Long time no see.
Yes I know it's been a long while since I posted last. I even broke my "Most post once per week" promise.
The thing is I've been very, very busy the last couple of weeks. Of course I still have my internship and have to prepare for the lessons. But on top of that I had an RPG convention where I had to run two scenarios.
One of them where my own so you would think I didn't have to spend that much time to prepare for it. But no, it was so popular that it would run 3 times, two of which I would not personally run. So I had to write it so another person could run it, without any prior knowledge to it. That took a lot of work, as I wanted them to understand my 'version' of it exactly and still have room for the variables and so on. So it ended with a total of 50-something pages of notes, and then some 10 pages of drawings, maps and other handouts I had to make.
Now the other scenario is not my own, I was persuaded to take it instead of being a player. It is a scenario that has won several popularity awards in the Danish RPG-community and a really intense and 'deep' scenario. I wanted to 'live up to the challenge'. And so I had to spend a lot of time reading, rereading and planning it. As it is a very open investigation scenario with a LOT of info and NPC's I had to know all about.
But man it was fun :)
I also played in two different scenarios. One was a bit too predictable and straightforward, but us players managed to make it fun in spite of it.
The other was a fantasy scenario with a twist of Shrek/Discworld -humor. It was extremely amusing and very silly. I love it. ^^
I haven't been to an RPG-convention in some 7 years or so, but I'm definitely going next year if I have the time.
Well now my winterholidays are over and I'm back to my internship.
It was a pretty rough start. The first to meet me is one of the other interns who had the class I was going to have. She warned me that one of the students wasn't in a good mood. Ok, fair enough, I'd keep an eye out for her.
And my History-lessons go fairly well, expect of course there was a lot of chit.chatter as it was the first day after the hollidays. It was a bit tiring and I hadn't gotten much sleep so I was about to snap, but didn't. No biggie.
But then next, after the lunchbreak I should have Math with a co-intern. And everything broke down.
I'll never understand teenage girl-drama, but man it is time-consuming and tedious.
Apparently one of the girls, the one I mentioned earlier, who wasn't in such a good mood, and then her 'friends' had talked about her behind her back (that's how she understood it at least). Then she had cried and they had gotten their class-teacher and now the other girls thought that she (the alone girl) was telling him things about THEM, and so they started talking about that and so on.
Anyway. 5 mins into the math-hour the lone girl suddenly runs from the class tears down her cheeks, and I go to check what's the matter and get the whole story (from her perspective). When I enter the class again there is close to an uproar as the other girl wants to tell their side and a couple of them is also crying as they feel wrongly treated (exactly how or why I don't understand at this time).
So I take that group of girls out the class as well, to get their version. After this (and a lot of crying and yelling) I get their class-teacher. Well I try at least. He is teaching another class and says he'll come as fast as possible.
So I'm still standing with 6+1 heartbroken girls. The big group of girls 'demands' to talk to the lone girl. This I am not allowing because she wants to be left alone (she is really not in a good mood). With a lot of persuasion I manage the big group of girls to go back to class and then go back and talk with the lone girl and also get her to do some math to keep her mind off of things. We also make a deal that we will all talk after the class is over, where the Class-teacher will also be present.
Ok. I have now gathered that the lone girl is often in a poor mood, thanks to a lot of things. And the other girls feel that they try to be good friends but do not get recognition for this. I tried explaining them that part of being a good friend is to give others their space when they need it.
In the end the 6 girls wanted the lone girl to answer a single questions "Are we still friends". A question I knew the lone girl didn't wanted to answer right now with all the other girls standing around her. But they simply couldn't accept the wait. "It had to be right now!". An unsaid ultimatum hang in the air "Either you answer, or we are not friends". I'm glad I was there to "protect" the lone girl. And state that noone should answer anything right that moment.
What I have learned is that teenage girls prioritize social relationship 'degrees' extremely. Who are friends with who. Who are "the most friends", who are now her 'best friend' and why has that changed and "how dare she not have me as her best friend anymore!?"
With boys it's much more easy. Either you are friends or you are not. You do not have degrees of friendship. And if you somehow have a problem with someone you just stay away from each other. Jeez.
Well it was an informative day and I certainly got to use some of the fancy psychology stuff we learn as part of the education ;).
The kids would actually rather talk with me than their class-teacher as they felt he didn't listen and no good came of it.
