sweetlikesplenda wrote:
The following day Aaron would be seen in the market area of the Eastern Gate district perusing the workmen stalls and laborer sections. After discussing with a few master craftsmen he would return to the Pathfinder Hall with a canvas bag of quality Rose Wood, varnish and a new carving knife. When Quinn was not under another's tutelage or in his studies, he would present the contents of the bag to him. The Knight would also offer the boy fifty gold coins for his work upon completion, telling Quinn that he values good work and believes in paying for services.
DM Arrakeen wrote:The boy looks baffled, blinking nervously he glances between the bag with supplies and Aaron. Quinn's ears turn red when the Knight offers him money. He steps back a little, apologetic look on his face. "I'm not sure sir I can accept that. Mrs Sylvi wouldn't like that." He motions Andrew over. "Andrew asked if he could paint the pieces after we coat them with varnish."
The other boy looks in silence to Aaron. The knight would have to be blind to not notice the hopeful look on child's face.
sweetlikesplenda wrote:The Knight would gloss over the topic of payment, sensing the boys discomfort. Aaron offers a smile to Quinn, then a smile and nod to Andrew. “Of course. We would appreciate your talents. I am sure the pieces will look great enough for kings to play with. I will fetch some paint from the market when next I go out.” He would leave the bag of supplies with the two to discuss their plans for creating the game pieces.
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sweetlikesplenda wrote:Aaron would be a regular fixture in the Hall and with the children, taking up to three, four hour shifts of guarding the Hall as the children went about their studies, play time, meals, prayers, and other activities. As he would sit near the entrance on duty he would also be seen pouring over many books that he had brought with him. Next to him would be a paper, quill, and ink that he would use to take notes. Over the next several days the Knight would visit The Shelf of Many Books and any other book sellers in the city to gather copies of his history books he would be using for lessons with the children. He would pay for scribe work to make copies of any books that may be unavailable.
With an arm load of books, he would return to the Hall and prepare his first lessons with the children on topics of local history to Baldur's Gate and the surrounding region, given that would be the most likely to have an impact on their lives. A copy of the books used in the lesson would be available for each child. He would try to present the materials in a way that would capture the attention of the children, ending the first lesson with first-hand accounts of the battles he fought in during the Black Orc war from Doron Amar, to the Eastern Farmlands, and the Friendly Arm Inn and the heroics of the many that fought in the battle, some of which gave all. He would end each lesson a few moments early, taking a small amount of time to then discuss knightly virtues. Focusing on kindness to others, chivalry, honesty, and sacrifice, at first.
Quinn, Mili, Andrew and Danic sit in silence during the lesson, listening with interest. Some of them even can be seen making some notes.
During the talk about virtues, Andrew can't help himself and starts sketching some of the chess pieces, designs for them. They would look similar to the army of knights.
Timmy, not due to lack of interest but most likely to his overly active nature, starts to fidget, his feet wriggling about half a candlemark into the lesson. The little boy frowns when Aaron speaks about wars and battles. At times it seems like he is about to dart away from his chair... Stern look from Sylvi keeps him in place however.
It's hard to say when it comes to Amanda if the child is paying any attention or not. She doesn't take notes and her gaze travels around the room nervously from time to time. If Silvyr is around she sits closer to him than to other children. If not she sits with Mili, looking to the older girl's notes on occasion.
sweetlikesplenda wrote:As he went about his lesson, given his understanding of each child after observing them now for some time, he would call on those he felt would be most comfortable with the attention. He would test this by calling on Amanda early on to see how she reacted. If the reaction was poor, he would refrain from putting attention on her for the remainder of the lesson.
DM Arrakeen wrote:Amanda looks to Aaron, pulling at the red cord Ameris has given her but doesn't say a word, looking down to her book.
sweetlikesplenda wrote:Taking similar action with Quinn, given his quiet nature.
