Questionable Objectivity

Posted on Fri May 31st, 2024 @ 21:53 by Sarah Bright & Phoebe Hunter
Edited on on Sun Jun 2nd, 2024 @ 20:58

Chapter: Winter's Crest Festival
Location: History Classroom, Avalon
Timeline: Monday, December 14th, 12:50 pm
2697 words - 5.4 OF Standard Post Measure

Sarah stood in the hallway outside of Phoebe's classroom, waiting for the bell to ring. As she waited, she leaned up against a wall, thumbing through an old book and chuckling to herself, clearly amused by what she was reading. The book was actually more concerning than amusing, and was the reason why the librarian found it necessary to lurk outside of history class.

The bell rang, and Sarah waited for the steady stream of students exiting the classroom to slow to a trickle before she weaved her way inside. The last few students were clustered around Avalon's history teacher and Sarah didn't interrupt them, and instead made her way past them to sit at the front and center-most desk, where she placed the book and retrieved an apple from her messenger bag. The colors of her outfit did not match with Avalon's uniform colors as they sometimes did, but her style of course still made her look somewhat like a student, if at some other school. That, the apple, and the weirdly pleasant smile on her face as she tried to wait patiently made Sarah look every bit the absurdly textbook teacher's pet.

Phoebe glanced over and saw the Librarian sat there waiting for her it looked like. They had not overly caught up in the last couple of weeks with the teacher gearing up projects for the open day and spending most of her free time with Matt. It took a couple more minutes for the group of year 7's to leave with instructions on how to do a cats cradle confidently for her to sit down with the woman. "What's up?" She wondered.

"Hey Phoebe." Sarah said with a small smile, once she was sure there were no students in the room with them. Otherwise it would've been 'Miss Hunter.' She reached over and placed the apple on the desk Phoebe was seated at. "Just nabbed it from the kitchen. Was washed only a few minutes ago." She leaned back, ultimately not really caring whether the other woman showed interest in the offering. She'd just found that one could rarely go wrong in offering a small pick-me-up when staging an ambush meeting, and she was fresh out of chocolate; fruit would have to do.

Sarah had also wanted to bring Phoebe an offering, any offering, to hopefully secure a reset in first- and maybe second-impressions. She was fairly certain she'd mistakenly called her Fiona during their last interaction. She was not exactly the best person with names.

"So... there's this student who's been hanging around the library a lot more than his usual. I call him Mister Beanie." Sarah didn't think she needed to explain that she called him that because he was always wearing a beanie, even with his uniform. "I don't know his real name, as he's never asked to borrow a book before. But now he wants to borrow this one, along with a few others, on the industrialization of Britain. Is this like... extra credit or something? Or a college admissions essay he's working on?" Sarah was concerned that whoever this kid was, he was in way over his head, as his few and far between visits to the library usually looked suspiciously like last-minute cramming sprees.

The redhead looked at the book confused. She knew it well and had read it several times so there was a flicker of confusion over her face at why it would be a problem for the woman. "I’m missing the issue with the industrialisation of Britain?" She finally said. She knew the kid that Sarah was talking about but he seemed like he was a good kid.

Sarah blinked for a moment, wondering what she'd said, then winced as she realized that she probably hadn't said enough. "No, of course there's no issue." She explained, shaking her head somewhat vigorously, as if trying to shake some sense into it. "It's just that usually you and the other teachers let me know if your classes are working on units with a lot of independent research for reports and stuff. No one else seems to be looking for books on this subject, so I figured I'd ask." Sarah noticed the brief attention Phoebe had paid to the book in front of her. She almost thought there was a note of familiarity there. Had she recommended this source? Sarah had come to Phoebe with the intentions of helping, but she was starting to have the sinking suspicion that she might just be making an issue out of nothing.

In any event, this was edging towards a conversation that Sarah had been meaning to have with Phoebe about some of the older books they had at their disposal. For some reason she'd been dreading it. Perhaps the book in front her had less to do with the conversation she was having, and the more to do with the one she'd been intending to have.

