fandomhigh | So You Say You Want a Revolution: Week 2, Period 3

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revolution

So You Say You Want a Revolution: Week 2, Period 3

"You all found your way back," Aly said with a teasing smile as the bell rang for the class to begin. "I'd be impressed, but I've met Fandom students before."

"Before we start, I'd like to introduce my TAs for this term - Ino Yamanaka, Rinoa Heartilly, Percy Jackson, and Nico di Angelo. Four isn't usual, I know, but we're trying something new this time around. I'd like each of the TAs to head up a small group of their classmates. When we work in teams or have small discussions, that's the group you'll be with."

She went to flip over the whiteboard to show the groups she'd set up.

*Percy Jackson
Cally
Faramir
Jason Todd
Makita

*Rinoa Heartilly
Cara
Kyle Reese
Leda
Proto

*Ino Yamanaka
Cloud Strife
Karla
Leia Organa
Shira

*Nico di Angelo
Elphaba Thropp
Katniss Everdeen
Luke Castellan

Aly glanced at the groups then back at the class. "If you hate who you're with, talk to me and - yeah, never mind. If you hate who you're with, deal with it. You don't always get to work with your friends when planning a revolution. Pull your desks together, and spend some time getting to know each other if you don't already.

"Last week we talked about the reasons why you personally would rebel against a government. What I'd like you to do today is to stay in the small groups and talk about why you - as a group - would rebel against something. You can look at it seriously or rebel against mandatory cheerleading uniforms for the whole school, but remember, revolutions aren't put together by one person. It's always a group effort. So today, let's start with that."

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Percy so was not going to pout or glare in the direction of another group. He had his head down on his notebook, thoughts whirring about the actual discussion.

Edited 2010-09-08 10:53 (UTC)

He wasn't napping, was he?

Makita dragged her seat over to her group leader, and flipped it around so she straddled the chair backwards. "Why wouldn't people rebel?" she asked, kicking her legs out. "If they don't listen when you ask nicely, sometimes you have to get loud."

Percy wasn't napping (though that did sound like a good idea) so he picked his head up when Makita said something. "Get loud without any planning at all?"

Percy was pretty much in agreement with her but he just wanted to see how spontaneous and aggressive she was.

"People might not rebel out out of fear," Cally suggested, taking the girl's question at face value. Why not; it was worth considering, and certainly something she'd asked before, if not in the same words. "The inability to even contemplate it because obedience is conditioned into them." Or drugged, if certain rumours were true. "Or deliberate obliviousness to anything that isn't threatening them directly."

"You look as if you might suggest we rebel against classes before noon, but it would take too much energy," Cally offered with a small smile as she moved her desk over.

Edited 2010-09-08 13:56 (UTC)

"Nah, I'm okay," Percy said, picking his head up and rubbing one of his eyes. "I was just thinking. I've been through classes before noon before. I'd say I'm used to it but it still sucks no matter how many times I get used to it."

"I don't mind them, though I don't suppose it would matter if I did." Cally shook her head. "I got dragged out of bed at six anyway." ...Not by Nico.

"What dragged you out of bed so early?"

Nico wasn't such a bad thing to get dragged out of bed for. Not that Percy would admit that. Out loud.

"The very large dog who seems to have decided she lives in our room. Mostly on my bed."

"How big is big?" Percy asked, raising an eyebrow. He didn't think she could be big enough to give Mrs. O'Leary a playmate but there was no harm in asking. "I don't remember seeing a dog with you when we got here."

"Big." Cally held out her hand several inches above the height of the desk. "The breed is called Saint Bernard, from what I've researched. And no, she wasn't with me when I arrived. She just appeared on my bed one day, when I returned to the room, and has shown no desire to leave."

Not as big as Mrs. O'Leary but Percy wondered if anything was as big as that tank of a dog. "You don't like dogs? Or just not big dogs?"

Cally propped her chin on her hand. "It isn't that I dislike her; she just has to belong to someone, doesn't she? There's even a collar and a tag, but no owner listed."

"Well, she could be a stray," Percy suggested, shrugging. "I don't know why she'd have a collar and tag if she was but sometimes people just don't want pets anymore so they let them loose. Maybe this one just found you?"

Cally had been considering that possibility herself, yes. Thus her mixed feelings about finally putting up posters to locate the owner. The first thing Percy had said distracted her from dwelling on that, though.

"That's horrible. Why would someone do that? Accept responsibility for another creature, then just abandon it."

Re: Discussion Groups [9-8]

seaweed-demigod.livejournal.com - 2010-09-08 17:20 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Discussion Groups [9-8]

onlymistaken - 2010-09-08 18:20 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Discussion Groups [9-8]

seaweed-demigod.livejournal.com - 2010-09-08 18:34 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Discussion Groups [9-8]

onlymistaken - 2010-09-09 01:25 (UTC) - Expand

Jason still wasn't happy about this, but it didn't seem like there was anything they could do about the situation today.

"I don't know if there's that much for us to rebel against here. I mean, it's not like we have stupid uniforms or anything," he said, making a small attempt at finding neutral ground.

"Thankfully," Percy agreed, resting his chin in his hand and trying to keep his mind on the subject. "Maybe there'd be a need for a rebellion if the teachers all went insane with power?"

He could do neutral ground too. He wasn't even glaring.

Faramir had too much reverence for anyone in power to go lightly over this topic and he'd been listening intently to the others when Percy's comment drew his attention.

"What would you consider insane with power?" Faramir asked as it seemed a rather broad term to wield.

"In regards to teachers?" Percy asked, shrugging a shoulder. "If they start making stupid rules, start using punishment that's more to hurt than to teach, start making kids fear 'em instead of respecting them. That's pretty insane for teachers."

"But it would be easy to deem a rule stupid," Faramir reasoned, possibly arguing the wrong side of this discussion. "We might not see its use, but that doesn't mean it's not there. Punishment, I agree, should be justified and not merely granted out of cruelty. Still, it would not be punishment if it did not hurt."

"Yeah, but there are different levels of hurt here," Percy said, shaking his head. "I'd rather not have a teacher punch me because I talked out of turn. There's a limit to what's helpful when you punish someone and what's just throwing your weight around."

"A bully is not likely to earn much respect from his men," Faramir agreed. "Is there no one who stands above the teachers? Who leads the school?"

"Principal," Percy provided. "And yeah, she'd overrule but if the teachers are banding together, she might not be enough. She's one person and there are a lot of teachers. If they rebel, they'll have the upper hand."

"But there are more students," Faramir reasoned as he filed the information away. "If that'd be the case, then we could help stop a rebellion instead of starting one. For it to be a true rebellion, we'd have to move against the principal as she is the highest power."

"That's every kid's dream," Percy remarked with a smirk. "Going after their teachers and all. Every kid's dream. Too bad it doesn't ever happen like that."