DM Arrakeen wrote:Quin answers any questions if asked, reads out loud if asked as well. His reading is more or less fluent. He only struggles with difficult words he has never seen before.
sweetlikesplenda wrote:
The other four he would keep an eye on, to ensure no one was out of line, over-active or picked on others for lack of knowledge or reading ability. For good behavior or volunteering to read or participate in the lesson, a small sweet would be granted. As he went about the lesson he would also take notes on each child's reading comprehension.
During the lesson Sylvi's attention remains mostly on Timmy who barely reads. She helps him with the tasks, simplifying excerpts from the book provided by Aaron.
Andrew's reading is slightly slower than Quinn's and Mili's but he doesn't struggle with more difficult words due to a slower pace. At some point he asks the Knight "Sir, are there any books with pictures showing battles?"
Mili volunteers to read out loud, perhaps for the sake of Timmy or because she enjoys it. She refuses sweets suggesting that perhaps apples would be better.
Dannic is definitely on his best behavior, he refrains however from reading out loud or sharing his notes. Judging from his answers if asked any question he has a solid understanding of what the lesson was about.
Amanda at this point looks to Sylvi mumbling a question and when the caretaker nods the skittish child wanders off, picks another book from those available and soon could be seen in her comfort spot reading quietly to Silvyr.
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sweetlikesplenda wrote:Aaron takes his own notes of each of the children's reactions to the lesson plans and structure, reading abilities, willingness to participate and attention. After the lesson, he would approach Sylvi and quietly inquire about Amanda.
"Given Amanda's nature I assumed some of the topics may have been either difficult for her or not within her sphere of interest. I noted that she seemed a bit uncomfortable in the classroom setting, which I was prepared for. Do you know if the topics were off-putting for her or if she was just not comfortable in the situation overall?" Quickly he would add, "If there are other topics that she might be more receptive towards I would be happy to branch out and speak on. I know she will likely have a difficult time participating or reading out loud, but I would love to discuss things that may interest her more."
DM Arrakeen wrote:Sylvi waits patiently for the Knight to be done, a small frown visible on her face. "Amanda will be uncomfortable as long as she remains in a group setting. That is unavoidable. It has nothing to do with the subjects of lessons." Aging teacher and caretaker shrugs gently, putting some of children's homework into a proper folder. "Let her work independently on the assignments. Bear in mind that she has never turned in any homework that required her to write something down. Forcing her has not worked in the past so for the time being we let her be." Sylvi looks across the room to Amanda for a moment then regards Aaron "I'm not sure what may be of interest to her. This child is very taciturn and shy that it's hard to tell."
sweetlikesplenda wrote:As they spoke he would try to look over to see what type or the title of the book the young girl was reading to Silvyr.
DM Arrakeen wrote:It is the book that the Mystran priestess brought in some time ago.
sweetlikesplenda wrote:The young Knight would ponder a moment before replying. "I just feel poorly if I cannot tailor lessons to each of the children. Not everyone learns in the same manner, as I am certain you know. It just causes my heart to ache not to be able to make an impact on everyone. I suppose that may be due to this being my first experience teaching in a classroom setting. I do not want to push her away from the lessons, nor make her uncomfortable, but I truly wish to help engage with her. Though, it may be best to just proceed with the lessons and allow her space to react as she will."
DM Arrakeen wrote:Sylvi smiles knowingly "It is every teacher's ache sir. You will never be able to tailor lessons to each and every child unless you teach them separately. And this cannot be done here. Nor would it be really practical." Aging teaches sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose in thought "Imagine how this will change once the rest of charges arrive. You won't be able to tailor you lessons as much as you would want. What it goes down to is having a good enough syllabus that covers basics and some options for those more interested or gifted students. We don't have a real school, but we must try to offer these children at least a minimum and make sure they learn how to read, write and count. Everything above that is already a great success." Sylvi looks to Aaron in a very mentor-like manner "You have great intentions sir, but don't lose sight of limitations we are facing."
sweetlikesplenda wrote:With a soft sigh of resignation, he would watch the remaining children file out of the classroom for their free time. Then collect his class supplies and exit as well.