"This is a subject that he would have learned in primary school," Phoebe explained putting the book down. "He might have seen a documentary on the television or something and it sparked a memory. He seems the type of boy who spends more time trying to be cool than anything else." She added thoughtfully that maybe she could see if anyone was interested in a history after-school club as she had been meaning to set one up since school had started. "Credits? That is what they do in America right?" She questioned thinking that it might be a culture divide happening here.

Sarah's expression inched toward a concerned frown for a moment, fearing that their conversation here was like mixing oil and water. There was a point she wanted to make, and she decided she'd better make it fast, as it seemed like she was coming across as someone who underestimated the education that was going on here... which wasn't her point at all. Her facial features scrunched for a moment more as she tried to focus. As she did, something Phoebe had said made a connection, and her features relaxed.

He seems the type of boy who spends more time trying to be cool than anything else.

"Ahh..." Sarah said, throwing her hands up as realization dawned on her. "It's a girl, then. It's always about a girl." She shook her head. The book in question was very niche--an incendiary, eat-the-rich political satire masquerading as a poor attempt at objective history, written just over a century ago by a woman; a woman who'd been a notoriously outspoken pro-labor, Marxist suffragette. She'd been well hated in many circles in her time, but was now a revered figure in feminist literature. Mister Beanie didn't want this book for a research paper, he wanted to read it to impress a girl. Or so Sarah now thought.

"I'm sorry. I know this subject is covered early. I attended primary school here myself." Sarah continued, here tone turning apologetic. "We've got smart kids, and you're great teachers. I didn't mean to convey doubt about that. It's just that some of these older books scare me, that's all." Sarah closed her mouth abruptly. There, she'd said it, and she instantly wished she could take the words back.

The pre cog opened her mouth before closing again rethinking her words. It might not be about a girl, it might very much be about a boy. And it was not her place to judge or condemn anyone when the United Kingdom was so close to changing so many laws for communities in both good and bad ways. She shook away that hint from the future and decided to focus on why had been said about books. “How so?” Phoebe asked.

Sarah had thought she saw the beginnings of a voice of argument about her theory on Mister Beanie, but then Phoebe seemed to reconsider, as if she'd been swayed to the same conclusion. There was no time to bask in her own estimation of her so-called unparalleled deduction though. Phoebe's question brought her right back before feelings that she wasn't anywhere near as confident about.

“Well, this place came with a lot of old books, and I've only read through a small handful of them. Though I do admire the author of this one, it does have its moments, and I think some of other younger students wouldn't understand that its making a show at pretending to be something its not." Sarah closed the book and set it aside. "Curious, I looked at some of our other older historical texts, and had no trouble finding one that I don't think is appropriate for our purposes. For one, it was nothing more than an opinion piece, and made no effort to refer to the native inhabitants of several former British colonies as anything other than... well, savages." Sarah visibly shuddered at the thought of one of the younger kids thumbing through that while trying to do research.

"I have no doubt that most, if not all of the kids here would read something like that and know what its wrong, and that they'd be able to reference dated opinions like that in an appropriate manner, but there's always a chance of a kid without the proper foundation of knowledge deciding to go down that rabbit hole, instead of watching it from a distance." She shrugged before continuing. "I can see how someone could get drawn in. In literature, the older translations are more difficult to read, but tend to be seen as the most desirable and rewarding, as they are the closest to the author's original words and meaning. But I guess history is the opposite of that, isn't it?" Sarah still had more things on her mind, but was starting to feel very self conscious about how she was just rambling on and on, and how that rambling might be perceived. Especially by one like Phoebe, who in contrast had been much more guarded in her speaking.

Phoebe nodded and tapped her fingers along the table and thought on what was being discussed. The school was only a few years old so the books would have come from many different places that were not as enlightened as Avalon was.

“A lot of old books from lots of different collections. But we also should not be afraid of history. We cannot atone for the past as we were not there but there is no reason that we cannot learn from them. If you find books like that maybe you could create a section in the library for challenging the usage of words like that.”

