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last online May 14, 2024 15:13:18 GMT -7
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Jul 1, 2017 8:39:08 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Jul 1, 2017 8:39:08 GMT -7
Dominick was rather interested and curious about her words. She'd said she'd felt a need to prove herself so she'd done great in school. It was curious and though she'd said the words nonchalantly, he felt like there was a lot behind those words. Normally he would have next to no problem being nosy and asking about the meaning of them, but he felt that was inappropriate now considering he still did not know her as well. Plus, he didn't want to ruin any budding friendship by being too nosy too early. There were plenty of people who found his prying annoying and he didn't want to add her to the list of people who found him annoying. Listening intently to her comments on brilliance, he found himself grinning. She was definitely brilliant for sure. He could probably turn this whole thing into a longer debate. People were biased one way another when it came to judging themselves so they were probably better judges of character and brilliance for other people than themselves. People they don't know very well anyway, not people they have a clear like or dislike of. He felt it was a bit unnecessary though. "Some would say we could but others would say we could not," he nodded. He could say that sometimes some of the things he discovered during his research were brilliant. He liked numbers. He understood numbers. Whether that made him brilliant or not? He wasn't certain. Her comments on Uagadou's Animagus program were interesting. Of course many people knew about the program at the prestigious school. He'd always been a bit fascinated by the thought of becoming an Animangus but had never wanted to go through the intense training himself so he couldn't say he blamed her. Well, not they were in his office and they could finally get down to the reason he'd asked to meet with her anyway. Even though they already talked a bit on the way there. "So, we both teach elective classes and you have been teaching longer than I have so I could really use tips on how to be a better professor. How do you keep class interesting for your students? How do you approach the different levels of expertise in the class while still being able to stay within your plans on when you want to cover certain lessons? How do you do it?" he asked suddenly.
Tag; @zytka
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last online May 14, 2024 15:13:18 GMT -7
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Jul 8, 2017 10:15:12 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Jul 8, 2017 10:15:12 GMT -7
Dominick appeared to be getting down to the meat of the meeting, beginning by saying they both taught elective classes. That was true, and they both taught rather unpopular elective classes, at that. The students that took their classes were either the extremely motivated kind, or the kind that knew what they wanted to do when they graduated Hogwarts. It was a bit sad to have a class that was nothing more than a piece to a plan, but Zytka supposed that it was better that she had at least some students. The head would have quite a hard time getting rid of her if her job ever became obsolete, given that Zytka didn’t know anything other than Hogwarts anymore. Dominick continued by asking what she did to keep class interesting, and the Ancient Runes professor had to think a bit on that question. “The fact that my classes are translation-based makes it easier.” Zytka admitted. In a way, teaching Ancient Runes was like teaching a foreign language. “I’ll translate something into Runes that I’ll know they’ll enjoy reading about. Do you remember when that book about the teenaged vampire was popular? I copied the first page of it and had them translate it for homework without telling them what it was, and I believe that was the one homework assignment that everyone did.” Once the students had started the homework, they felt compelled to finish it because it was an actual, interesting story rather than just a series of words that meant nothing to them. Zytka wasn’t sure that her strategy could translate well to Arithmancy, though. “Enthusiasm is always the best way to keep them interested, though.” If the teacher acted as if the class wasn’t worth paying attention to, the students would respond accordingly. As for how to approach the different level of expertise… “The worst thing you can do is teach to the lowest level.” Zytka said. That just frustrated the students who were further ahead, and normally those were the students who were paying more attention and actually liked the subject; alienating them would only make the class more unbearable. “Otherwise, it’s all a learning curve about how to find the sweet spot that is just difficult enough without being frustrating.” Zytka wished that she could be more helpful in that respect, but it really was all trial and error. “Take it day by day.” She advised when Dominick asked again how she did it, sensing a bit of panic and wanting to soothe it before it became any worse.
