drilling Marine Corps traditions into people's heads.

Arcade Gannon is not a very good teacher himself. He doesn't deal well with people. He can write papers with the best of them, but he tends to be too stiff and formal about things if he's asked to actually teach in a classroom.

Thalestris is actually pretty good at teaching people physical skills and performance, but that's not going to matter for very long.

Varric would be a rotten teacher but people would love to attend his classes, because he'd make some noises about the syllabus and then sit on his desk and regale the classroom with tales of things he did in his travels. Or he might make a halfway decent teacher if the subject were writing- he's got enough side bits of banter in which he mentions the stuff he writes to indicate that he really does know the craft of storytelling on paper as well as verbally. Whether he could convey that to other people or not, I don't know.

Ray loves his studies and his subjects, but unless he got very specific types of people as his students he'd ramble on excitedly about the material they were studying and forget to make sure everyone else understood him.

Medic would actually be a pretty good teacher if he only had to teach advanced classes in horrifying medicine and disturbing biology. He hasn't got the patience to bring people up to speed on the basics, though, and it would end poorly for all involved if he tried.

Ellen might do reasonably well in front of a classroom, but I'm not sure she's ever really thought about it, and neither have I.

Mordin could, and has, taught as a professor at salarian universities. He tends to be a little overwhelming even for other salarians, but if you can follow the speed at which he talks and thinks, he's actually kind of brilliant at coaxing people to follow in his intellectual footsteps.

And Zira, when I app her, is pretty good at teaching when she has to; she's the department head dealing with human biology at an official science institute, but she could just as easily teach young chimpanzees without much difficulty. The problem is that the orangutans who control Official Science would never let someone as liberal and unusual as her teach the young; she might pass on all the wrong ideas, and as far as the orangs are concerned every ape student MUST pass through ALL the same mistakes and fallacies as their predecessors in order to arrive at the same place the adults are today.

[ceitfianna]

Ellen seems to do some teaching just in her life as she will end up being the one explaining how something works or how a group of people work to another. Its not the classic form of teaching but its something she seems to excel at just through need.

Zira sounds fascinating, I think she and Charles will have some great talks.

[sky_child]

WHERE DO YOU THINK HE GOT HIS TUNIC FROM

Seriously all this talk in Twilight Princess about how this was the legendary garb of the legendary hero and it turns out it's...just a damn school uniform.

As for Zelda: goes to the same school as Link, and is the headmaster's daughter.

[ceitfianna]

Hee, I love the weird details of Link's world and he must be a good student when he's awake.

[leeshajoy]

Alyx never got a chance to go to school, what with fleeing for her life from two alien invasions in rapid succession. Twilight, on the other hand, is a model student, and is still taking correspondence classes at the Celestial Academy for Gifted Unicorns.

[ceitfianna]

Does Twilight ever do any teaching in canon? It seems like there's a lot of her learning from her friends but I was trying to remember if there were points of her being explainer/teacher.

[bjornwilde]

Ben doesn't see himself as a teacher but he does see himself as a coach. He's there to inspire and help the "student" achieve their best. He sees himself teaching skills or giving examples of life's lessons but not knowledge like Reed.

Kate really doesn't seem to have the patience for teaching or perhaps instructing might be a better word. She's had one side kick and, to be frank, she was quite mean to her. In her defense she was very reluctant to take on the sidekick in the first place.

Hank doesn't see himself ever being a teacher. He's an engineer and will help to solve problems but he doesn't see that as teaching, to answer for the near future. In the far future, he has worn many hats and settles into the teacher hat quite well though he worries about the affect he will have on the kids and if he can really help them.

In my head canon, Mars is a mentor to troubled teens; he runs a last chance work farm for juvenile criminals in the Napa Vally. He will never give up on any kid and will drag them kicking and screaming to a life purpose if he has to.

[bjornwilde]

Oh and to answer for their own studies...
Ben holds several advanced degrees which he earned from Empire State University via a football scholarship.

Kate Kane would have graduated with high honors from West Point except she ran head first into "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and refused to lie.

more later.

[ceitfianna]

Now I have this idea for Hank and Charles discussing educational philosophies and what might work with certain students at the Xavier school. Since they approach the world is rather different ways, not immensely different but enough to make a difference in how they teach.

[misslucyjane]

Bilbo learned to read and write somewhere, presumably tutors, given his family's social standing. I don't see him teaching, really, though of course Frodo would remember his stories.

Merlin--since Merlin is where historical accuracy goes to die, he can read and write. (In English! And whatever language the Big Book of Magic is written in!) The show has never explained it, but I usually go with he learned it from his mother, since a school in a tiny medieval village is highly unlikely. And of course he's learning magic from said Big Book. If he'd taught Morgana how to use her magic, maybe the plot would have gone in a less tragic direction.

The Green Man learned to read and write quite late, but he did learn it somewhere and has likely taught it to people, too. I would imagine that out of his many careers he's been a teacher at least once, though most of his teaching would take place outside of classrooms--teaching his earliest people how to farm, for example.

Stuart's education is a big part of his canon--a less-than-prestigious secondary school, and then reading history at Oxford. I don't see him teaching either, and canonically he goes on to be a tax lawyer.

