Half a year had passed since Serah had become the children's “teacher." At first, the classroom was just was just chairs lined up in an open area, but Gadot build a simple arbor in between his work.
Until then, they had to quickly run inside that place for storing materials when it rained, but ever since they got a roof over their heads, they stopped having to stop classes.
P70-71
Even so, it was just a roof and some supports, so it was tough in the winter. By the time time the end of summer rolled around, new construction and repairs to homes in the settlement had been finished to a degree, Gadot took up remodeling the arbor. It was right before winter was about to arrive when the small building with just one classroom, but worthy of being called a schoolhouse had been completed.
It was Yuj who put up window curtains that the children would be happy with. Maqui installed a bell for indicating the starting and ending of classes and fitted a large clock that could be seen even from far away.
The villagers would take turns patrolling the perimeter of the schoolhouse while they were working the fields. Thanks to that, there had been no monster attacks during classes.
Although, it was not that monsters didn't appear at all. There had been spiceacilians caught in the traps set up by the beach and garchimacera stuck in the nets set up between the trees. Even so, the people's lives had mostly been peaceful and the village had been developing smoothly.
Serah herself too was in much higher spirits in comparison to half a year ago. Before, she realized that even when she was smiling, part of her was straining. Now, she would realize she was laughing and getting mad along with the children. It was a school she had started because the children needed it, but perhaps it was Serah that needed it more than anyone else.
The only thing that wasn't going well was studying itself. Rather than sitting behind a desk, children were people who wanted to play outside. Even the children who would pay attention to classes at the beginning out of curiosity had begun to grow gradually more restless as the novelty of it started to wear off.
The most troublesome of all were high school aged boys. Unlike in lower grades where there was just easy mathematics or reading and writing, studies became harder with each passing grade level.
For example, for math problems geared towards younger children, you could draw examples from the ridging in the fields or harvested vegetables to explain them, but what was taught to the older children was more mathematical and abstract theories. They're hard to understand and you inevitably think they're boring.
Above all, these children who are around the age where they know things to a certain extent have a way with words. The standard “What use do we have for this?” type of questions were thrown even at Serah.
“Studying is an exercise of the mind as well as a form of practice. Isn't practicing important in hunting or sports, too? You don't just suddenly become able to do difficult things, do you?”
“School studies are a thinking exercise, there is no point in seeking the significance of that in itself” was her sister's mantra. “It's practice so of course you would think there's no point in it,” she had said. When she was small, she would be lectured in such a way every time she thought studying was a pain.
Though, at that time words like "thinking exercises" or "significance" were difficult for Serah and she really only sat behind her desk because it was scary when her sister got angry. She didn't understand the meaning of those words until a long time later. And, after getting into the idea of “thinking exercises” at that time, Serah began to love studying and was labeled a star pupil.
“If you know how to add, subtract, multiply and divide that should be enough. We don't need anything harder than that!”
P72-73
The one who argued this was the eldest boy called Reto. He was a leader among the children, strong and had even been taken by his father to go help out with exterminating monsters. He probably felt proud of the fact that he could be useful to the village without being any good at studying. He was trying to somehow justify his dislike for studying.
“Something like weeding is a pain while you're doing it too, right? It just makes the fields look nice and you don't know if it'll do any good at the time, either. But, when it's time to harvest, the crops harvested from a properly weeded field are large and juicy, aren't they? Studying is the same thing. You don't know until later and when the harvest rolls around it's too late to be regretting that you didn't weed the fields properly.”
“Well, I'm asking what good it would be, though. Also, when do you mean by ‘when the time comes'?”
“Okay, let's make this homework for you and me, Reto. Do you really only need to know how to add, subtract, multiply and divide? Is it ok to be an adult who only knows these things? Think hard about these things one more time. I'll think of the the answers once more, too.”
“Let's leave this at that,” said Serah who proceeded to resume class. Children like this also had the objective of disrupting class with other subjects of discussion.
The question of whether studying in school was useful or not has long existed, but making a child who hated studying understand is unexpectedly difficult. This is especially true here in Gran Pulse. it's because leading a life of agriculture and exterminating monsters led the adults themselves too to be skeptical of studies that didn't bring about actual profit.
Even Serah knew that for all families, helping out adults was the number one priority and there was a tendency for homework from school to be sidelined. That's why she wanted people to concentrate and study if even for just a short time.
“This sure is hard...”
She murmured despite herself because he couldn't get the thought out of his head.
“What's hard?”
Inquired Lebreau as she flipped the saucepan.
“Oh, everything. Like, why do people have to study? Or what use is studying at school, and stuff,”
“My my, no matter when or where, the bad kids still say the same thing. You should tell them to stop quibbling and hit ‘em over their heads.”
“Maybe”
Serah nodded and continued peeling the vegetables. The reason why Serah didn't use a method as simple as hitting someone over their head was probably because she herself wanted to understand too.
I'm looking for an answer that is different from what Light taught me. Since, if you keep going by what she told me then you'd always just be a student. I bet what she was talking about was for a “thinking exercise” like this. It was for using your own head to think and finding your own answers.
P74-75
Hey, Light. If I can do that then I guess I can graduate from being your student and become a fully fledged teacher, right?
“Good luck,” she thought she heard her sister's voice saying. Serah was taken aback, nearly letting the knife drop from her hand. She instinctively looked around the kitchen, but of course only her and Lebreau was there.
“Lebreau, the voice just now...”
“What about a voice?”
Lebreau turned around dubiously. That answer was enough.
“It's nothing. Nevermind.”
I'm just hearing things. I probably heard that sort of a voice because I wanted to be cheered on. “I've got to get a hold of myself,” Serah told herself and fixed her grip on the knife.
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