@dominick
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last online May 14, 2024 15:13:18 GMT -7
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Jul 12, 2017 19:01:46 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Jul 12, 2017 19:01:46 GMT -7
Dominick listened diligently to the words of advice she offered on each question he'd asked her. It seemed it was right of him to come to her for advice because even though she'd been teaching much longer than he had, she had went through, and probably still did go through the same struggles he currently had. His class could be translation based too from different angles and Mathematics was sometimes seen as another language depending on which parts you looked at and who you asked. With Arithmancy, you were translating numbers into predictions of the future. The added calculations were seen as difficult by most students which is why he would end up with smaller classes than other professors, though he didn't actually mind because less students allowed him to better focus on each student as individuals. Listening to her talk about how she translated a teenaged vampire novel--he wondered which one because there had been so many of them--into something fun for the class to do. "That's brilliant," he commented with a smile. He zoned out for a minute in thought because he wasn't quite sure how he could utilize that advice in his subject. That was a really great idea though. He'd tried to make the class more interesting for his seventh years at least by offering them a lesson on numerology. Most of his students had enjoyed it, if not just because they thought the topic interesting definitely because they liked proving how wrong the results were. Maybe he could try to incorporate more lessons like that one into his curriculum. "I think I've tried to find that middle ground before. I think I'm just worried about alienating any students. Like I said, some of them are so hesitant to approach me for help that they're lost in class and I can only tell that they're lost when they're in class," he sighed. He knew that there were students in there just for the credit but he wanted his students to take something away from his lessons no matter why they were there. It was harder when they were trying and couldn't understand it but still didn't ask for the help they needed. "Do you just approach students often when you know they need the help? Or do you let them come to you when they're ready?"
Tag; @zytka
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last online May 14, 2024 15:13:18 GMT -7
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Jul 14, 2017 12:08:58 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Jul 14, 2017 12:08:58 GMT -7
Dominick said that her strategy of translating the vampire novel had been brilliant, and Zytka shook her head. They had already been over about how subjective brilliance was, but she knew that doing something like that was far from an original idea, and hadn’t even been that difficult for her, due to her skill in the subject. It seemed to have triggered something in Dominick, though, and Zytka watched, slightly amused, as she could see the gears turning in his head. They began to talk about the middle ground, and Zytka gave a sympathetic smile when he said that he was afraid of alienating any students. “Sadly, that’s something you’re going to have to get over.” Zytka said. It was noble to try to bring all the students in, but the truth was that there were some students who were never going to try in the subject, and trying to teach with them in mind would just make the class unbearably slow and boring for the rest that were actually trying. It was something that had taken Zytka a number of years to accept, but she thought that her classes had come better as a result. There were steps that they could take as professors to try to bring the less accomplished students in, but making the entire class about them was not one of those steps. It was uncharacteristically blunt of Zytka, but she didn’t want to equivocate when it came to giving Dominick advice, otherwise she might accidentally lead him astray. “The real trick is finding the students who are legitimately trying and still struggling. If students aren’t willing to put effort into your class on their own time, it’s unfair for them to expect you to give up your time to help them.” That was one of Zytka’s pet peeves – students who obviously didn’t try or do their homework, and then wanted her to tutor them one-on-one to get them to where the rest of the class was at. She understood that sometimes there were extenuating circumstances, but it wasn’t her job to hold students’ hands as they did work that they should have done months ago. “The students that are trying are the only ones I’ll approach.” And Zytka’s class was designed in such a way that the students who did try rarely were the ones struggling, so she didn’t often have to speak to her students about individual attention.
