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 Posted: Fri Jul 21, 2017 5:03 pm
Although it was summer vacation for most Romano's Constitutional Haven students, that didn't mean the teachers were completely free to do as they pleased. There were summer classes to oversee and next semester curriculum to come up with or make changes to. However, Tress did feel better without so many students running around causing trouble or otherwise being unruly.
She really disliked children and high school teenagers were the very lowest level of maturity she could professionally tolerate. Furthermore, the young woman was only a part-timer, working as an assistant and substitute teacher when needed because her other job involved working at her parents' clothing store as a part-time store clerk. She couldn't imagine how full-time teachers managed their workloads and maintaining their patience with their rebellious, hormonal charges.
Granted, if anyone would know how to run a high school, Tress figured it would have been the Negaverse,which was one reason she had applied to Romano's in the first place. She believed they were bound to have well-structured schedules and organized systems for the students to learn discipline, diligence, and respect at a young age. Of course some things were unavoidable because a high school was a high school and teens would be teens, but for the most part, the tawny-haired woman found the job reasonable enough.
She really wondered how other staff held up, though. How did Captains and Generals who were used to dealing with war situations and commanding combat-ready soldiers handle a class of ill-behaved kids? Were the students only admitted if they had a good track record regarding grades and behavior? Did they have extreme enforcement of dire consequences for insubordination? Unfortunately, Tress herself hadn't doled out enough punishments herself to know how it worked because her job had mostly just consisted of grading so far. For this she was grateful because it meant she wasn't really required to interact with the students themselves.
For the teachers that did, though...how did they stand it? Did they actually enjoy it? Were they masochists? She kept wondering how it was possible. Sitting in the staff break room one day, Tress finally decided to ask someone. Finishing up the last few of her notes on a written notepad, she closed it and reached for a cup of tea, surveying a young woman not much older than herself who also worked as staff at Romano's.
Tress had seen the lady often in passing and noted that they seemed to have a similar taste in clothing and hair styles. Both of them wore their hair short and practical with pixie cuts and their fashion sense seemed more conservative. The difference was that this gray-haired woman in her twenties seemed to be a full-fledged teacher rather than a substitute or assistant like Tress.
If they had similar likes, was it possible they had similar dislikes too, or did their similarities end at their appearances? Taking a sip of her drink, the tawny-haired part-timer set down the cup and asked, "Excuse me, but you're a proper teacher here, aren't you? What is it you teach?"Kapoodles ((Hope this is okay! As usual, please let me know if there's anything I need to change! wink ))
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Posted: Sat Aug 26, 2017 3:10 pm
It was suffice to say that Sybil was exhausted. As much as her military history and general fitness would say she would be up to all the tasks that the Negaverse put on her, she really wasn't. Teaching, she could to. She could ramble on and on and on endless about the old military tactics that her class taught alongside running drills for the ROTC cadets, but going out every single night and draining to meet some 'quota' that she had no idea how these people tracked was insane to her. Hell, most nights had her lacking any energy at all to do anything more than scribble out a vague outline for the next class and then conk out on her couch.
Even summertime didn't bring a break, for these students were not permitted to slack off during the normal break time. Every morning she'd wake up early to make it to the campus, and run the kids around and around, having them do their drills before leaving them be for the day... But school was starting soon enough too for her, so there was no real time to think.
Except now. Right now was the highlight of her day, he beloved coffee break and quiet time in the teacher's lounge. The steaming dark liquid brought just a bit of peace of mind while she graded a few papers here and there, not thinking of anything else as her red pen put x after x after x on one of her less studious student's papers. Sybil was on auto-pilot by the time she heard someone address her, and she looked up, slightly startled at the voice. Oh... she had seen this woman around here every now and then, but wasn't entirely sure who she was...
"I am.. I'm the Military History Teacher and the Commander of the ROTC, Sybil Jallaford. What is your name? And what do you teach here?"
Kitomyx sorry about the short tag! Trying to get my muse back for her!
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Posted: Sun Aug 27, 2017 7:42 pm
Tress dipped her head politely. "An honor to meet you, Miss Jallaford. My name is Tress Gervene. I don't teach anything in particular, to be truthful. I'm a substitute and assistant teacher whenever and for whatever I am needed. I didn't think I had what it took to be a full-time teacher which was why I wondered how you did it." She tilted her head thoughtfully, tapping her pencil against her notepad. "The Military History Teacher...I see. And Commander of the ROTC. As commander, I can understand how you would be able to easily administer discipline to unruly students...but I imagine you teach history in a classroom setting. How do you deal with them there?"
