Practical Philosophy, Monday

[endsthegame]

Ender had always preferred to teach his classes outside whenever possible. When it became obvious the morning would be a little chilly but not rainy, he posted a note on his designated classroom's door pointing all the students towards the dorm lawn.

He sat down on the grass out there, legs folded. By his side was a bag full of sandwiches, just in case any student had missed breakfast. And there he waited, quiet and patient, until everyone had arrived.

"You'll notice I didn't bring any books," he said, once they had. "Because despite what the title of this class might imply, I'm not actually here to tell you about Hegel or Kant and what they were thinking. They might come up, but if they do, it's because they have had interesting ideas that might be useful to us."

He stretched his legs out. "My name is Andrew Wiggin, though some people call me Ender," he said, "And I don't bring books here because I don't think they have all that many answers. I don't spite them for that, because I don't exactly have a lot of answers of my own. What I have are questions, which are far more useful in the long run. You can keep asking questions as the situation changes - answers tend to be the same thing no matter when you check up on them."

He smiled wryly.

"This class is about questions," he said. "And it's about opening a dialogue with those questions. Everyone here has sat through something in their life that they have questions about - though whether they want to admit that is another thing entirely. We're here to talk about those questions as they come up. No more, no less."

He tilted his chin up - maybe at Cade, maybe at nothing in particular. "Of course, that means I expect all of you to participate," he said. "You don't have to share about yourself if you absolutely don't want to, though I'll have you know that it helps. But I expect you to talk along. If you don't, I'm not going to apologize for the kinds of questions I'll ask. While we're at it, I also won't tolerate shaming anyone in this class for any reason."

Having said that, though, Ender's mouth quirked up. "Enough with the threats," he said. "I don't believe in classic introductions - I think I know what most of your names are, and I'll learn the ones that I don't, and what year you're in is of absolutely no concern to me."

"Let's open a dialogue instead," he finished. "For some of you, this is all new. How is it working for you? Are you elated? Annoyed? Don't want to be here? Achingly happy to be here? And for those of you who aren't - how has the past year treated you? Has there been anything that made you cry or made you think or made you wonder?"

"We can talk about that. Or we can talk about something else. I'm open to talking about anything, as long as you think it's worth questioning. Because you can assume from here on in that I really don't know a thing; but maybe by educating me, you can find something worth educating yourself about."

Comments

Talk.

[endsthegame]

Answer Ender's questions. How is it all working out for you? Feel free to make this messy.

Re: Talk.

[pulseof_life]

"This past year has been the first in a long time that I have remained in one place," Yeul said, smiling softly. "I have made friends here. It had not occurred to me that I would but I enjoy the change."

Re: Talk.

[endsthegame]

"Why hadn't it occurred to you?" Ender asked. "Has it never been an issue for you?"

Re: Talk.

[pulseof_life]

"I would not call making friends an issue," Yeul admitted, toying with the grass by her side, "though I suppose it could be. In my world, I am rarely in the presence of people other than my Guardian for more than a few days at a time."

She shrugged very slightly, as if to say that it was what it was.

"I suppose that coming here, I had not realized how staying would change anything."

Re: Talk.

[genesishero]

Evan gave his toes a scuff against the lawn, quietly picking a few blades of grass before he nerved himself to speak up.

"The year started out pretty good," he decided. "I mean... Here isn't home, but it's usually a pretty good place to be. I made some friends, I got a job in the library, and a dog. And people here have been pretty great. A lot of them understand things, or are willing to give me a chance where some people back home probably never will."

More than just bullies, back home. People were cruel in ways that Evan had never been able to imagine.

"I had a bad trip back to my own reality a little while ago," he pressed on, after a deep breath, "and I found out some things about myself and about people I cared for that have been hard to shake. So... a lot of that is still following me here, I think. I'm less sure of where I stand, and what I should do when things go badly."

Re: Talk.

[pulseof_life]

Oh, Evan.

Yeul shot him a gentle smile, hoping it would be a small comfort. She didn't really have anything to say that she hadn't said to him before but it seemed wrong to just... let his words pass without reaction.

Re: Talk.

[genesishero]

Evan caught Yeul's smile and he found himself clinging to it, a lot.

He'd come a long way since he'd been kidnapped, at least. That much could be evidenced by the little smile he managed to muster up in return.

Re: Talk.

[endsthegame]

Ender offered Evan a faint smile as he spoke. It was manufactured, because the boy seemed to need some encouragement - a kind of sense of safety. Ender had no issue with giving it to him if it meant getting him to open up.

"You're not sure who you are any more," Ender ventured. "I take it whatever it was affected your perception of your personal history somehow."

Re: Talk.

[justbeingbay]

Bay smiled over at him sympathetically. "Like, your parents not being who they thought they were, kind of stuff?" she asked. "Or is that just my issue? 'Cause, either way, I get what it's like when home ... kind of won't stay at home."

Re: Talk.

[makemyownway.livejournal.com]

"I don't want to be here."

Thank you, Cade. Very helpful.

Re: Talk.

[pulseof_life]

"In class?" Yeul wondered. "Or on the island?"

Re: Talk.

[endsthegame]

If you thought the sullen routine was going to get Ender to lay off you, Cade, you really didn't know your family tree all that well.

"And why is that?" Ender asked.

Re: Talk.

[justbeingbay]

Once Ender seemed to be done talking to Cade, Bay slid over to sit near him. "You okay?" she asked, quietly as she could manage. "That looked intense."

Re: Talk.

[justbeingbay]

"It's going, I guess?" Bay said, trying to figure out how to sum everything up. "We had, um, a change in my family situation almost two years ago and since then ... there's kind of a lot of drama at home. Stuff just keeps on coming. It's maybe a little sad that here is calmer when it's not, y'know, trying to kill me."

Re: Talk.

[endsthegame]

"It's not sad," Ender replied, shaking his head. "I don't think there's much in this universe that can muck with us the way our families do."

Re: Talk.

[pulseof_life]

Yeul didn't know Bay or any of the girl's situation. "I'm glad," she offered, "that there is a place here that you can handle with some kind of equanimity."

Re: Talk.

[reven8e.livejournal.com]

"I know how you feel, and yeah, it makes you wonder how is this going to work out once school is over. At least I wonder that," Emily said.

Re: Talk.

[nothornlessrose.livejournal.com]

It took Cassidy some time to gather her thoughts and figure out how to express everything she had been thinking and feeling.

"This past year has been really hard in some ways," she finally started. "Besides the things the island has thrown at us, I've dealt with feelings I've never had before, like envy and jealousy." She sounded really, really confused about that, but it was also tinged with guilt. "I'm more than a little frightened of the year to come, though."

Re: Talk.

[endsthegame]

"Because it's the last?" Ender asked, flashing her a welcoming smile. It had been some time since he'd seen Cassidy - he certainly didn't mind doing so again.

Re: Talk.

[pulseof_life]

"Why are you frightened?" Yeul asked, keeping her voice gentle. "I mean, of course, you do not have to tell me." They did not know one another after all. "I meant... will being frightened change what you're expecting from the year?"

Re: Talk.

[reven8e.livejournal.com]

"Considering I come from a world without magic or super science or mutants or basically most things bizarre, I guess I'm just adapting as best and fast as I can," Emily said as she waved a hand. "In all honesty, half the time I just try not to think about what's going on."

Re: Talk.

[endsthegame]

"So what do you do the other half of the time?" Ender asked lightly, tilting his head with interest.

Re: Talk.

[pulseof_life]

"Does not thinking about it help?" Yeul asked curiously.

Re: Talk.

[3girls-1core.livejournal.com]

Sholeh had many, many answers to Mr. Wiggin's questions and many, many questions of her own. For once, though, she wasn't tripping over herself to say or ask any of them.

"I--I--I--" Sholeh wasn't entirely sure what she was even trying to say, and so stopped. "I've been here for a year now."

There. That seemed safest.

Re: Talk.

[endsthegame]

Ender nodded, affecting the kindest smile he had in his arsenal.

"Was it a good year?" he asked.