@dominick
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last online May 14, 2024 15:13:18 GMT -7
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Jul 18, 2017 8:32:45 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Jul 18, 2017 8:32:45 GMT -7
He saw the way that Zytka reacted to his comment on her brilliance and he held in his amusement. He'd used the word on purpose, going back to their previous conversation. She didn't want to accept her brilliance but he would continue to tell her that he thought she was brilliant in whatever way he could. At her words though, he found himself nodding in understanding. It was sad but he knew he had to accept it. It wasn't as if he was trailing behind in his classes now just to keep up with the students who were behind but the gap did exist. There were some students who were actually interested in the class but were falling behind because they just weren’t grasping the material as well or fast enough like other students. It was hard watching them struggle when they wanted to better understand but he knew that he couldn’t slow down the entire class when there were lesson plans and a calendar for what they needed to have learned at certain points in the year. He’d tried to speak to some of those students but it always lead back to the same issue: they didn’t want to ask for help from him. Those students he did try to pay attention to in class but of course he didn’t want to single out any students. "Even with the students I know don’t care for the class or that aren’t giving their all for one reason or another, I don’t ignore them completely. If they ask me for help, I’ll help them of course but even still I watch them. Sometimes I feel like I teach with them in mind so they might find something I’m saying interesting," he stated thoughtfully. He knew she would find that silly and pointless; many people did. He taught sometimes with his younger self in mind, not the one that loved numbers but the one who sat in Herbology bored by plants and ended up doodling. It never ended up being a waste of time though because it was usually information that all of his students could use. "Just to make sure I’m not missing anything, before you started teaching, what’s something you wish someone would have told you?," he asked curiously. It was typical question but one that always produced interesting results. He wanted to get around asking every professor that question if he could.
Tag; @zytka
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last online May 14, 2024 15:13:18 GMT -7
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Jul 25, 2017 17:45:21 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Jul 25, 2017 17:45:21 GMT -7
Zytka listened as Dominick explained that he still didn’t ignore the students that weren’t particularly taken with his class. “I wasn’t suggesting that you do that.” She said, just in case he had misconstrued he words. “Only that you don’t go out of your way to do so.” She would gladly offer help to anyone who came for it, whether or not they paid attention in class… but she wasn’t going to be revising Troll grades to Outstanding ones just because a student came in once at the end of a semester, and she certainly wasn’t going to be ignoring students who always tried their best in favor of the ones who only gave the bare minimum necessary to pass. She somehow doubted that Dominick would ever accept that verbally, though. It was a lesson that had been painful to learn, and while Zytka prayed that he never did have to learn it… she wasn’t naïve enough to think that every student of Dominick’s would be attentive and seek help with pure intentions. As for saying something that her less Runes-inclined students would relate with or find interesting, Zytka did that anyways, because generally, the things that everyone found interesting made their way into her lectures anyways. But she wasn’t going to plot her way through a verbal minefield for the sake of one off-handed comment to catch someone’s attention when they were daydreaming in class.
Dominick’s question was definitely more interesting, and the answer sprang to Zytka’s lips unbidden. “Teaching is not like any other career.” Zytka said, trying not to look wistful as she continued. “It becomes… a part of you. Until you feel like leaving it would mean leaving a part of yourself behind.” That was where Zytka was at. She wasn’t sure if she was doing the best thing for herself and for the world by staying at Hogwarts, but she feared that leaving would mean leaving her best years, and her only friends, and her only home. She had been adrift for so long, and teaching had helped her find her dock. If she left for the ocean again, she wasn’t sure she would ever find another port… and then what would happen when it stormed? She would be ruined. She wished that her advice had been a little happier, since it seemed she was only preaching doom and gloom at Dominick, but Zytka thought the other professor would prefer honesty over optimism.
