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fandomhigh2011-01-04 12:34 am
steel-not-glass.livejournal.com) wrote in fandomhigh2011-01-04 12:34 am
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Intro to the 21st Century, Tuesday, Second Period
It was the first class and Cindy had made sure to arrive early with coffee and pastries to set up. Considering her class was all about getting used to a new time or place, she figured the classroom should be as welcoming as possible, too. She pulled the desks into a small circle with the desk holding the pastries and coffee in the center.
"Good morning," she said as the class filed in and took their seats. "Welcome to Intro to the 21st Century. I'm Professor Cindy Perrault; calling me Cindy is fine, though I'll also answer to Professor or Ms. Perrault. Here, I intend to teach you enough for you to find your footing in a world that can often be strange and confusing even after you leave Fandom Island. For those of you from the past, some of our scientific achievements might seem to border on the impossible. For those of you who come from the past, much of our technology and social mores might seem frightfully primitive. From those of you who have come from different worlds all together...well, your reaction might fall anywhere within that range or might be something else entirely. Fifteen weeks isn't enough to teach your enough for you to pass as a native of this time and place, but hopefully it will be enough to help you navigate through the strangeness until you're at least comfortable in the day to day life in 21st century America."
Even if day to day life on Fandom conspired to confuse everyone.
"Now, what sets modern-day America from any point in the past, even more than the leaps in science and technology, is its commitment to the ideals of equality." Oh, hello, soapbox. Didn't see you there. "Men and women of all races, religions, and ethnicities are considered equal under the eyes of the law, and efforts are being made to extend those notions of equality to people of all sexual orientations and identities. As a society, we're hardly perfect about either of these things; I'm not about to pretend that racism, sexism, classicism, ableism, or any other kind of -ism have all magically vanished away. That's bull and I'm not about to start this class off by lying to you. But the idea that all people are equal is closer to being realized now than at any time in history. So why am I bringing this up?"
"Since everyone in this room is from a different place or time, I'm going to be cutting everyone a lot of slack when it comes to discussions and disagreements. This isn't a class that's going to try to change your opinions, even if I do try to open your mind a bit. But one rule that I will be enforcing is this: it doesn't matter what your society says about a certain group or class of people; in this classroom we are all equal and will treat one another with respect. If you have a problem with someone in that regard, you are more than welcome to discuss it with me in the privacy of my office, but such opinions will not be aired here. That being said, I don't expect any such problems from you. So consider this a warning and let's assume it will be the last time we have to talk about it."
Cindy gestured to the pastries in the center of the circle. "The first week of classes is traditionally devoted to introductions and far be it for me to buck hallowed Fandom traditions. So help yourself to something to eat and drink, and tell us your name, class, one way that Fandom completely differs from your home, and one way it's surprisingly similar. Feel free to find commonalities between your individual homes as well."
[OCD up]
"Good morning," she said as the class filed in and took their seats. "Welcome to Intro to the 21st Century. I'm Professor Cindy Perrault; calling me Cindy is fine, though I'll also answer to Professor or Ms. Perrault. Here, I intend to teach you enough for you to find your footing in a world that can often be strange and confusing even after you leave Fandom Island. For those of you from the past, some of our scientific achievements might seem to border on the impossible. For those of you who come from the past, much of our technology and social mores might seem frightfully primitive. From those of you who have come from different worlds all together...well, your reaction might fall anywhere within that range or might be something else entirely. Fifteen weeks isn't enough to teach your enough for you to pass as a native of this time and place, but hopefully it will be enough to help you navigate through the strangeness until you're at least comfortable in the day to day life in 21st century America."
Even if day to day life on Fandom conspired to confuse everyone.
"Now, what sets modern-day America from any point in the past, even more than the leaps in science and technology, is its commitment to the ideals of equality." Oh, hello, soapbox. Didn't see you there. "Men and women of all races, religions, and ethnicities are considered equal under the eyes of the law, and efforts are being made to extend those notions of equality to people of all sexual orientations and identities. As a society, we're hardly perfect about either of these things; I'm not about to pretend that racism, sexism, classicism, ableism, or any other kind of -ism have all magically vanished away. That's bull and I'm not about to start this class off by lying to you. But the idea that all people are equal is closer to being realized now than at any time in history. So why am I bringing this up?"
"Since everyone in this room is from a different place or time, I'm going to be cutting everyone a lot of slack when it comes to discussions and disagreements. This isn't a class that's going to try to change your opinions, even if I do try to open your mind a bit. But one rule that I will be enforcing is this: it doesn't matter what your society says about a certain group or class of people; in this classroom we are all equal and will treat one another with respect. If you have a problem with someone in that regard, you are more than welcome to discuss it with me in the privacy of my office, but such opinions will not be aired here. That being said, I don't expect any such problems from you. So consider this a warning and let's assume it will be the last time we have to talk about it."
Cindy gestured to the pastries in the center of the circle. "The first week of classes is traditionally devoted to introductions and far be it for me to buck hallowed Fandom traditions. So help yourself to something to eat and drink, and tell us your name, class, one way that Fandom completely differs from your home, and one way it's surprisingly similar. Feel free to find commonalities between your individual homes as well."
[OCD up]