Professor Skies
April 07, 2019 12:32 AM
Intermediates - Environmental Issues by Professor Skies
“Good morning,” Selina greeted the intermediate class. Today was clearly set to be an unusual lesson, as she had asked them to bring outdoor clothes, although they were meeting inside the Transfiguration classroom. This was for two reasons - it was going to be easier to teach the background to this class inside where there was a blackboard and people were not distracted by the novelty of being outdoors, and secondly it was still cold out there. Even with cloaks, even with warming charms, the grey January sky did not look welcoming and Selina was not keen to spend more time than necessary outside, although she was hopeful that a stretch outside the classroom would catch her students’ interest. As they arrived, she checked they had all remembered to bring their outdoor clothes, ready to summon any that had got left behind.“As ever, I would like to tie the work we are doing in class to the wider uses and limits of Transfiguration, both in how it relates to problem solving and potential careers. As we are working on many organic and plant-based Transfigurations in this unit, we’re also going to be looking at ecology, and therefore the role of the ecologist. Ecologists are people who study and preserve the environment,” she added, aware that several of the non-native speakers were currently in intermediate grade. The chalk helpfully wrote this on the board behind her.
“Several of the hedges outside have been damaged by winter storms. We’ll be going out shortly to look at repairing them. You will be using the elicio spell and creating bay laurel - Latin name Laurus nobilis,,” they should have been familiar enough with creating plants by now to put that information together and know it meant that the spell would be eclicio laurus nobilis. “You will be using twigs as a base material. You will all be working with the same materials today, as we don’t want to introduce materials other than twigs into the gardens, and the main point of today’s lesson is to get you thinking about the wider issues in working with a natural environment.
“I have copied a chapter from Transfiguring Your Garden for you to read for homework, and there are some attached questions to get you thinking about the benefits and limitations of what you have done today. Essentially, the question you will need to answer is whether you have done more than apply a simple cosmetic fix - the hedges will look better, back to their usual selves - after our work, but is there any environmental benefit to the leaves you have introduced? Do they have the functionality of the originals, or are they merely copies? We will continue to probe questions such as these throughout this unit, in order to see how magical people can aid the construction and preservation of the environment, as well as the limitations in attempting to replace what nature gives us with magic.
“Right, cloaks on and let’s get going. If any of you need extra warming charms on your garments, come and see me.”
With that, she led them outside, and towards the side that was nearest the school building, but the more distant end of it - it was the edge of the labyrinth’s hedge that was most vulnerable to the worst of the weather, and had taken a bit of beating during a storm over the holidays, leaving it with holes and tattered edges.
“Take some twigs,” she indicated a basket that she had rested on a low stone bench, “And spread out. Find yourself a hole and do your best to patch it.”
OOC - although the majority of the lesson is set inside, I thought it made most sense to post it out here. Usual class rules apply. 200 words minimum, with points for length, creativity and relevance. You may make up things your character has read about the subject or things they think might be true and speculate freely about the questions asked.
Subthreads: Philosophizing. by Nathaniel Mordue, Teppenpaw with Beau Tate, Pecari
I have linguistic issues. by Tatiana Vorontsova, Pecari with Connor Priory,Crotalus
I have issues all right by Ivy Brockert,Teppenpaw
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Professor Skies
Intermediates - Environmental Issues
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Professor Skies
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Tatiana Vorontsova, Pecari
April 14, 2019 4:40 PM
I have linguistic issues. by Tatiana Vorontsova, Pecari
Tatiana had been excited by the request to bring outside clothes to Transfiguration, deducing - correctly, as it turned out - that they were going to go outside. The sky was grey and the weather less than ideal, but after spending most of winter indoors one way or another, plus almost all of midterm indoors, she was eager for any occasion to go out and having Professor Skies' blessing upon the expedition was a cherry on top of that particular cake.Her English was not quite up to every word the professor used even now, but luckily, the unfamiliar words were close enough to their Russian equivalents that she could puzzle out the idea. Ecology, ekologiya; ecologist, ekolog. 'Environment' did not translate, but she knew that one and so passed it over. She was less sure why she was studying ecologists in Transfiguration class, but passed that over too as one of the things she would put together as she went along, or else ask one of her friends about after class.
Elicio was not the easiest spell for her, but neither was it the hardest. Laurus might be more difficult; this 'u' in English, sometimes it sounded like ю, but sometimes it was closer to в. Today, she thought it was almost between the two, which was not her favorite sound to try to get her mouth around, so she did not expect this spell to go particularly well for her, at least not the first fifteen times she attempted it. This was doubly unfortunate when she was working near plants which were in no small part composed of wooden stems, placing dry twigs among them. She should probably, she thought, take her time, and not work too close to other people.
