AMICITAS FLIGHT THREE – MISSION DAY 351
ARES III SOL 346
“A-HA!”
Spitfire jabbed her hoof at the computer screen. “Starlight always talk ‘need to know how to talk write proper.’ So humans understand. But here a human writer, writes bad. On purpose!”
They were midway through Guards! Guards! On the screen, Watch Captain Samuel Vimes had engaged in the traditional police procedural device of writing down facts in the hopes of making a connection. But since the book was a fantasy book and involved a dragon that appeared and disappeared by magic, the policeman’s notes were written in a bad Ye Olde Langueuage. (Though, admittedly, not using any actual bad language.)
“Look! Look at this! He even can’t find word! ‘I-Time: The drag-gone was not a Mechanical devize, yettie surely no wiz-zard has the power to create a beas-tee of that mag- mag—magnight- size.’ What he trying say anyway?”
“Magnitude,” Starlight Glimmer muttered. When that got a blank look, she said in Equestrian, “Magnitude.”
“Oh. I don’t use that word even in Equestrian, let alone English.” Spitfire shrugged and shifted back to English and back to her point. “This proves you don’t need perfect English! Not when humans get it wrong!”
“Spitfire,” Cherry Berry said quietly, “do you ever read the Wonderbolt-“ she used the Equestrian name- “-records from about, oh, four hundred years ago?”
“Yes! When I must!” Spitfire replied. “Annoying! Ponies not know spelling then! Words all… weird! Make me nuts reading…” The light dawned, and Spitfire looked down to the computer screen, then back at Cherry Berry. Borrowing a phrase she’d heard Mark use several times, she said, “I see what you did there.”
“Oh, it’s better than that,” Starlight Glimmer said. “The character writing those notes grew up poor and on the streets in a place with no public education, not even a one-room school like Ponyville’s.”
“A one room schoolhouse?” Mark asked. “You still have that kind of thing? How big is Ponyville anyway?”
“Not important just now,” Starlight said. “My point is, Captain Vimes has every excuse to have bad grammar, but he’s trying. He uses archaic- that’s very old- words and spelling, even though he doesn’t talk like that, because he thinks that’s how educated people write. And the author, Mr. Pratchett, knows exactly when and how to break the rules of grammar and spelling to make this effect work. That’s what knowing a language can do for you!”
“Right,” Spitfire scoffed. “Didn’t mean to write book on Mars.”
“Can we get back to reading the book now?” Cherry Berry asked.
“Just a minute,” Mark said. “I want to go back to public education not being important.”
Spitfire pulled the computer back to herself and began reading aloud- and very loud- until Mark gave up on any attempt to investigate the educational system of the ponies.
no.... NO! i want mark to find out the educational system, i want to see the look on there face how mess up the school system of the usa is
Wha- Mark? Who said education wasn't important? Are you saying that?
ocay ya qute
9044405
I wondered about that too. I'm guessing he's assuming that one-room schools would only be used by people who don't think public education is important.
Given that he doesn't actually know the size of the community being served, there's some unclear information on the relative quality of one-room schools even for humans, and these are alien children with who knows what (as far as Mark knows) particular educational needs, the assumption seems a bit iffy to me, but I can also see him making it in the moment there.
9044405
let see here mark is from the USA where if you don't past a test you don't get to graduate where if the school fail the test they will not get funding and therefore make the problem worst and get an even worst test in the mix and up to the point where the school is shut down.
Welcome to the school system where all the shitty teacher get to keep the job no matter how bad they suck at it
9044418
given now we see them having a school system in the show we have to take that there school of the EEA system is somewhat close to ours but not as broken..... as we see Celestia school did there job and making the best of unicorns out of it.
9044405
Well, when Mark asked about education, Starlight's response was "Not important just now"...
Just about the whole crew can speak fluent English now
9044432
Oh, right. Then Mark was just making a joke out of that response. Damn you, Mark, don't deliberately take things out of context.
9044424
...Um. Sorry, not sure what to say in reply.
9044432
9044450
Ahh, yes, that makes sense. Thanks!
We still have that kind of thing.
