fandomhigh | Magical Ethics: Week 10, Period 1

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magical ethics

Magical Ethics: Week 10, Period 1

Alysha's thoughts were still wandering around her conversation with Adrian the night before as the students came into the classroom. She already had a lesson plan, but as she opened her mouth to speak, a new discussion topic was decided upon.

"You're all of you special," she said. She made a little face. "I don't mean that in the special snowflake kind of way though I'm sure at least a few of you are that too." Alysha couldn't help thinking of David when she said that. "But all are you have talents, have skills that aren't always common in your societies."

"So here's a question I have. What's your responsibility when it comes to teaching these types of skills to others? Do you have a responsibility to pass on this knowledge that at least some of you have said can be so useful to your people? If your skills are unique, do you try to find someone that can learn them?

"Following on that - what's your responsibility as a teacher? If you pass on your knowledge, your magic and your student uses it to commit atrocities, or, whatever, just rob the Mini-Mart, do you bear any blame? Any responsibility for either choosing your student better or only teaching him what he could use ethically?"

Alysha glanced around the room, looking for questions. "Even if you feel your particular talents can't be taught to another, I'd like you to consider the question about teaching. It's not just magic that can bring up these issues. Whether you teach someone to shoot a gun or debate a point in the government, this question applies."

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Like you're a teacher.

Edmund Pevensie

Yamanaka Ino

Savannah Levine

Raven

Tara Maclay

Helen Haras-Uquara

Tony Foster

Karla

Zack Fair

Sookie Stackhouse

Rebakah Cooper

Sam Winchester

Liz Sherman

Leda

Griffin O'Conner

Merlin

Andy Gallagher

Elle Bishop

Take notes, ask questions, pass notes (discreetly)

This was, really, the hardest class to absolutely avoid Zack in.

She was still going to give it her best shot by sitting as far as possible away from him without making it obvious and focusing on the lecture.

Raven was quiet (-er than normal) for much of the class, still thinking about encountering her mother last night.

Zack was trying not to make it too painfully obvious that he suspected that Ino was avoiding him.

... Which was tricky, because he kept wanting to look her way to pout at her.

This was so very cleverly solved by keeping his eyes on the top of his desk for the majority of the lecture. See, he was a brilliant problem solver, when he wanted to be.

Raven glanced over at Zack, wondering just what the best way to approach him would be. "I sense your pain, give it to me," probably wouldn't go over well.

The things Griff felt he could've taught that jackass Skywalker lookalike were staggering and he seriously wondered if there weren't others like him who could use the benefit of what his own parents had taught him.

"So here's a question I have. What's your responsibility when it comes to teaching these types of skills to others? Do you have a responsibility to pass on this knowledge that at least some of you have said can be so useful to your people? If your skills are unique, do you try to find someone that can learn them?

"Following on that - what's your responsibility as a teacher? If you pass on your knowledge, your magic and your student uses it to commit atrocities, or, whatever, just rob the Mini-Mart, do you bear any blame? Any responsibility for either choosing your student better or only teaching him what he could use ethically?"

"If your skills are a necessary part of your society, then it stands to reason that you should be responsible for ensuring that your skills will remain of use even when you're gone," Edmund said. He paused for a moment, thinking. "If that's possible. And, as a teacher, you have the responsibility to see that your skills are used for good. This can mean choosing your students wisely and knowing when to stand up and say no if someone else is making those choices for you. Then all you can do is teach them not only your skills to the best of your ability, but the right way to use them and the ethics that are necessary for implementing them. If you do that, then you've done all you can to ensure that the worst won't happen. If you don't do all that you can to properly teach your student, then yes, perhaps you should be held responsible should their actions go awry."

"How do you determine if the skills are necessary?" Alysha asked curiously. "Say you could use magic to shape stone into a building or you could use bricks and mortar. Is the magic necessary?"

"I wouldn't determine if the skills are necessary. That would be the responsibility of the society's leader."

"What he said," Tony nodded. "But where I'm from, our leaders don't believe in magic. I guess I'd have to decide what's necessary. It's hard to say what skills are needed, though, 'cause every attack is different."

God, he was actually going to have to teach Brianna magic when he got back to Vancouver, wasn't he? They needed more wizards. Maybe he could wait until she was older, more mature. Like forty.

