GrainfieldsDay 14 of the Grainworks Initiative
Sarah was sitting in the back room of the inn in Beaver Crossing with some of her first students. There were eight children, along with Emily, her old teaching assistant who had arrived here with Sarah and the kids, and one parent, Laura. Sarah opened her teacher interface.
[Beaver Crossing School]
Level: 1
TeachersStudentsSubjectsCurriculumProgress
TeachersSarah, Head TeacherEmily, Training
Subjects
Core SubjectsBasic EducationTeaching
Elective SubjectsCookingFarmingSurvivalBuildingTransportation◈ ◈ ◈
She clicked on the Students tab.
[Students]
Amelia, Asher, Charlotte, Elijah, Emily, Evelyn, Hazel, Henry, Isla, Ivy, Laura, Oliver, Rowan, Sarah, Silas◈ ◈ ◈
Looking at the list, she had herself, her assistant, one parent, eight kids from her old school class, and four workers from Dale’s kitchen. She next looked through all her subject choices one at a time.
Basic Education
UnlockedReading Level 1Writing Level 1
LockedArithmetic Level 1Record Keeping Level 1Manual Study Level 1Research Basics Level 1
Teaching
UnlockedTeaching Level 1Lesson Planning Level 1
LockedStudent Assessment Level 1Group Instruction Level 1Mentorship Level 1Curriculum Development Level 1
Cooking
UnlockedCooking Level 1Fire Starting Level 1
LockedKitchen Prep Level 1Field Cooking Level 1Food Preservation Level 1Baking Level 1
Farming
UnlockedFarming Level 1Soil Preparation Level 1
LockedIrrigation Level 1Composting Level 1Crop Rotation Level 1Seed Selection Level 1
Survival
UnlockedFire Starting Level 1Shelter Building Level 1
LockedWater Gathering Level 1Navigation Level 1Weather Awareness Level 1Emergency Foraging Level 1
Building
UnlockedBuilding Level 1Tool Handling Level 1
LockedStructural Planning Level 1Material Selection Level 1Repair Work Level 1Reinforcement Level 1
Transportation
UnlockedRiding Level 1Wagon Handling Level 1
LockedRoute Memory Level 1Teamster's Bond Level 1Pack Management Level 1Cart Maintenance Level 1◈ ◈ ◈
Sarah found it interesting that Cooking and Survival both had Fire Starting on their lists, which meant that no one category owned specific skills. She had each of the eight children bring up and share the skill they were working on. She had them all accept the reading skill and was surprised that none of the kids had the exact same requirement. But all resulted in the same skill gain. She looked at Oliver's lesson in detail.
[Lesson Generated]
Reading Level 1
RequirementsRead ten common words aloudRead one short story without assistanceCorrectly answer three questions about what was read
Reward
The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
Reading Level 1
Each child she looked at had similar but different requirements to get their reading. Sarah found that aspect really interesting. She noticed that the student that had one of the best grades in their previous classes had an assignment that was harder than that of a child a year younger, whose requirement was a little simpler, or maybe tailored to the student's personal needs.
While the children were working on their lesson, she talked to Emily.
Sarah said, “What do you think about the school and the functionality that it offers?"
Emily said, “I find it so different from my previous teaching experience. Back before we came here, it could take weeks, months, or years to get things comparable to what these skills offered. I had to go to many years of school to get my teaching certificate, but look what my requirements are here to become a teacher.”
[Lesson Generated]
Teaching Level 1
Requirements
Assist in five completed lessons under a certified teacherSuccessfully explain one lesson to three different studentsReceive a satisfactory teaching evaluation from the Head Teacher
Reward
Teaching Level 1
Sarah said, “Skills are one of the amazing things this world offers us. I learned cooking the first day I created the school, and after finishing my lesson and getting the skill, I knew that the next thing I would cook would be remarkably better than what I could cook pre-skill."
Emily said, “I guess that is true. I have a few skills I have gotten here so far, and they do help. It's just such a different way of life. I do think I like it in the long run though.”
Sarah said, “What are your plans after you get the teacher skill?”
Emily said, “That one is easy. I have traveled around a little since getting here and I love the Forest zone and there is a little village named Wayrest with an herb shop, and I thought it would be fun to go there and start a school and see what skill options I can teach. You said you were given a list, and a lot of them related to what this zone is mostly used for. Well, I want to see what different things I can do.”
They spent the rest of the morning helping the kids, the parent, and the four kitchen staff figure out what they were doing, pick the skill they wanted to work on, and then help them find the resources they needed to accomplish it. When lunch rolled around, she saw Mark walk into the inn. He was back from his trip down south.
Mark sat down at an empty table and ordered lunch when the waitress showed up to take his order. He saw Sarah looking at him, and she came over to talk.