Considering the difference of environments, she thought aloud, "Students forced to sit in seats seem like they have less of an outlet for their energy and the more restless ones tend to get bored and misbehave more easily. Do these teenagers take you seriously, young as you are?" The woman adjusted her glasses on the bridge of her nose. "What do you do to get them to pay attention? Do you punish insubordination? Or perhaps you reward good behavior." Tress pressed the fingertips of one hand to her temples to message them and closed her eyes. "It's a wonder the Negaverse sees anything in some of these children..."
Eventually she opened her eyes again and got up. The fragrance of Sybil's cup of coffee had tempted her enough to desire her own. "Miss Jallaford, why did you decide to work here in the first place? Were you...stationed here, or was it a position you chose?" She poured the hot beverage from the coffee pot into a styrofoam cup before replacing the pot and putting the cup to her lips. "And why a teacher of all things? Did you choose the subject you teach?"Kapoodles ((No worries! XD Doesn't seem short to me!))
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Posted: Mon Oct 16, 2017 9:03 am
"Just Sybil is fine. No need for formalities right now." Honestly, she would have rather the woman had left her alone. But... With all the questions she spewed out at once, and all the curiosities she seemed to ponder, it seemed like she wasn't going to leave any time soon. How unfortunate for her...
"You ask alot of questions for first thing in the morning." Sybil finally spoke up, agitation in her voice masked by the standard politeness one professional would give to another. She was more than tempted to tell the girl to ******** off and out of here if she had such a hard time dealing with the students, but she did manage to have some self control, despite most of her attitude towards things. An small sip of her coffee was enough to calm and collect her thoughts before responding.
"You can't force anyone to learn. You can't make them sit down and do the work or learn about what is happening in the world, what HAS happened unless they care. The best way to answer that question is teach them what they want to know. If they have questions, don't dismiss them, find out. Whether or not they take me seriously is their prerogative. If they don't, then even in the classroom, we have the authority to make them run laps. This is a military school after all. Discipline comes as easy as breathing here. Most of the students aren't horrible though, so there's that. You must think them as kindergartners, needing outlets for energy. They aren't children anymore." To Sybil, it seemed the woman didn't really know what she was doing, given how much trouble she seemed to express having with the kids. "You wouldn't know how to handle the kids because you are a sub. They see you maybe once or twice a year and then you're gone. What reason do they have to respect you? There's no time to create that bond that most teachers have with their students, you're like some random foreign entity that has invaded a safe place."
She shrugged after a moment, putting her red pen down to better focus on the woman who seemed to walk away.
"Ex-military here. I chose here because I needed the money. And hell, it's what I know. It's that bit of structure that we all need more of in our lives that drew me in. Joining the Negaverse was just part of the deal. With the pay, I don't think it's all that bad, really. Why are you here if it's so tedious to teach? You could do something else."
Kitomyx sorry about the short tag! Trying to get my muse back for her!
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Posted: Tue Nov 14, 2017 3:05 pm
Tress arched a quizzical brow at the request to drop the formalities, not quite understanding the reason. However, she eventually concluded that perhaps because 'Miss Jallaford' may have been how her students addressed her, she might have preferred to go by her more casual first name when not teaching.
"I wasn't aware that the morning was a less appropriate time to ask questions than any other," she answered Sybil with the same professional, if somewhat cold, politeness that she had been addressed with. Making a faintly-displeased face at the cup of coffee she had sipped, Tress finished the rest of it quickly so she could return to and rinse out her mouth with the cup of tea she had left on the table. It seemed she and Sybil had as many differences in tastes as they had similarities.
The tawny-haired woman returned to her chair and sat as she contemplated her co-worker's statements. They seemed to make a decent amount of sense. Tress was about to protest the comment about regarding students not taking their teacher seriously, but was promptly appeased with the information she was given about Sybil using indoor laps as a form of punishment for disrespect.
Then, however, the gray-haired woman seemed to draw her own conclusions about Tress' opinions. "At times, I'll admit, I have difficulty distinguishing their behavior from that of kindergartners," she conceded, "but despite the fact that you say they aren't children, it sounds as though you still treat them that way. I noticed you call them 'kids' and suggest that they require positive bonds in order to respect someone. Among adults, especially in the military, bonds are not required to expect respect." She turned her bright green eyes on Sybil's gray ones.
"I must say, I find it rather rude of you on two accounts to accuse me of not knowing how to handle students. One is that you have yet to actually observe how I deal with them because I have not yet substituted as a teacher; only graded papers as teaching assistant. The second is your implication that your ideas of my imagined shortcomings lie in my occupation as a substitute teacher. Disregarding me, I find that extremely disrespectful to the countless competent, effective, efficient substitutes not just at Romano's, but everywhere. Just because you require a bond to earn respect from your students does not mean that everyone does. In example, military officers don't seem to require a bond with their superiors in order to show them respect. I would have thought someone of ex-military might have known and understood this."