Steve has a degree in illustration according to the comics, and since I couldn't find what school he went to listed anywhere, I've sent him to Cooper Union. (Largely because I like the name.) He would have been a scholarship student, and probably also had an apprenticeship type of thing happening at the comics publisher to help make ends meet. (Filling ink pots is where Stan Lee started, IIRC--I can see Steve doing that.) I think he'd be a good teacher, given his patience and desire to help people, though at least in the comics he seems to be a more "lead by example" type of teacher than someone who'd stand up in front of a classroom.

[ceitfianna]

Ah Merlin, best not to look too hard at it. Though that's true of any of their historical shows or medievalish shows, *eyes Robin Hood*.

Have Merlin and Will ever met? I feel like they should.

[boston_bruiser]

Voodoo...would be a damn good teacher in the sense that you'd remember what he taught you. Probably for the rest of your life, maybe even beyond that.

John would be much, much nicer, and could probably teach a thing or two about shooting or hunting.

[ceitfianna]

I could see him someday being an instructor as physical stuff it seems like he'd be good at it.

[inlovewithwords]

Surprisingly for me, none of my coming-soon-or-current are terribly associated with schooling.

Henry's an elementary school student. Who knows if he'd make a good teacher when grown up. Mako might make a good teacher. I think he could summon the patience.

Tavi used to be a professional student-cum-spy. I think he'd make a better one-on-one teacher than classroom--mostly influenced by how Bernard raised him and my belief he and Kitai will teach their kids a lot themselves. Does making sure a new Academy exists count?

Lois barely graduated high school (from skipping classes, not brains; she had scores good enough to get into MetU, a perfectly good school). She then got kicked out of college (behavioral). I'm sure she could teach someone how to pick locks, or do tequila shots, or play flag football, maybe even shoot a gun. But she is not a teacher.

[ceitfianna]

I can see that with Tavi, he knows the importance of education and probably could find great teachers, he's just better at doing than explaining.

[yakalskovich]

Lady Margolotta has an extensive library in her castle, as per 'Unseen Academicals', never mind movable type was only invented on the Disc a few years ago.

Teja went to a school for young Ostrogoth nobles, also as per canon, where they presumably taught both the classical Graeco-Roman curriculum and the oral traditions of the Goths.

Urquhart studied in Paris at the high time of scholasticism, and he was apparently very good at it; I can't say whether he canonically got his baccalaureus artium degree which students at the time took at the end of seven years study of the Seven Liberal Arts, after which they could start professional studies either for theology, the law, or medicine. People took their learning very, very seriously back then.

Lorenzo has private tutors, Antinoos learns more haphazardly than systematically, as he follows Hadrian around the empire, Tower and Sirona don't really apply, and if somebody gave Tamara a book, she'd probably try and eat it.-

[ceitfianna]

I wonder what the school system was like in Uberwald or if there was one?

[aberration]

Elle was pulled out of school when she was very young, and anything she learned after was through a combination of tutoring/being self-taught/Company training. She could probably teach things she can physically demonstrate, but otherwise, her inability to communicate very well is probably going to limit her.

Leslie loves to teach people things! And lecture! Of course, she can be enthusiastic to the point of off-putting, but I have the sense that if she weren't invested in politics, being a teacher would have been a good alternate career for her. She had a pretty typical education and went to college at Indiana University, and was probably a TA or something there, not to mention organizing a whole lot of clubs in high school. And she's organized things like her own scouting organization (Pawnee Goddesses!), though granted, her curriculum for them is a combination of Feminist Arts and Crafts and puppy parties. Really, in some ways Leslie Knope is like Mary Poppins, who uses a jug rather than a spoonful of sugar.

Manny went to school into his late teens and then pretty much self-taught everything else. If asked, he'd say he doesn't know anything worth teaching. Sometimes he helps the new staff at the Department of Death, but that's about it.

Asami went to some private academy I should probably make up a name for, and now is more focused on learning the ropes at Future Industries. Being a teacher has never been much of a prospect for her. However, I actually think she would be fairly good at it - she's patient and understanding, and it'd be pretty easy for me to imagine her teaching others things like how to operate vehicles or explaining the science behind certain designs and engineering techniques.

[ceitfianna]

Leslie does so much, I could easily see her being a teacher and one that everyone loved.

[minkhollow]

Cata teaches entirely because there was no one else to do poisons; she's not the best at constantly having to explain the basics, but like hell if she was going to let anyone less than an expert do the work. As soon as there's someone suitable she'll be foisting the firsties off onto them, but she's found she actually enjoys the advanced classes. (Not to mention, by the time she can dump the firsties, she may not be able to do too many contracts from a physical standpoint.)

Sam wouldn't be a very good teacher, given that his strongest natural talent does have a bit of magic to it (much as he likes to ignore that).

Claudia would be an okay teacher if she had to be and if it were in her specialty; anything else she'd doubt herself too much to try to teach. As for being a student, she dropped out of college the first time around because she was too smart for that bullshit and no one was taking her seriously. She's applying for a second go-round that I think will mainly be online courses and go much better for her.