Witness Santa Clara Elementary School which is only 16 miles from my home in El Rio
9044419
And don't forget that even the great, life-shaping and inspiring teachers very often work for a pittance, putting in far more time than just the schoolday and more care than 'for the test'; which naturally does not incentivise more teachers to be great nor more would-be teachers to be teachers at all.
Hmph... something tells me that Starlight wouldn't opt to relay any descriptions of OUR school system back to Twilight, and that's probably for the better. Twilight wouldn't last a semester in our public school system, given the way things are graded around here and the sheer number of tests that are given. Hell, she'd probably flip her lid at the fact that every year of our education is dedicated not to actually learning the material, but practicing how to beat a fucking test...
9044538
lets not for get if the kid is in the ER he still have to take the test
9044544
tyhat would be epic to see..... and given mark would be happy to tell her dragonfly would do the it for him
9044419
Based upon your spelling and grammar, I can't tell whether your teachers also failed or whether the fault was entirely your own.
9044562
saying am dyslexic is an understatement of the year. i don't want a huge wall of text here but let just say i could not say a single word until i was 7 years old and understand everyone what they're saying while no one can't even know a single word i was saying at all
Ooookay? Why are they stonewalling Mark on the Equestrian education system???
do I need to read the first (incomplete) story to get this?
9044625
Because there's a running gag where the ponies refuse to tell Mark about Equestrian society. Why THAT happens, I couldn't tell you, but they sure do love it.
Wait ‘til Spitfire encounters one of Carrot’s written reports...
Gym “Wanton Cruelty to the Common Comma and all that.” Quirk
9044635
Naw, this fic works perfectly well on its own.
I still recommend the first fic because it's awesome and hilarious, but this works as a standalone piece.
9044625
It's a running gag yes.
Or they're sick of being anthropology subjects/feeling judged and want to get back to the book. Take your pick really.
9044504
Here in Spain students stay put a single class, and teachers of different subjects move between them following the schedule.
9044882
I think you might have missed something in translation: the single classroom experience mentioned here is the one room one teacher idea like in ponyville.
At least we know that Equestrian schools are good at being criminally negligent when it comes to bullying.
The best thing, apart from the other 40 books of the seeries, the films, the plays, the audio readings, the maps, the cookbook, the magic and the comedy, what has GNU Pratchett ever done for us?
He made DEATH understandable?
Id say Id like to see Twilight build HEX, but given according to Spock (Alan Dean Foster:Star Trek 10) Its a variation on The Chaos Computer, its more likely to be made by the CMC.
And CaOS is so much fun.
9044980
We only know Ponyville's school. We don't know the system works in other areas, specially cities.
9044544
I could see her brain needing a reboot, but she might appreciate it considering how she nearly drove herself nuts with Celestia's test with the crystal heart.
9044980
Honestly, even Ponyville's bullying ranks low on my experiences with bullying. I suppose any bullying is bad at all, but compared to what it could be, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon are small fry.
9044987
He did a lot more than just make Death understandable.
His writing was brilliant and insightful, and I think it changed the way a lot of people look at the world.
And I know for a fact it saved at least one life, too.
RIP Pratchett.
9044980
I mean ... maybe? But that just means Earth schools would feel right at home in such environment
9044974
Call him Dewey.
I wonder... Will equestria rescue them first or will the ponies get to spend time on earth?
9044567
No offense intended but that sounds more like autism than dyslexia.
9045585
at this point in my life, I just gave up what made it happen in the past and move on.
All my amusement at this mini-chapter can pretty much be encapsulated by this line.
Haha. Terry Pratchett was amazingly good with language.
Knowing it? Sir Pterry was one of the greatest all time Grand-masters of using it.
And yeah, one size fit all, standardized education doesn't really work at all in a society where by the time they hit puberty, 95% of the population already knows exactly what they want to do with their life and can focus on learning the skills they need for that chosen path. So long as they a decent foundation of the general all around skills, reading, writing, math, etc... they don't really need much more unless they are going into a field that does need it.
Education is the main pillar of Civilizations
Mark don't get his questions answered. Payback for him doing it
9044396
The health system of america is alot more messed up: