Practical Philosophy, Monday

[endsthegame]

There weren't just sandwiches out on the lawn today - there were sausage rolls too, and doughnuts, and bagels, and cake; Ender had put out a picnic blanket for the occasion, as well as a large standing umbrella that could be moved in if the rain kicked in.

And then there was the red kitten constantly trying to leap out of Ender's lap.

"I'm not particularly interested in having finals," Ender said. "They've always seemed fairly arbitrary to me. Instead, I'd like to keep fostering debate. But I'll throw the initiative to all of you this time. No topics, no pithy wise phrases to kick this off. Come up with an issue you feel is worthy of this class and throw it into the group. You're peers, whether you're aware of it or not: you can learn from each other as well as you can from me."

Comments

Re: Group Discussion - Talk

[genesishero]

Evan kind of sat on it for a little while, afraid that if he were to speak up and say it, people were going to think he was sucking up to the teacher or something. And then, after a minute of that, he gave in. Who cared what other people were going to think? People... people were going to think whatever they wanted, anyhow, and there wasn't anything he could do to change that.

"I just want to say thank you for this class," he said, and then bit his lip for a second before continuing. "I mean... It wasn't some big academic thing, no, but it was good to be able to sit down in a group and talk about things, and feel like all of our opinions and ideas and worries were listened to and respected."

Re: Group Discussion - Talk

[endsthegame]

"I'm glad to hear it," Ender said, his tone sincere. "If I had shown any of your thoughts disrespect, I'd hope you'd have called me on it."

Re: Group Discussion - Talk

[genesishero]

"I probably would have tried," Evan replied, smiling faintly. "But it wasn't just you, either. Everyone I talked to in this class was pretty great for that. I mean, we didn't all share everything, and not everyone participated in every conversation and that's fine. But even if there were things that people disagreed with, everyone was really good about making thoughtful arguments about things. Nobody just flat-out disregarded anyone's opinion out of hand. Or, if they did, they at least kept it to themselves."

Re: Group Discussion - Talk

[endsthegame]

Ender cast the entire group a quick smile at that one - even if it was interrupted by the quick lean forward he had to make to grab Ben before he leaped away.

"I think you've all earned the food today," he agreed. "You've been a very open and thoughtful group. You included, Evan."

Re: Group Discussion - Talk

[genesishero]

Evan gave his shoulders a little shrug, giving a smile at the kitten who was trying to make a bid for freedom.

"I just had questions I hoped somebody could answer," he replied. "And I didn't get all of the answers I wanted here, but I did get a lot of really useful advice. And sometimes... things just get easier to take, if you talk about them."

Re: Group Discussion - Talk

[endsthegame]

"Is there anything you wish we would've talked about more?" Ender asked.

He smoothed his fingers over the kitten's head, scratching him behind the ears - partly a bid to get him to stay put.

Re: Group Discussion - Talk

[genesishero]

"I don't know," Evan admitted. "A lot of it is stuff that I'm still not going to shout off the rooftops or anything. And the other weekend left me with more questions than answers, too. But I think I'm starting to figure out the differences between some of what I was told my whole life, and the way things actually are. I kind of... feel like maybe the world has the potential to actually make sense. I just have to keep digging for it."