Apollo's a good teacher if he likes you.

Imp... I have no idea if it's even something he would pursue, but I think he'd do okay.

Regulus is currently a student. If it came to it, he could teach charms pretty effectively, and maybe a couple other things (Professor Device-style Divination, which is more focused on toying out interpretations of existing prophecies than trying to guess yourself, for one). He'd have very high standards, though; if he knows you're capable of more than you're handing in, you're not going to do well.

Red is very good at teaching survival skills, considering she gets Snow to a point where she can survive on her own in the woods. She doesn't have much book learning, but I think her grandmother taught her to read and write.
(Ruby wouldn't have enrolled in college even if Storybrooke had one. She doesn't think she's smart enough for college. But she's a lot smarter than she knows; there's a decent amount of business savvy in that head of hers.)

[ceitfianna]

Aww, Ruby, Charles thinks she's quite smart. A class taught by Claudia would be interesting and possibly involve sparks.

[kitchen_maid]

Let's see . . .

Meg, Lily, and Remus are all currently students, and they're all very good students. Remus will also be a very good teacher, though he will unfortunately inherit a cursed job and have to leave after a year. Lily would be hopeless at it, I think. She lacks the patience and temperament.

Meg's got a knack for explaining things (see almost any conversation with X-23 or Castiel). She could probably handle teaching, but I'm not sure she'd enjoy it. I suspect she's better in one-on-one situations, and with people who are engaged in the conversation. Alain teaches high school, though, so Meg will definitely have a connection to a school for a while.

Amy was a dreadful student, partly because people were trying to teach her such boring (to her) things. She still can't spell worth a darn. She might have connections to a school in the future. Watch this space!

Anna was in school pretty much all of her human life, and liked it well enough, and did better-than-average at it. Now . . . no. In fact, I'd keep her away from impressionable minds at this point.

[ceitfianna]

Meg has really ended up the sort of translator of human actions for X and Castiel and the other way for Edward, its a tricky job. Oh, I didn't realize Alain was a teacher, he's a great character.

[the_gene_genie]

Gene would be the worst teacher in the history of teaching. The only way he knows to teach people is to lead by example - and as some of his methodology is distinctly flawed by modern-day standards, even that is a shaky approach.

It wouldn't help that he thinks students are the lowest form of life. He has no patience, little desire to stop and explain things, and disregards rules at will if he thinks they're stupid. He gets results, but I don't think anyone would hold him up as a shining example of how things should be done.

He doesn't mind. He's still a legend.

[ceitfianna]

Hee, true he is and in some eras, I could see him being someone that a school would want for a coach or a teacher. A place that's all about, no more coddling you, time for the hard lessons in life.

[psyched_you_out]

Brisco's the only one of my pups I could see in academia. I have it in my head that his mom was a teacher, though I can't remember if that's canon or something I made up.

Shawn went undercover as a guest lecturer at a school for gifted students once . It was... interesting, to say the least. Though he did enjoy the attention. (Brat.)

Fry... Eheheh. No.

[ceitfianna]

Brisco would be an interesting teacher and he should meet William sometime as they share Dixie in their lives.

I still want Shawn and Charles to meet, I foresee it being interesting in the Chinese curse sense of the word.

[gavin62truck]

Tommy was a bad student in school -- he wasn't dumb, he just didn't have the patience to learn from books -- so he'd probably be a crap teacher, at least in the traditional classroom sense.

But he's the most senior firefighter on his crew, and for the better part of his career the younger firefighters have looked to him as an example, wanting to earn his respect or a word of praise. He's been responsible for their on-the-job training, and while he himself isn't the best example to follow, as he has a problem with authority and takes too many risks, they can only wish to have half the guts he has. Still, he does have invaluable experience, like whenever he's paired up with the rookie, there's usually some tried and true technique to be learned, and Tommy never goes easy as there's no room for fuck-ups.

eta: It occurs to me that Tommy would make a GREAT lecturer, since he loves the sound of his own voice so damn much.

[ceitfianna]

Imagine Gene and Tommy team teaching a course on not dying in the police and firefighting. It would be a class that people loved or hated.

[kd7sov]

Hmm.

Felix, millicanonically, has done a certain amount of teaching kids how to deal with their powers. I've never actually showed him doing it, so I don't know much about his methods or how well-received he is, but I like to think he's not too bad at it. If nothing else, he's got motivation. And he does like to learn things, especially about magic and powers.

Kain... not so much. He's grumpy and abrasive and gloomy, and has no particular interest in kids.

Fluttershy... it really depends on the setting. Just about any modern-type classroom would send her away, probably vowing never to return. But if some prospective student were to approach her, seek her out for one-on-one instruction, and be genuinely willing to learn, I could see her doing quite well. ...Aaand now I want to see a Fluttershy-Cheerilee fic along those lines.

Cranky would not make a good teacher. Or a particularly good learner, come to that.

[ceitfianna]

Going by how Fluttershy worked with the Cutiemark Crusaders in the first season episode, she seems to know how to get people to listen and get respect, which is a huge part of being a teacher. She just needs her proper setting.