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sweetlikesplenda wrote:When the children had free time, and Aaron was not occupied with other duties he would take time to approach Timmy and try to spark a conversation. He had noted during class that the boy struggled with reading and wanted to do what he could to help the boy, in addition to any other reading aid the children received.
DM Arrakeen wrote:Whenever Telia was present within the wall of Pathfinder Hall and not busy with a task that wold prevent her from having Timmy around, the little boy would seem almost permanently attached to sorceress sleeve.
If left to his own devices Timmy can be found drawing in the little journal given to him by Telia, playing with Andrew or watching Quinn.
When Aaron approaches the little rascal looks up, slightly wide-eyed and a little bit more fidgety than usual. A smile breaks first then he grins to the Knight. Timmy can be easily tricked into a conversation but the moment it touches the topic of reading or writing he grows gradually more agitated and annoyed.
sweetlikesplenda wrote:From his observations and discussions with others that interacted regularly with the children, he would have discovered the boy's rambunctious, but imaginative side. After his first lessons with the children, and hearing Andrew's question regarding books with more pictures, Aaron would have visited the Book of Many Shelves again for additional books with pictures that depicted the story being written on, for use by the children in his classes. The Knight would also look for a few beginner books with wild stories and fairy tales that have pictures. He would pick fanciful and brightly colored books, so that, he hoped, it would attract the child's attention. Aaron would ask Timmy if he would like to read the books with him.
DM Arrakeen wrote:Timmy reacts to the suggestion with a certain amount of caution. He curiously explores the colorful book given to him but asks Aaron to read first.
sweetlikesplenda wrote:Aaron would smile as Timmy asks him to start the reading off. Sitting next to the boy, he would place his finger along the line of text as he read each word slowly. He would stop if the boy had questions about the words or their meanings. Using the pictures in the book he would try to help Timmy to imagine the descriptive words associated with the pictures as well as to read them. He would stop reading at times and gently encourage Timmy to pick up, helping him with the words if he so chose to read.
DM Arrakeen wrote:Timmy's eyes follow Aaron's finger underlying the script in the book. Boy's eyes dartback and forth between the Knight and the text. He listens intently to the story, asking questions here and there then frowning lightly as replies and explanations are given. As long as Timmy is interested in the content of the book his fidgeting subsides and he appears genuinely in the moment and not lost in his own head.
When it's his turn to read Timmy starts wriggle about uncomfortably. He obediently, however, tries to read but stammers most of the times where the word has more than one syllable or letters looking similar. He keeps on mixing up b with d and p or a with e and m with n.
Timmy's patience quickly wears off and the little boy turns his pouty, filled with annoyence face to Aaron. "Reading is stupid! I hate it." Child pushes the book over to the Knight and runs off cradling the journal to his chest.
sweetlikesplenda wrote:With another sigh of resignation, the Knight would push himself up to stand, make his way to Timmy's bed and set the books there for the child to return to.
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sweetlikesplenda wrote:At times, while not during his lectures, that he noticed Andrew creating designs for the chess pieces, Aaron would sit nearby and watch the boy work, if the child would allow him. If so, he would give compliments on the designs being created, asking him how he chose how to sketch for each piece.
DM Arrakeen wrote:"I thought of Simon, the Lion, and the name of this place." Andrew says and casts a glance to his notebook where the designs are visible. "All the pieces will be lions, just looking different depending on the role they have to play on the chess board."
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sweetlikesplenda wrote:With the addition of the thirty children to the Pathfinder Hall, Aaron would be seen gathering additional supplies for his class from the generous donations of the Darius Holding Company. His next few classes would focus on local government, laws, technology advancements achieved in the region, as well as notable people and locations (the establishment of the White Mask Theater, the building of the Palace, establishment of many of the temples). He would again finish his lesson with some time to discuss Knightly virtues including charity, cleanliness, and loyalty.