319 A different sort of schooling (2/2)
”Not unless they're interested. Mainly, it should be about character and athletics. Health and hearts.” Remian said. ”I don't expect to see them studying before they're at least seven. We need to focus on storytelling and character-formation. Also, they should build their bodies at that age. I want to see them running around all day, climbing and jumping and swimming if we could manage it. On top of that, I want them to wear thickly padded armor.”
”Children wearing armor? Can they even put it on?!” Phoebe was bewildered.
”We'll have the teachers put the armor on them. I'll have the Adventurers Guild help out at the pre-school as missions for the low level Adventurers.” Remian nodded to himself. ”The Guild has always accepted children as young as nine as Adventurers. These days, most of their missions involves planting seedlings for the Reforestation. They can help out in the pre-school and model activities for young ones to follow, including dancing, sports, and yes, wearing armor.”
”That actually sounds like a fun pre-school.”
”It should be fun. Most of the time, they should be playing. That's how children should learn; through play.” Remian thought for a bit. ”Though it would be good for them to learn about food and what's good to eat and what not to eat in the Wildlands. They should be brought out on foraging trips through the outskirts of the Farming areas and around the Black Depths Lake.”
”Isn't that too dangerous?!” Phoebe yelped. ”There are all sorts of Wilds out there!”
”We'll have the Wilds protect them.” Remian assured her. ”We'll have the wolfcats and the lynxmice watch over them. They can even have their own Comrades. They could learn Comrade-care as a subject. Self-defense too.”
Phoebe shook her head. ”What kind of building would you need for a pre-school like that?”
”I was thinking it might be better not to have a building. Maybe an airship, or a tree-house.” Remian paused. ”But in the end, I'll settle for a circular creche.”
”A what?”
”It's like a playground with trees and platforms and safety netting. It's open air, with only an outer railing that goes around a circular platform ten feet off the ground. That would be the first floor. The ground floor has an open central area which should function like a playground and below the platform we could have lockers and open air classrooms…”
”Open air classrooms? No walls? What if the kids run out?”
”Let them. Let them run around freely. They can join run in and join a class if they're interested and run out to play if they're not.”
”But… but what if a child never goes to class?! Runs around and plays all day?”
”Then we have ourselves a superb Adventurer. I'm actually more worried about the opposite happening.” Remian shrugged. ”But it's easy enough to motivate someone to learn something. The key is they'll be learning for the sake of accomplishing something. We just need to give them missions that require those skills. For example, let's have an end-of-pre-school game involving a treasure-hunt with written clues. Warn them about that at the beginning of their second year. They'd have to know how to read to find the treasure.”
”And the treasure is…?”
”A hundred tokens that can be exchanged for several top choices of differing prices. Or sold and exchanged with their friends.” Remian shrugged. ”It's one way of learning about currency and trade.”
”And… how much would it cost for a child to enroll in this pre-school of yours?”
”Cost?” Remian snorted. ”For my own people, it's free.”
”It sounds like it's going to run at a huge loss.”
”It's no loss. They'll be involved with the Guild before long and earning Guild Points by doing missions for me. Reward for labor, based on success, regardles of time taken or what it cost them, rather than payment for hours. It's a whole different system from the norm of this world.”
”Is that even necessary? They'll need to live in this world, after all…!”
”You don't get it. I need to raise a whole new generation from young who think and function differently from factory workers. I need to forge a whole new culture that's never been seen in this world.” Remian grimaced. ”I think we might even need to raise a nomadic tribe.”
”A nomadic tribe? Remian, what are you preparing these people for, exactly?!”
”What, you say…?” Remian took a deep breath. ”I need to prepare a future generation for a life without a homeworld. A generation that can live in starships and build a Warp Gate.”
”Wha…” Phoebe drew a blank. Somewhere between 'life without a homeworld' and 'starships', Remian had completely lost her.
”It won't be that hard.” Remian consoled her. ”For a middle step to spaceships, we have airships. Once we can manufacture ultralight carbon fibre polymers and graphene, building airships suitable for living in shouldn't be too far off. Already there are people who live big parts of their lives flying around. Just think about Mindy.”
”And all that starts with running around a playground all day?”
”All that starts with healthy bodies and sound character.” Remian said. ”Reading and writing is optional, available, but not required until they're seven. That's when they start studying, but again, they won't be in classrooms or desks.”
”Another open air playground?!”
”Not quite.” Remian chuckled. ”I think we'll do it the way Mindy was taught. We'll have them travel the world on airships, doing missions and taking classes to learn what they need for those missions. Everything from math and language to protocol and cultural comparison.”