@dominick
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last online May 14, 2024 15:13:18 GMT -7
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Aug 10, 2017 23:24:41 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Aug 10, 2017 23:24:41 GMT -7
Just as she spoke a look of horror appeared on Dom's face and he began quickly shaking his head and his hands. "Oh no no no. I didn't mean to imply that that was what you were suggesting, Professor. A simple omission of words. I apologize I tend to think in my head and some things just get left behind when I speak," he commented, sounding every bit as nervous as he felt. The last thing he wanted to do was to have her think he thought ill of her and offend her. He knew she was a great professor and that she cared about her students just as much as he did. That was why he'd asked to speak with her for advice in the first place. Hogwarts always hired only the best of staff so he was confident in her abilities just based on that. "I will try to remember that though. Sometimes it's hard to tell the fakers from the genuine ones. Children have gotten a lot better at deception. Or maybe it's always been this way and I'm on the opposite side of things now that I'm older," the look on his face was troubled and amused at the same time as he remembered the few times he'd been tricked into going off on a tangent in class by a student just so time would pass a bit faster and the end of the lecture period would end. The answer she gave to his question wasn't surprising. Expected really. The look in her eyes as she spoke showed him exactly how enamored with the profession she had become and the smile on his face was admiring. He was learning that himself, that teaching was not like any other career. The time he'd spent as a freelance Arithmancer and Numerologist just couldn't compare to the almost two short years he'd spent at Hogwarts. "I can definitely agree with that. I see it for myself everyday," he smiled. "When did that realization hit you?"
Tag; @zytka
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last online May 14, 2024 15:13:18 GMT -7
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Aug 19, 2017 14:49:20 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Aug 19, 2017 14:49:20 GMT -7
Zytka just nodded when Dominick began to babble about not meaning to imply that she wouldn’t help students, saying something about how he tended to think in his head and not say the words aloud. For someone who didn’t tend to say what he thought, he was talking an awful lot. Zytka was beginning to think that maybe Professor Riveras was one of those particularly talented people who could speak a lot and say a little. Zytka fancied herself the inverse, someone who said much with relatively few words, but of course, everyone liked to believe themselves better than they were, and Zytka wasn’t sure whether that assessment was the truth or not. “I think that time is the only think that can separate the deceivers from the genuine ones.” Zytka offered. It was a shame that answers like that weren’t immediate, especially when the professors were working on a tight time frame to get everything graded and move onto the next subject, but at least there was a way to separate the two kinds of people at all. It was better than sheer guesswork. She didn’t know whether or not children were better at deception now, though, so she decided not to comment on that, at the risk of accidentally offending the other professor (or worse, making him think that her opinion of the students was lower than he probably assumed it was already, from what she had said about her teaching methods).
The other professor asked when the realization that teaching was a part of her had hit her, and Zytka paused, considering that question. “I think I’ve known it since the moment I came into the school, but I only acknowledged it this past summer.” That had been when she had begun thinking about leaving Hogwarts to do something – anything – else, and realized that the idea was physically painful.
@dominick
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last online May 14, 2024 15:13:18 GMT -7
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Aug 20, 2017 3:24:33 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Aug 20, 2017 3:24:33 GMT -7
The Ancient Runes Professor didn't quite seem to believe his words if the look on her face as she nodded was anything to go by. Well actually it wasn't quite the look upon her face, more so the way her eyes scrutinized him and Dominick felt like a massive idiot. He'd always known normal conversation was not one of his strengths. Just seeing it in action was painful; to think he'd actually believed things were going well only to mess it all up with a sentence. He nodded in understanding and agreement with her comment on being able to tell students who lied and students who were genuine apart. "I can only hope that I learn sooner than later how to accomplish that," he commented simply. He suddenly thought the less he spoke the smaller the chance of him further ruining what had originally been a nice chat. He also didn't want to seem as if he no longer wanted to chat though so he maintained a small smile on his face. And now he was thinking way too much about it. Listening to her answer about her revelation, his smile became wider in admiration. He would get to that point, of being so in love with teaching that he would never want to leave. He wasn't sure if that terrified him or excited him; above all his research was important to him and he never wanted to lose sight of that. On the other hand, the thought of being able to educate minds of the future and make an impact in students lives was exciting. If he could help any of his students love numbers as much as he did or find solace in arithmetic, he would be eternally happy. "Only this past summer? Did something change for you in that time or was it just a realization that hit you?" his curiosity got the better of him and we wanted to know what it was exactly that'd brought her to her realization.