Phoebe's reply was reassuring to Sarah, and had a visibly calming effect. Though the history teacher's words had not been beyond her own consideration, in Sarah's mind they had been but one voice among many, all circling around the issue that had left her stressed. Hearing them mirrored from outside of her thoughts reinforced them, and helped bring that voice to the forefront of her mind. Her chosen profession as a librarian was partially to blame for her uncertainties, as it was, in essence, her job to make books more accessible to people... and not the opposite. She would never seek to ban a book, as she knew enough about history to know where that slippery slope could lead, but serving as a gatekeeper did not feel like an easy compromise. Who was she to decide what books were appropriate for whom when many, if not most of the books around her were likely beyond easy comprehension for her. But she had to start somewhere, and Phoebe's suggestion was as good as any she'd been able to come up with, and was probably the simplest.

"I'll do that." Sarah assented. Though a Reader Beware section might create its own set of problems, it would no doubt invoke the heightened scrutiny she felt was important. "Once I get sorted, perhaps we could organize a workshop on historiography. We could pick a few obvious themes, and encourage students to find more, and show how historians write about them over time?"

Phoebe had so many ideas for the next term that her head was practically swimming with them all. "I'll add it to my ever-growing list of things to create for next term," she remarked, jotting down yet another concept in her already crowded notebook that she grabbed from her desk. "Just remember, history is meant to make you uncomfortable. If you're not uncomfortable while learning it, then you're not being taught it right."

She paused for a moment, letting the weight of her words sink in. "History should challenge you," Phoebe elaborated. "It should make you question, think deeply, and reflect on the past's complexities and injustices. It's not just about memorising dates and events; it's about understanding the human experiences and societal shifts that shaped those events so that kid looking for that book means he is exploring and learning and most of all questioning.”

"I understand." Sarah said simply, listening to Phoebe and letting her words sink in. Sarah considered herself an educated person. Maybe not exactly bright, like her namesake, but she was educated and no stranger to history. In another context she might have taken those words as patronizing, but in this instance that consideration was furthest from her mind. They weren't talking about studying history, they were talking about teaching it, and those were two completely different things. It was one thing to challenge herself with difficult topics, it was another to as kids to do the same. That required bravery, steadfastness, and faith. It was like teaching a kid to swim; if they wanted to truly learn how to do it, eventually she'd have to let them go into the water and try.

Sarah couldn't help but think that for all the other teachers at Avalon, everything they'd discussed would've been a given. But Sarah wasn't a teacher, and she was all too aware of that. For the students who regularly visited the library she could figure out their interests, and estimate their reading proficiency based on the books they borrowed, and how long they borrowed them. But other than that she was in the dark. She didn't teach lessons, give out homework, or grade tests. She didn't know which kids needed help, and whether they would even ask if they did. That scared her. So with that in mind, Phoebe's words were reinforcing. She had her part to play in the educational process, even if she didn't always know if she was doing it.

"Thanks for talking about this with me, I really appreciate it. Sorry to take up your free period." Sarah said with an appreciative smile as she gathered up her book and messenger bag.

“No need to apologise. It has been an interesting conversation so not wasted or anything. This close to the end of this term I am already prepared for next term.” Phoebe assured standing herself. She had not often spoken to the librarian with everything that had been going on but she would certainly reach out to her after Christmas to discuss more.

That makes one of us. The self-deprecation was thankfully not voiced aloud, but Sarah still somehow sensed it hanging there in the air between them. Despite what people might imagine her days looked like, working in the library was not a predictable routine of shelving books, stamping library return cards and hissing at kids to be quiet. People were always coming and going, doing different things, and she was essentially on-call nearly every moment of every reasonable waking hour if someone needed access to the library.

"I should get going. I left a 'Be Back in 15' sign on the door to the library, and if I'm late, kids will form a posse and come after me." Sarah sighed after a slightly awkward laugh. That sure sounded like something someone who was chronically unprepared would say. "See you soon Pheebs!" The librarian added as she scurried out the door, before her colleague could tell her what she thought about the nickname.