I'll try to update more often.
The thing is I've been very, very busy the last couple of weeks. Of course I still have my internship and have to prepare for the lessons. But on top of that I had an RPG convention where I had to run two scenarios.
One of them where my own so you would think I didn't have to spend that much time to prepare for it. But no, it was so popular that it would run 3 times, two of which I would not personally run. So I had to write it so another person could run it, without any prior knowledge to it. That took a lot of work, as I wanted them to understand my 'version' of it exactly and still have room for the variables and so on. So it ended with a total of 50-something pages of notes, and then some 10 pages of drawings, maps and other handouts I had to make.
Now the other scenario is not my own, I was persuaded to take it instead of being a player. It is a scenario that has won several popularity awards in the Danish RPG-community and a really intense and 'deep' scenario. I wanted to 'live up to the challenge'. And so I had to spend a lot of time reading, rereading and planning it. As it is a very open investigation scenario with a LOT of info and NPC's I had to know all about.
But man it was fun :)
I also played in two different scenarios. One was a bit too predictable and straightforward, but us players managed to make it fun in spite of it.
The other was a fantasy scenario with a twist of Shrek/Discworld -humor. It was extremely amusing and very silly. I love it. ^^
I haven't been to an RPG-convention in some 7 years or so, but I'm definitely going next year if I have the time.
Well now my winterholidays are over and I'm back to my internship.
It was a pretty rough start. The first to meet me is one of the other interns who had the class I was going to have. She warned me that one of the students wasn't in a good mood. Ok, fair enough, I'd keep an eye out for her.
And my History-lessons go fairly well, expect of course there was a lot of chit.chatter as it was the first day after the hollidays. It was a bit tiring and I hadn't gotten much sleep so I was about to snap, but didn't. No biggie.
But then next, after the lunchbreak I should have Math with a co-intern. And everything broke down.
I'll never understand teenage girl-drama, but man it is time-consuming and tedious.
Apparently one of the girls, the one I mentioned earlier, who wasn't in such a good mood, and then her 'friends' had talked about her behind her back (that's how she understood it at least). Then she had cried and they had gotten their class-teacher and now the other girls thought that she (the alone girl) was telling him things about THEM, and so they started talking about that and so on.
Anyway. 5 mins into the math-hour the lone girl suddenly runs from the class tears down her cheeks, and I go to check what's the matter and get the whole story (from her perspective). When I enter the class again there is close to an uproar as the other girl wants to tell their side and a couple of them is also crying as they feel wrongly treated (exactly how or why I don't understand at this time).
So I take that group of girls out the class as well, to get their version. After this (and a lot of crying and yelling) I get their class-teacher. Well I try at least. He is teaching another class and says he'll come as fast as possible.
So I'm still standing with 6+1 heartbroken girls. The big group of girls 'demands' to talk to the lone girl. This I am not allowing because she wants to be left alone (she is really not in a good mood). With a lot of persuasion I manage the big group of girls to go back to class and then go back and talk with the lone girl and also get her to do some math to keep her mind off of things. We also make a deal that we will all talk after the class is over, where the Class-teacher will also be present.
Ok. I have now gathered that the lone girl is often in a poor mood, thanks to a lot of things. And the other girls feel that they try to be good friends but do not get recognition for this. I tried explaining them that part of being a good friend is to give others their space when they need it.
In the end the 6 girls wanted the lone girl to answer a single questions "Are we still friends". A question I knew the lone girl didn't wanted to answer right now with all the other girls standing around her. But they simply couldn't accept the wait. "It had to be right now!". An unsaid ultimatum hang in the air "Either you answer, or we are not friends". I'm glad I was there to "protect" the lone girl. And state that noone should answer anything right that moment.
What I have learned is that teenage girls prioritize social relationship 'degrees' extremely. Who are friends with who. Who are "the most friends", who are now her 'best friend' and why has that changed and "how dare she not have me as her best friend anymore!?"
With boys it's much more easy. Either you are friends or you are not. You do not have degrees of friendship. And if you somehow have a problem with someone you just stay away from each other. Jeez.
Well it was an informative day and I certainly got to use some of the fancy psychology stuff we learn as part of the education ;).
The kids would actually rather talk with me than their class-teacher as they felt he didn't listen and no good came of it.
I'll try to update more often.