Consequently, she found a spot and then looked at someone who took up a post near it. "You must know," she said, her fairly high, mellow voice contrasting with the comparative harshness and number of low tones which a Russian accent placed on the English words. "I may cause - not what I want. Spell is hard, and this spell has hard word in it." She said it as matter-of-factly as possible and hoped that any flush in her pale cheeks would be taken as flushing from the cold. It still embarrassed her when sounds tripped her up like this, however much she had improved in that area over the years, but she tried not to show it. "But you may stay, if you wish," she added, not wanting to seem unsociable or as if she wanted to be alone too much. She did not particularly want to, but she thought it was fair to give the warning, just in case anyone hadn't noticed over the years that she and pronunciation could, on some days, have a fraught relationship that sometimes resulted in undesired results. Sometimes it just turned something blue, sometimes there was fire. So it went.
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Tatiana Vorontsova, Pecari
I have linguistic issues.
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Tatiana Vorontsova, Pecari
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Connor Priory,Crotalus
May 22, 2019 11:38 PM
Do you need help? by Connor Priory,Crotalus
Connor had been so happy to go home for midterm, as he'd been pretty concerned about his parents and Lydia now that neither he nor Sophia nor even Bridget had been around. However, things were fine for the most part-Mom was always going to have back pain, Dad was always going to be anxious and Lydia was always going to be delicate-but nothing catastrophic had happened.So now he was back at school and in the near constant presence of Miss Peyton O'Malley. He'd seen her over midterm at parties and very much had enjoyed dancing with her but at Sonora, they did so many things together. They were both in Crotalus, the same classes and orchestra as well as both participating in the concert.
Connor didn't know how those whose significant others were at other schools did it. Not that Peyton was his significant other but he...wanted her to be. And if he didn't tell her how he felt, Beau or Sophia might.
The fifth year entered Transfiguration, prepared to meet the elements outdoors. Connor's curiosity was piqued by bringing winter clothes along. Generally, he enjoyed his classes and Transfiguration was fascinating. He listened as Professor Skies told them what they were going to be doing today.
Connor got his cloak and followed the others outside. Unlike others, he wasn't that bothered by the cold since he was from Wisconsin. He grabbed some twigs and found a place at one of the hedges. " Elicio laures nobilus " He said, making the appropriate wand movements, resulting in a few leaves.
He looked up from his work when he heard Tatiana Vorontosov speak to him. "That's perfectly understandable." Connor replied, unsure of why she was letting him know this. "Have you considered asking Professor Skies if you can use the Russian spells for this?"
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Connor Priory,Crotalus
Do you need help?
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Connor Priory,Crotalus
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Tatiana
May 30, 2019 3:22 PM
I think I can manage. by Tatiana
Tatiana started to grimace and tried to make the expression into an American smile. "I do not come here to use Russian," she said, sounding momentarily more like Katya than herself. She had quickly abandoned any intention of speaking only English at school, but this admittedly was partially because she had friends who had been willing to learn some Russian, with her learning some French and Chinese in return, until they were probably incomprehensible to most outsiders when they were talking together."I can do English spell," she added, pushed by pride at the assumption she couldn't manage. "I do all my classes four years. But some sounds, sometimes there is flames, when I have new spell." This was matter-of-fact again, stating an undeniable fact, however unpalatable it was to her. "And I have not Russian spell for this," she added as an afterthought. "I have to read more to find it." She looked at the Crotalus boy with mild curiosity. "You know spells in other language?" she asked.
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Tatiana
I think I can manage.
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Tatiana
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Connor
May 30, 2019 5:42 PM
Okay, just trying to help by Connor
It that seemed sort of unfair that Miss Vorontsov had sent to a school that wasn't in a language that she usually didn't speak. Connor knew that in potions, there were labels in all sorts of different languages to accomodate the foreign students so why should other subjects be different?However, her response made him think he was stepping on her toes a bit. "I apologize, Miss Vorontsov. I was just trying to help." The fifth year's natural instinct was to fix things and he was more used to Lydia, who was not at all an independent type. His sister was the sort who needed others to take care of her and not just because she was only seven years old. It just seemed to be a part of her personality type. The Crotalus knew that some people looked down on people like that but really, they should accept that not everyone was the strong bold type and it would be boring if everyone was. He understood that Sophia got annoyed with Lydia sometimes but the first year didn't object to the sort in general, she just didn't want to have to always be taking care of them.
"I mean, all spells are in Latin really, not English." Connor replied to her next question "So, I guess technically I do but no, I don't know the Russian one either." He continued. "I don't really speak any other languages. " Unless one considered the language of music as a language that qualified "My sister Sophia, she's a first year, in Aladren, is learning German though."
"You know," Connor stated. "Even native English speakers have to worry about getting the pronounciations just right. Why don't you practice the words before doing the spell? It really does help."
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Connor
Okay, just trying to help
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Connor
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Tatiana
May 30, 2019 8:03 PM
Thank you. by Tatiana
"Vorontsova," corrected Tatiana automatically, but bit her tongue before she added what she would have if one of her friends had messed up a noun: or do I look like boy today?Truthfully, she would not have minded if her body had, but it did not. Her robes were loose enough to hide what the hated undergarments did to make her look more like a girl, even with a belt at her waist, but her soft facial features, long lashes, and long, wavy brown hair were all very conventionally feminine in both of their cultures. Her jewelry did nothing, either, to detract from this; there were occasions when her father might wear a somewhat ornamented robe or belt or hat, but not a gold necklace with a pendant-brooch shaped like a flower made of iridescent petal-shaped pearls on it, or her diamond earrings, or her three gold chain bracelets.
