Heavy Hangs the Head (Glee, oneshot)

[aishuu]

Heavy Hangs the Head
by: aishuu
Fandom: Glee
Spoilers: Through Prom Queen
Rating: PG
Wordcount: 2,500
Warnings: Offensive language, homophobia, educational politics
Characters: Figgins, Kurt, Sue, Karofsky, Will, McKinley Student Body
Notes: The "Air Supply" tweak is a deliberate "reinterpretation." Thanks to sophiap for her usual excellent input

Comments

[riah_chan]

That was one of the best views inside a school-administration that I've seen in a story, fanfic or other. I'm not an admin, but all the rules and regulations feel just like that. Interesting story.

[aishuu]

Thank you! Since I know you're intimately familiar with school admins, that's really nice to hear.

[sinkwriter]

Fascinating take.

I can hear Figgins from the show in this characterization. (And you know I kept waiting for the part about his hands being tied -- you used it at the perfect moment, right there at the end.) I found his reaction so curious when watching the episode; he looked angry, and I wondered if he thought this was simply an unfunny prank and he was not amused with any of his students and their 'shenanigans' in that moment, more that than actually feeling for Kurt, and you managed to convey that -- along with the rest of Figgins' struggles with school and education and being a principal and a bureaucrat -- in a believable way throughout.

P.S. Love the "Heir Supply" moniker. Hilarious.

Complete side-note P.S. Are you still working on "Let The Rain Sing You A Lullaby"? I love that piece, and am so curious to see where you'll take it next. *playful and encouraging nudge nudge*

[aishuu]

Thank you!

And you know I kept waiting for the part about his hands being tied -- you used it at the perfect moment, right there at the end.

I almost went with making it a recurring statement, but decided to reserve it. It's very true his hands are tied, if we choose to look at it from an administrative/bureaucratic POV.

I kept trying to figure out what the hell he was thinking, actually going through with crowning Kurt. This is my explanation (although honestly, I get that RIB probably didn't think it through).

PS - I almost went with "Eire Supply" and Irish music.

Complete side-note P.S. - It's in progress. I don't seem to have much luck writing while the show is active, so I'm hoping hiatus will be kinder. I was working on it last week, but this fic jumped the line.

[lls_mutant]

I needed this fic so badly. THANK YOU.

Interestingly, I think it was this line:

You know Burt Hummel is going to end up in your office first thing Monday morning, but you'd rather deal with one irate parent than face down the ACLU.

that made Figgins' decision suddenly make sense to me. Because that is exactly how Figgins would see it, and worse, it's the truth. He's in potential trouble either way, and yeah. And then the whole idea of Figgins turning it into a teaching moment, and knowingly sacrifice Kurt to that awful silence when yeah, probably a lot of the students realized just how mean what they'd done was, and how few realized how truly cruel it was....

Plus, like the poster above me said, this was a fantastic (and all too realistic) exploration of educational politics. (I loved the comments about No Child Left Behind.)

(Also, the bit about Figgins not getting why they're singing "Friday" on a Saturday racked me up.)

I really enjoyed this one- thanks for posting it!

[aishuu]

I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one who wanted explanation of why the hell Figgins let it get so far. Somehow it got into the educational politics side of things - something I think the show misses the boat on. Yes, the arts in education are important, but they're only one component of the issues facing the system. It's an immensely complicated problem.

And yeah, the Friday was based on Figgins' knowledge of popculture as displayed by "Kei$ha."

[hermiones_twin]

As a future teacher and one who knows a lot about schools and how they run, I really loved how you wrote Figgins. The pragmatism, the cynicism, etc. Unusual, surprising, and really, really good.

[aishuu]

Thank you! I'm really glad it worked for you, since this is targeted at people who might understand some of the rambling about what Figgins is going through.

[manatree]

This is a fantastic story, giving a voice to a character that doesn't often get heard from. It's very believable, too, from a school point of view - I'm a teacher, albeit in a grade school, but the take on educational politics were dead on. Love it!

[aishuu]

Thank you! I'm really glad to hear the educational politics thing worked for you - I tried to make it realistic from my understanding of the issues, and that there's no simple solutions or fixes.