It seemed these days that there were a hundred school of thoughts. The world did not come to an end, and the apparatus of the state was restored. Nonetheless, when the priests weren't working to support state function, there were recrimination among the priests. Debate raged daily on what ifs, who to blame, how they could change the path of history, whether it was even changeable, and so forth. Debate changed daily and recrimination begun anew as priests changed their minds, sometime arguing positions that they opposed vehemently yesterday. From these debate, new ideas and philosophy incubated. Some of the less busy priests went out and sought resources to make their ideas a reality.
Charlyes was one of them among many. He did not go out to preach or to debate his colleagues. Instead, he gathered a couple of children from the lower classes and just begun teaching, from any parents who didn't object the slightest. He had no idea what he was doing, and the result seemed dismal at first. Nonetheless he persisted as he analyzed his approach and developed theories on how children learned. It was all ad-hoc, unsystematic, with less rigors than he would like, but what mattered to him right now was progress.
Writing, reading, math, history, how to make arguments and how to debate in good faith and reach new conclusions. That was what he focused on. He didn't focused on the Scared Forest, or the various exotic lore, or the history of the world. Why bother? If anything, he was taught by the world around him that people are capable of a lot more than he thought possible, doing roles that their better had previously done, sometime even better. Thus he decided, the children will figure out what they want to learn when they grow older.
"Class dismissed!" Charyles announced with a smile once lunch came. Four hours of schooling with break was as much as these children or parents will tolerate.
"Awww!" the kids collectively whined. The debate on the nature of consciousness were lively to say the least. Even so, it didn't take long for their reluctance to become a rush toward the door. Once his student were gone, a woman entered the room.
"So this is the rumored classroom," the noblewoman said. By her look, she was currently in her thirties, of northern stock, elegant and splendid as any noble lady, but not dressed impractically so. A reflection on the time, when a woman could be recruited to command soldiers, or to enter the bureaucracy.
"Yes, how may I help you?" Charyles asked.
"Didn't they say it's useless to teach the underclass anything?" Somehow, her voice didn't seem to have any strength of conviction or surety. Nonetheless, the naysayers' arguments bounced in his head. Ridicule, contempt from nobles, even skepticism from fellow priests troubled him. Charyles swallowed his breath.
"On the contrary, I found the children quick sponges for knowledge, far faster learner than I hope to ever dreamed of," he said. "But then again, I wasn't a tutor before this."
"Is that so? How would they do any good? What makes them better than nobles?" she asked.
"It is not that I think they are better, but that the voices of the ruling nobles were too loud," he said. "The peasants and everyone else had the right idea. The nobles would be right too if they followed the behavior of their forefathers. But they didn't, because no one question them. No one is able to."
"Interesting!" she said. "Wether the children are bastard progencies of nobles or whether they are simply untapped potential of the underclass, I think your experiment has potential to do good in this world. I am wealthy, but not that wealthy. I will make a donation toward furnishing a school that is...more proper for you and your students." Who was this woman? Why did she come here. Had the idea of public education gained currency when he too busy coming up with education plans and experiments? He put aside these thoughts.
"With respect, my lady," he said, pausing. "I prefer to spend money on students' provision that they can learn. I find that the parents, even when pooling their bwyls, cannot afford adequate nutrition in this trying time." Of course, the state will provide, but sometime it's just plain unappetizing gruel.
The lady smiled. "I will do what I can."
