All the News [Phlox]

[Dragon]

Ick, studying together. Renkestuous did not understand why they needed to know a lot of the stuff that was pushed in lessons. All that purely academic stuff was phooey.

"Im not the best at all the classwork," Renkestuous admitted, "but I guess we could study some stuff together. I'm killer at the stuff that actually has to do with dragonriding."

He also could read and write well and actually didn't do badly at answering questions in things like reading and mathematics when he was trapped into it, but he had no patience for all this sharding busywork.

[FirebrandPhlox]

Quentin sighed. "I'm not great at it either," they admitted. They switched to signing for their next thought. I understand caring for dragons and knot tying and the like, but the book learning is tough. I don't know why we need all those extra lessons that don't have much to do with dragons.

They hadn't admitted those thoughts to anyone else yet, but they were true. And Renkestuous seemed like the sort of person who would agree with Quentin. Quentin wouldn't dare admit those thoughts in front of some of the other candidates though.

[Dragon]

It wasn't so much that Renkestuous found the book work hard as he was just completely unmotivated to do it. Because Quentin was right ... it had nothing to do with learning to become a dragonrider. "I don't know why we need them either," Renkestuous complained. "We should be focused on actually becoming dragonriders!"

Even as the son of a dragonrider, Renkestuous didn't really understand the need for all the busy work. He was so frustrated, even after five turns, with having to do the work that had nothing to do with being a dragonrider, and he was glad to have found someone who felt the same way.

[FirebrandPhlox]

"I would like a lot more practical lessons," Quentin said as they nodded in agreement. "I know there are some, but I wish there were more." They didn't just want to read about how to care for a dragon or listen to lectures on the matter. They wanted more opportunities to actually try things with their own hands. There were some practical lessons, but not nearly enough in Quentin's opinion.

"What would you have us learn, if you were in charge?" Quentin asked. If Renkestuous was a rider's son, maybe he had an idea of what lessons were more important for actually being a rider.

[Dragon]

"I agree," Renkestuous said. While he'd begrudgingly admit to the need to study some things before getting to try them, he thought that doing was a much better teacher than reading.

He had to think about what he would have candidates learn if he were making the curriculum. It wasn't a question that he'd ever been posed before. "Well, for one, I think we should all be taken Between before our first trip with our dragons, just so we know what to expect and don't panic and get lost." He was actually a little surprised that didn't happen more often; Between was intense and scary. "Also, we should definitely be doing a lot more of the chores of helping to take care of dragons, and less ... you know, reading and math and pen-cleaning."

[FirebrandPhlox]

Quentin nodded, Renkestuous was speaking a lot of sense. Despite being told what Between was like, they really weren't sure what to expect should they actually get to experience it for themselves. Having lessons where they got to go Between before doing it on their own with their dragon seemed like a great idea. It was honestly surprising that no-one had thought to implement that lesson sooner.

"You should tell the Candidatemaster that idea about Between. It's a good one." It was the honest truth, it was a good idea as far as Quentin could tell. Maybe if Renkestuous suggested it, it would be accepted and they would get some more practical lessons in place.

[Dragon]

"Maybe I will." Renkestuous had never reawlly thought about being that proactive before, but it could be a good idea. "Not maybe. I will! He could find Naxen and try to corner her to suggest that they have a practical Between lesson so that Weyrlings weren't surprised by what they found there. He could do that!

They should get together all their ideas first, though. "What about you? What sort of practical lessons would you like to introduce?" Quentin had to have some ideas too, right? Renkestuous couldn't be the only one to have notions about how things should be done.

[FirebrandPhlox]

Quentin gave Renkestuous a small smile when the boy assured he would talk to the candidatemaster about his lesson idea. His energy truly was infectious, and it was a legitimately good idea.

They took a moment to think about their question, not expecting it to be turned back on them. They were still so new to being a candidate that they weren't entirely sure how the whole process was supposed to work, but they had seen a few things that they thought could be improved.

"Well," they drew out the word, formulating the thought as they spoke. They stood with their mouth open a moment, not being able to find the right words to describe the thought. They switched to sign again. I know we help with some dragon care, but I think we should do more of it. We learn a lot in the classroom about the theory behind it, but it's not the same as actually getting your hands dirty. They have plenty of dragons around for us to help bathe and such, I don't see why we don't do more of it instead of learning math.