Sarah said, “I see from the order that was delivered that you found the toy shop again. You again gave enough to rile the kids up but not enough that they could all each have one.”
Mark said, “Well, I bought out the shop again, just like last time. We should look into getting a local craftsman to make them toys to play with.”
Sarah said, “Maybe. Though that isn't what I really wanted to talk about anyway. I have something I would like you to help me with.”
Mark said, “Ah, I was planning to take the rest of the day off. I deserve a break after all my trips around the area.”
Sarah said, “It is your day off, and you're going to be my test student.”
Mark said, “I thought you had enough test students with all the kids around.”
Sarah said, “But I want a more adult perspective on the school. Plus, the school is for everyone, not just kids.”
Mark said, "Really, how is a kids' school going to help me? I am not a child anymore; I am way too old for that.”
Sarah said, “The System-Sanctioned School I created is not a children's school; it's a skills school.”
Mark said, "Really, how does it work?"
Sarah sent Mark an invite to become a student. He accepted it and started looking over the menu.
[Student Registered]
Student: Mark
Active Lessons: 0 / 3
Completed Skills:
Cooking Level 1Fire Starting Level 1Kitchen Prep Level 1Mounted Travel Level 1Perimeter Awareness Level 1Primitive Crafting Level 1Rapid Assessment Level 1Resource Surveying Level 2Shared Territory Awareness Level 2Territorial Instinct Level 1Trapping Level 1◈ ◈ ◈
Sarah said, “Mark, I want you to go take three skills. I want you to pick Riding as it will help you, I hope, on your horse; I also want you to take Reading and Writing.”
Mark said, “You know I already know how to read and write, right?"
Sarah said, “You sure about that? Just kidding, of course you do, but I want to see what getting that skill does for you and what difference your requirement is from the kids to get it.”
Mark then started poking around in the interface as Sarah left to help one of the other students. He opened each window and saw what it did. He opened cooking and saw the two skills he already had and noticed that they were listed as not available. So he clicked on the Cooking skill.
[Skill Progress Locked]
Cooking Level 2
Reason: Beaver Crossing School currently provides Level 1 instruction only.
RequirementsIncrease School LevelUnlock Level 2 Instruction◈ ◈ ◈
Mark found it interesting that the window showed him the next level but would not let him earn it until the school was upgraded. That sounded similar to other System features, like outposts and villages; even Forgeworks had locked areas until it was upgraded. Mark, then, of course, clicked on the Fire Starting skill and got a similar message.
When he clicked the locked skills, he got a message explaining that the school had to award at least five skills from that subject before another one would unlock. So far, it had awarded one of five. Mark finally found the three skills that Sarah wanted him to take and accepted the lessons.
He noticed that once he picked the third skill, the screens grayed out and let him know he was at his skill limit and that he would have to drop a currently learning skill to take another choice, losing all progress up to that point. Mark then went over and shared the lessons the System had generated.
[Lesson Generated]
Riding Level 1
Requirements
Ride at least 10 miles on a trained mount (0 / 10)Mount and dismount 20 times using proper technique (0 / 20)Demonstrate basic control while riding at a walk, trot, and canter
Reward
Riding Level 1
[Lesson Generated]
Reading Level 1
Requirements
Read three different written documents completelyCorrectly answer questions demonstrating comprehensionRead one unfamiliar document without assistance
Reward
Reading Level 1
[Lesson Generated]
Writing Level 1
Requirements
Copy one page of text with no major errorsWrite a complete journal entry describing the day's activitiesProduce one written report documenting an observed location or completed project
Reward
Writing Level 1
Sarah said, "Wow, your reading and writing lessons are really different from what the kids' lessons are. I really like how the System customizes the lesson to fit the student.”
Mark said, “The System is pretty amazing in some of its offerings. There's no way to game the System by taking all the super-easy skills. Also, it's interesting that we can only learn Level 1 skills here. You will need to work on upgrading the school so that we can see what else will be offered. After looking at the list available now, even I have to admit a few of the skills sound interesting to get.”
Mark finally left the inn and headed over to his cabin to take his day off after promising that he would work on and complete at least one item off each of his task lists by the end of the day.
Mark spent the rest of the day working on his skills training and catching up with others around the village. His furniture had arrived and was stacked up in his front room, so he went and put it where he wanted around his cabin and picked up the items he had left on the floor and found a place for each of them.
The last thing he did was write the journal entry for his assignment. When he opened the lesson afterward, he was happy to see it checked off.
[Lesson Progress]
Writing Level 1✓ Copy one page of text✓ Complete journal entry
RemainingProduce one written report documenting an observed location or completed project◈ ◈ ◈