Tag; @zytka
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last online May 14, 2024 15:13:18 GMT -7
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Sept 13, 2017 18:54:41 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Sept 13, 2017 18:54:41 GMT -7
Zytka just nodded when Dominick said that he hoped to learn sooner rather than later which of his students were being genuine. It was a hope that all teachers had, so she couldn’t fault him for expressing the sentiment, even if it was a rather obvious one. She wished that she had more advice to offer on the subject, but in the end, as she had been saying for the entire conversation, things were going to come down to Dominick’s instincts and what he was going to do with them. Dominick asked if there was something special about the past summer that had caused her to reach her realization, and since she had been honest with him about everything else thus far, it seemed like a poor time to start trying to hide the truth. “I considered changing careers over the summer.” She said. “I have loved dancing since I was a teenager, and I like to think I’m rather good at it.” Zytka shrugged. She was sure that Dominick could extrapolate what she meant from those two simple sentences, so she didn’t want to over-explain the situation. The bottom line was that she had decided to stay, for now. The reasons were numerous, and many of them were unexplainable for various reasons, from her complicated past to her even more complicated present. She was going to be honest with Dominick, but she wasn’t going to cross the line into telling him things he hadn’t asked (and hopefully would never ask).
@dominick (wanna wrap it up in your post?)
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last online May 14, 2024 15:13:18 GMT -7
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Sept 15, 2017 9:41:47 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Sept 15, 2017 9:41:47 GMT -7
Zytka replied by saying that she'd considered changing careers over the summers and it did give him a little bit of a surprise. Only slightly though; the nonchalant tone in which she spoke of the thought as well as the shrug that accompanied the words made him think she had abandoned the idea enough that she would remain a professor. He smiled and nodded as she talked about it though, refusing to comment once again and start up their debate by saying that he was certain she was a good dancer. She'd voiced it in a way that made her seem humble. It was how she had sounded during most of their conversation; she was sure of herself, yes, but she didn't really have a need to acknowledge it or speak of her talents obsessively. One thing she had acknowledged in those words she spoke was that teaching had become so much a part of her that it had become at least slightly more important to her than her love of dancing. It was a bit worrisome for him actually; would there come a time when teaching would be more important to him than his research or any of his work as an arithmancer? He wasn't sure, but he did know that he liked what he was doing now. Research and teaching. A knock on his door took him out of his thoughts and he took a deep breath. His other appointment had arrived it seemed. "That looks like all of the time we have, I'm afraid," he stood as he spoke, wishing to walk her to the door and greet the student that had come to meet with him. "Your advice has been very insightful and I thank you for what you've provided me. I do hope we're able to talk again soon. When we're both not busy with our lessons of course." He hadn't expected anything less from her really. She taught Ancient Runes after all, a subject filled with forgotten insight requiring just the right amount of knowledge to translate.
Tag; @zytka
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last online May 14, 2024 15:13:18 GMT -7
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Sept 17, 2017 6:52:19 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Sept 17, 2017 6:52:19 GMT -7
Zytka was slightly shocked by the sound of the knock at the door. The time had gone by much more quickly than she had expected. That was probably due to the nature of their conversation, though - it was all fairly heavy stuff, not trivial niceties just to fill the space. Small talk was just that - small - and it felt like it took an hour just to get through five minutes of discussion about the weather. Zytka was glad that this conversation had been substantial. The Ancient Runes professor rose when the Arithmancy professor did, walking with him to the door. "You are quite welcome." She said in response to his thanks. When the door opened, Zytka gave Dominick one last smile. "Do not be a stranger." Zytka's door would always be open to any other professor who needed it. She nodded at the student who had come to meet Dominick, before sweeping out of the room and into the corridor.
@dominick (Le end)
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