"It does," she agreed about practice. "And I do. But there are mistakes sometimes anyway." Just a fact. Nothing to do about it. "Your sister learn German? It is good language. My mama, my sister, they also learn it. I learn English and some French, some Chinese." She had learned some of the French at home, but probably at least as much from Dorian, along with all her Chinese from Dorian. However, explaining all of that would involve a lot of talking in English and possibly being expected to invite someone she did not even know to Club of Tongues. She was not averse to gaining new friends and adding them to Club of Tongues, but she did want to meet them first.
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Tatiana
Thank you.
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Tatiana
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Connor
June 10, 2019 4:02 PM
You're welcome by Connor
"Oh, I'm sorry." Connor apologized. He knew absolutely nothing about Russian culture or naming conventions so he figured he might have just heard her name wrong. He could have sworn at some point the Pecari's name had been read off on role call as Tatiana Vorontsov. And he'd usually paid attention to role call so he could learn people's names. Connor generally felt that that was the least he could do, especially by this point in his Sonora tenure. It wasn't as if it were a large school and he felt that to not know everyone's name was disrespectful to them. True, he didn't know the names of some of the younger students but if he couldn't be bothered to learn the names of people he actually had class with, then that would make him incredibly self-absorbed."Yeah, we're from Wisconsin so a lot of people there have German heritage, so that's why Sophia picked it. Plus, everyone usually learns French or Spanish, so she wanted something different. She' s not really fluent at all though." replied Connor.
"Wow, that's impressive." Tatiana sure seemed to know an awful lot of languages. "That must be a real challenge. I mean, my sister is only learning the one. " To learn three languages in addition to the one you'd spoken growing up and to go to school in a language that wasn't your original one must have been really difficult. Connor couldn't imagine doing so, but then he didn't know any language other than English himself. German was Sophia's hobby while his was playing the trombone.
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Connor
You're welcome
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Connor
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Tatiana
June 10, 2019 5:41 PM
So, what now? by Tatiana
“Is okay,” said Tatiana, pacified by Connor’s willingness to apologize for his error with her name, “You are Amerikanets, yes? Girls, boys, family name is all same for you, yes? Not so for Russkii, Ruskaya.”Which seemed strange to her still, even after all these years, though the more she thought about it the more the American (And French) way made sense to her. They were, after all, one family, and had their patronymics and first names to clearly show the difference between girls and boys, so why have two last names too? It didn’t seem wholly necessary, even if it was traditional.
Of course, the Americans also seemed to manage without patronymics, but that was irrelevant. There were limits to how far Tatiana was prepared to even acknowledge the logic of things. The Americans had their traditions, too, and she would not lightly renounce hers, like Katya always seemed so prepared to do.
Tatiana’s American geography was not up to placing Wisconsin, but she understood enough words to understand most of her classmate’s point. “At home, most know French, German, both,” she offered. “Not much Spanish though - we speak not much Spanish at home.”
She half-shrugged at the comment about learning her languages being a challenge. “I start when small,” she said. “Girls normally not learn English, but I not so good for German, and I want to learn with my brother Grigori, so Papa lets me. My sister Katerina, though, she is better - English, German, French, all good,” she said proudly.
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Tatiana
So, what now?
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Tatiana
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Connor
June 13, 2019 7:18 PM
Um...doing the lesson? by Connor
"Oh." Connor replied. "That's interesting." In all honesty, he wasn't sure he would ever want to do that. Then he wouldn't have the same last names as his mother and sisters and future wife and daughters. He wasn' t sure he would like that but he wasn't going to insult another culture, especially to someone who was from said culture. However, he felt like he might as well ask. "So, do you just add an A for girls? Like would my sisters' last name be Priorya?" That really would sound strange to his ears. And Bridget's would be even stranger as would Peyton's.The Crotalus nodded. " We only speak English and learning other languages is sort of an...extra thing. My family tended to focus on academics as well as the classes we need to be proper young ladies and gentlemen. They wouldn't want to force anything extra on us unless we wanted to." Though Quidditch had been specifically discouraged based on his mom's injury. "So I decided to take up the trombone and Sophia decided to take up German. I've been doing it since I was young but she's only been learning German for about a year."
"That's really neat. " said Connor, impressed. "So how old is your brother? Is he coming here soon?" He didn't know of any other Vorontsovs (or Vortontsovas) that were in school besides the sister she mentioned whom he knew to be a second year. It did not occur to him that siblings would go to different schools and that Tatiana's brother might be older than she was. He also wondered why girls wouldn't learn English if they had decided to come to school in America-that seemed to be setting them up to fail- and why what languages one learned was based on gender rather than choice but those seemed like really rude questions to ask.
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Connor
Um...doing the lesson?
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Connor
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