Posted March 18, 2022, 12:16 a.m. by Civilian Mirembe M'Ahar (Director of Terraforming) (Trin S)
Posted by Civilian Karina Enger (Director of Education) in Terraforming Young Minds (Tag M’Ahar)
Posted by Civilian Mirembe M’Ahar (Director of Terraforming) in Terraforming Young Minds (Tag M’Ahar)
Posted by Civilian Karina Enger (Director of Education) in Terraforming Young Minds (Tag M’Ahar)
Posted by… suppressed (4) by the Post Ghost! 👻
(snip!)Karina nodded, making notes on her PaDD, “What would a solid program look like to you? What auxiliary or parallel degrees would be offered or combined with such a program?”
Enger, ED
“There’s a misconception that terraforming is founded solely in hard science. We require a fundamental understanding of astrobiology, geosciences, planetary engineering and a handful of adjacent disciplines. But we are not exclusively scientists and engineers.” Mirembe wavered in gathering her thoughts. “Terraformers collaborate across distance, time and professions. We need to be familiar with tools and strategies that encourage interprofessional collaboration so we don’t descend into incessant bickering.” She fought the urge to roll her eyes. “We also require but often lack basic knowledge in sociology and anthropology. How can we create a world unique to residents’ needs without understanding those needs?”
A bashful smile warped her features as she realised how much she dumped on Karina. “Sorry… er… those are just a few ideas. Any would make a wonderful auxiliary or combined degree, but I find a ‘soft’ or ‘people-oriented’ discipline would best compliment a terraforming programme. Terraforming is a people science, so it’s shameful we view folks as a variable and not integral to the art itself.”
— Mirembe M’Ahar, Terraformer
Karina had stopped typing on her PaDD and pulled the stylus out and was writing furiously. She paused and grinned. “Do not be. This is wonderful information. So on top of choosing a ‘hard science’ discipline for terraforming, basic education classes across all disciplines should include introductory courses to sociology, anthropology, project and collaborative leadership. Perhaps even xeno-psychology?” This was the type of information she was looking for. Things that would make their new curriculums robust and set the standard across the quadrants for excellence. “What about art, architecture or cultural studies, when considering how the world needs to fit the needs of future inhabitants?”
Enger, ED
Mirembe eagerly nodded. Though she acquired collaborative skills through her vocation, M’Ahar never received a formal education. She cultivated humility and patience by serving customers at Cafe Ephemere. Hours labouring alongside folks from across the galaxy taught her to appreciate their unique experiences. She learned to navigate conflict through empathy and listening with Rai’i. Vrazit-47 and Fenrir forced her to reconsider their role. Were they building a home or just another habitable planet? She came to appreciate the people aspect of terraforming—the part undefined by numbers and models. M’Ahar earned the skills of the trade through experience. And though she appreciated the time spent in the field and with people, she recognised the importance of learning the basics. They provided a foundation that could prevent unnecessary and sometimes detrimental mistakes. Education wasn’t the answer in isolation, but pairing it with a solid mentor could do wonders for the next generation of terraformers.
“Absolutely! Terraforming is case-by-case. We cannot apply the same methods in the same way on one world as we do on another. It’s like…” she searched for an appropriate analogy, “a play. Though scripted, it changes with every performance and audience. Familiarising ourselves with a people’s culture helps ensure we supply the best performance—or planet—for them.” Mirembe waved a hand at Karina’s PaDD. “Tangent aside, I think art, architecture and cultural studies are a terrific way to orient students to respectful cultural exploration.”
— Mirembe M’Ahar
Karina’s grin grew wider. “Yes, much like teaching. I can teach the same concept but how I do that is different for each class and student. This is why I want to pair in classroom instruction with apprenticeships and internships. To give that basic knowledge and personal hands on experience.”
Enger, ED
Mirembe could not recite the laws of thermodynamics, but she could discuss Halobacterium salinarum’s ability to absorb and conform photons into protons usable in ATP synthase. Halophilic archaea and thermodynamics carried equal weight in her field, but the lakes and the memories she associated with H. salinarum far outweighed the pedantic monotony of the textbook that described to her “heat is a form of energy”… and such. There was only so much you could derive from an article or lecture. Balance was essential.
“You can give a student access to all the videos and articles in the galaxy, but there are few things so valuable as giving them an experience,” Mirembe grinned. “We’ve talked a lot about reconstruction and building a curriculum, but not so much about your goals. What are you hoping this programme will do?”
— Mirembe M’Ahar, Terraforming
Karina grinned broadly. “That depends on which part. The university I want to make cutting edge. I want people from all four quadrants to want to come here to learn, to know that this is the place to be on the cutting edge of their field. That will require a lot of research. Looking at current programs, where those fields of study are moving and growing, and building a strong foundation, lots of hands on experience, and work with future theories and practices, and helping create those.”
“More immediately though is the primary education. A strong book learning foundation is needed, but it’s not what drives us. It’s the experience, the exploration. Children don’t become lovers of books by learning letter sounds and spitting them out. They play make believe, they go on imaginary adventures, they listen to the rhythm of someone reading to them and bringing those adventures to life. It is the same with any topic. My goal is even with our youngest toddlers to give them hands on experience in whatever they find interesting. For example, if they love plants, have them work with the colonies landscapers or terraformers, or even farmers in the second dome a few times, see what it is like to do that work. If they have dreams of being a police officer and catching bad guys, let them spend an hour touring the police station one-on-one with an officer. Anything and everything they are interested in, I will make sure they get to experience. No matter when they decide they want to know. As a toddler or a teenager ready to graduate. And then as they get older the time spent as an ‘apprentice’ will lengthen and the tasks become more in depth.”
“So often we ask our children, ‘what do you want to be when you grow up.’ Oh, they have lofty dreams, Mirembe. But we don’t do anything to encourage those dreams. Then when they are ready to leave high school, to choose their career, they follow those dreams, or maybe the dreams of their parents, but they hate it. It is not what they thought it was, and it isn’t until they reach our age that they discover what they want. Then they feel trapped in a career, not wanting to start over for what they love.” Karina had leaned forward in her earnestness, but now sat back and slapped her palms to her thighs. “So! We shall let them imagine, let them play, let them experience the richness and the difficulty of their dreams, and find the one that they love.”
Enger, ED
OOC: bump for tomorrow! —Trin
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