Post by nala on Aug 15, 2012 9:24:40 GMT -5
[/color] Randomly, her eyes went to the apple pie still on her desk and her need to eat a piece was almost overwhelming. Almost. Maybe she'd eat a piece when Nell left...if Nell was leaving it behind. She hoped she was. "But, um,"[/color] she said, bringing her focus back to the topic at hand. "You know, an open mind goes a long way, and people are always willing to teach you and show you whatever you need or want to know. And every custom and belief can be traced back for it to make sense -- you just have to want to go back that far."[/color] Truthfully, as the generations got younger, the more they blended together, mostly due to the technology of the world. Teenagers still grew up a little too fast, still liked to go out with friends and party -- it wasn't until you hit the more elderly generation where the so-called 'old fashioned' ideals came into play.It was a little sad, Nala thought, just how happy she was to actively talk about all of this to someone. When Nell had first talked to her about the assignment, she thought it would be a generic run-of-the-mill interview, something that just required a minimum amount of effort and thinking, but given by just how much Nala was rambling, either she had drastically underestimated the type of interview this would be or just hadn't had anyone to talk to about history for a long time (though with good reason -- Nala didn't know many people who would sit down and listen to her blather on). But, she had to hand it to Nell -- if it weren't for the thought out and very good questions Nell was asking, Nala wouldn't be talking half as much. They'd probably still be talking about the snail. This next question, though, was one she got a lot, just maybe never as eloquently put -- why would you study about Poland, you're not even from there? "It was simultaneously frustrating and enlightening,"Nala began. "It was a challenge, definitely, and because I don't have any ties to the country at all, it was harder to put things into perspective at first. I'm sure I could have related to the elder generation's way of thinking better if, say, my grandmother was Polish, but that's clearly not the case."
That question done, Nala decided to cave in and cut herself another piece of pie, even though she felt sort of gross doing so. Two pieces was understandable -- three pieces was just a little mind boggling. But she did enjoy her sweets, and she long since learned not to rely too much on the offerings of Logan's home ec class -- they were pretty hit and miss. "Oh, yeah, electives are wonderful things. It's never in the required courses you find your calling, it's all in the electives."[/color] Nala agreed, thinking back to her own path. Electives were a choice, after all, and people would always choose what they gravitated towards on an interest level. "It'd be really nice to get more history electives in the curriculum, though, even if it were just the basics."[/color] Famous assassinations, important Canadian wars, genocide -- you know, the usual. "Ooooh...that's a good one."[/color] Seriously, Nala was more and more impressed with the stuff that Nell was asking her. This one stumped her a little, though, because she never set out to directly inspire anybody, but she supposed she could give it a try...? "Truthfully? It's all about interest. I can't force anyone to like what we learn in here, but if I could just...impress them enough to find something they care about and are drawn to, then I fully support it. And it can be about anything -- honestly, the most fulfilling thing about being a teacher is when I get a paper and in it, there are things I didn't even know."[/color] All right, well, she wasn't sure if that was inspiring, but it was the truth. Teaching and learning wasn't and will never be a limited one way street, after all, and everyone always had something more to learn. Still, though. There goes her Denzel Washington ala "Remember the Titans" moment. "Wow, that was really bad. Don't put that in there."[/color]
[ THEY WON'T EEEEEEEEEND D8 ][/justify][/color][/font][/blockquote][/blockquote]