Tress sipped steadily at her tea. "I would appreciate it if you didn’t impose your assumptions on me," the assistant teacher stated, her tone dour. "I did not once claim that it was tedious to teach. I merely voiced what I believed might have been difficulties to overcome as a teacher and asked you how you dealt with them. Thank you for your feedback." She placed her cup down, having completely drained it of her beverage. "For your information, however, I do do something else aside from assistant and substitute teaching. I happen to work as a shop clerk at a clothing store. My time and patience are both limited, but the Negaverse pays well and I was curious as to how they would run a school."
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Posted: Mon Nov 20, 2017 8:15 am
"While it isn't inappropriate, some people just aren't morning people. I am not one of them and I rather not chat with people I don't know when I'm still here doing work. Perhaps if we had more in common, or I actually was more awake, then maybe I'd be more polite and reasonable. But I'm not, and you are clearly just butting in on my work with questions you should truly ask the person you 'assist', so excuse me if I seem irritated. I clearly am." That said, Sybil neatly gathered her papers, rising to to her feet.
"The difference between you and I, is that while I am a military woman, and I know respect, I do not give it freely, especially not to someone who talks too much already. What do you have to say to yourself? Did you serve? Did you go out in the field and fight? Most likely not. You probably just whined about life while spending all of your own parent's money to push you through school then complained when you finally were forced to get a job. Go back to your store, or grading whatever teacher who needs help, I do not have time for you in the least."
It was best that Sybil left anyway. Already in an irritable mood did not bode well for her students, and she wanted to have adequate time to calm her nerves before having to work with them. She prided herself in being fair and friendly towards her students, but this woman? No, she could go straight to hell.
"Have a good day, Miss Gervene. And please, don't go around ruining anyone else's coffee with your sour disposition. You don't need to be friendly, and if you choose not to, keep your mouth shut before someone here decides to shut it for you. It's not a normal school after all. These generals are not afraid to lay someone who doesn't belong here down low." Without another word, she grabbed her mug of coffee and left the break room. There was still plenty of time to calm down. Maybe she'd join her students in a quick warm-up run later. She could do with burning off some of this energy she had.
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Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2017 12:32 pm
Well, even if a liking of coffee wasn't included, it seemed that the two young women seemed to have more in common other than tastes in clothing, hairstyles, and age after all. Neither seemed to enjoy being very sociable, though it was possible that Sybil simply wasn't in the best of moods right at that moment. Alternatively, instead of not being sociable in general, it could have been Tress in particular who rubbed the gray-haired woman the wrong way.
Whatever the case, neither seemed inclined to mince their words, speaking their minds without reserve. Perhaps, like Tress, Sybil would not have spoken so freely in the presence of a superior, but she was under no illusions that the green-eyed woman was anything close. Likewise, the assistant teacher deduced that Sybil was probably fairly low on the Negaverse totem pole if she had only joined because it had been a condition for her employment at Romano's.
Tress might have considered it a waste of time to have attempted speaking to Sybil at all but for the fact that she had gained some information if not rapport. Even so, the next time she sought knowledge, she made a note to try to find a higher-ranking officer as well as, perhaps, someone who seemed less contemptuous upon being asked questions. It made her wonder if Sybil answered questions asked by her students in a similar manner or if, as a teacher, she was more obliging.
As Sybil continued to make assumptions about Tress, the British woman found it ironic that the history teacher accused her of talking too much while she herself was going on and on about an imaginary background she presumed Tress to have. The assistant teacher didn't see the relevance, so she simply ignored it. It would have been a waste of time to try to argue or correct the other when she seemed so completely convinced she was right.
It almost made her smile at how completely opposite of her situation Sybil's fantasy was - almost. But Tress was more interested in the analysis of her own personality. Sour? I wonder what she thought was sour about my disposition, she contemplated, though reasoned that if the gray-haired woman's judgement of being talkative and guesses at peoples' history or motivations was anything to go by, 'sour' probably wasn't an accurate depiction of how others saw her. It simply seemed to be more acts of projection, perhaps stemming from Sybil's irritable morning attitude.
Pondering whether Sybil's wish of a 'good day' and her formal use of 'Miss Gervene' were examples of sarcastic derision. After all, she had asked Tress herself to drop the formalities and since such formalities were a sign of respect, the tawny-haired young woman couldn't understand why else Sybil might have used them. Especially when she had just made it so clear that she didn't respect her.
Closing her eyes, Tress sighed and rubbed her temples, adjusting her glasses on the bridge of her nose. And here I had hoped at least the adults I worked with would be competent. Clearly I need to move up the ranks before the unambitious ones infect me with their complacency…
Speaking of complacency, she had work to do. The assistant teacher finished cleaning up after herself and returned to her desk for more papers to grade.
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