"My skills as an empath cannot be taught," Raven said, "for it is what I am, not something that can be learned. But I would think it responsible to teach others born with my abilities how to live with them, for my gifts can be very difficult at times."

Savannah thought about these questions for a few long moments, writing notes down as she tried to decide how to answer this question.

"In my world, witches teach witches, sorcerers teach sorcerers, demons teach demons. In other words, like is supposed to teach like. Who and what I am... well, I'm not supposed to exist. I've been lucky in that my mom and others that know about me have taken it upon themselves to teach me what I need to know or want to know and have helped me gain some control over the powers I have." She chewed on her lip. "In my world, we are indeed responsible for what we teach our students... and if they use those powers for bad things..." Savannah looked down at her desk, trying to figure out how to put the reality into words. "It depends on what faction the person who did the bad thing belongs to."

"I think you should try to teach," Tara said thoughtfully. "But at home not everyone is able to learn more th-than really basic stuff. And if you're teaching people things they can use in bad ways ... I do think you're responsible. It's like if you handed somebody a gun and d-didn't explain gun safety."

"It is not possible to teach my skill to others," Helen explained. "It is something I was born with. However, were another to be born with my gifts I would wish to help them learn how to manage and use them. Part of that teaching would natuirally include the right and wrong uses of power."

"I don't teach often," Zack noted, glancing up to speak. "I mean, I'm here a lot of the time, but I suppose the Reserves count, don't they? So, here and back home, I guess I do teach, just not magic. Gaian magic is something that anyone can do, so long as they have the right tools to do it. It doesn't really have to be taught."

He was rambling. He was aware of that.

"But. Uh. Between SOLDIER and the Reserves here on Fandom, people are being shown how to more effectively keep themselves safe... But also how to be more effective weapons, themselves. And, I don't always get to pick who I teach. If they hand me somebody to train back home, then I have to, no questions asked. A military situation doesn't work any other way. So my responsibility there isn't only to train them as thoroughly as I can, it's also to set a good example, and to teach them how to give proper respect to dreams, and to always protect their honor as SOLDIER."

Even if... maybe not all teachers back home always practised what they'd taught. Zack's eyes fell back toward the top of his desk. He'd said what he had to say, he was good.

"In my world, every child of the Blood learns to use basic Craft. Regardless of what kind of person they may be individually, they have to learn how to use their power they were born with, or they'll be a much bigger danger to themselves and everyone else around them," Karla said. "Caste-Craft is the same; if the ability exists, we have a duty to teach that person how to use it. Six years ago, there were less than a hundred Queens in all of Glacia. There are even fewer now, and many of those are children and babies. So I will teach any Queen how to use her Craft and how to set up a Court and how to use Protocol. And I'll have to be vigilant and bear responsibility if one of those Queens I teach proves to be unethical or a bad Queen. And if she becomes a danger, I or my Court will need to take steps."

She frowned a moment, thinking. "This is less because I was her teacher and more because of my role, I think," she said, still frowning. "I think with a world like mine, where you don't choose who to teach because everyone is taught, it's different than here, where the choice is more limited and not available to anyone. It's like asking if someone should be held responsible for teaching a student basic science or rhetoric and that student goes on to use those skills for evil. With the right--well, wrong, I guess--frame of mind, any piece of information can be used to harm."

"Someone taught me, it'd be only right that I'd do the same," Beka said, thinking of Granny Fern. There'd been no one else to teach her and Beka was still guessing about a lot of things.

"I'd be responsible if they used it wrong, if there'd been a way to know they would," she said. "I'd not want to have taught someone sommat only to find they used it to hurt."

"I think it depends on what your skills are. I can't teach anything I can do to anyone whose doesn't have the same abilities," Sam said. "But I think sharing knowledge is a great idea. If a teacher teaches someone who doesn't end up using their powers for good, I don't think it's the teacher's fault, unless they knew their student would do that and turned a blind eye to it."

When they ping in.

Edmund was here and visibly interested in the discussion this week.

Tony was pondering the ethics and dangers of teaching a spoiled eight-year-old to use magic.

For she is there before and after class.

And lo, there was class!

As always, totally feel free to make the threads explode and talk to each other as much as you like on these. It's way more fun that way. :D

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Magical Ethics: Week 10, Period 1

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