Global Citizenship - Winter Term (Open to five)

Adelaide Goshawk liked Christmas Cheer about as much as she liked getting tiny needles poked into her skin pores, which is to say that she tolerated both because the witch understood that both activities contributed to the perception of a greater good. Still, as December rolled in and the staff and students alike began the massive undertaking that was the school's decoration this time of year, the First Lady couldn't help but take long routes to her estimation to avoid the cheer. Just because she tolerated something did not mean she had to do so in full.

To balance out the abundance of shiny light and colorful hangings, the Global Citizenship classroom remained stark and dreary, not even a stray sprig of holly on the door to mark the occasion. The Headmistress could only hope her students would take comfort from the fact that no matter at happened around the world, her classroom would always remain the same.

And indeed, a lot was happening around the world. Now it was time to see how many of her students could actually keep up with the fragile sate of affairs they were now unwillingly a part of.

Taking her place at the front desk, Adelaide reached for her copy of the Prophet more out of habit than any real need to read it. The woman flicked through the pages, skipping the society section where she and Harvey were featured prominently at a ribbon cuttng ceremony last week and heading straight for the finances. The new Travel Ban across America was bound to affect trade in the worst possible way.

This winter wasn't as fun as it usually was. Instead of going home and seeing her parents, siblings, and her other pets that weren't in Hogwarts, her and her only memory of home Ella went to Dia's for the holidays. They were in the process of adopting her, as much as she was grateful, they would never be her true parents. She never got to say goodbye either. Elena walked into the classroom and saw she was the only one there.

Elena took a random seat and brought out all the supplies she would need from her bag and had it on her desk. Elena didn't want to think about her loss. She never imagined this is what she would be like, Elena didn't want to keep being sad, as much as she loves the Greene's she just wanted to find some sort of happiness that brought the light back into her eyes. The light that was practically gone the moment she found out her family was murdered.

Dominique walked into the Global Citizenship classroom. She has seen that she wasn’t the first one but at least she wasn’t late. Looking around she smiled as she seen that Elena was there. Now she would have to focus. Even though she wanted to be outside to play in the snow. That was something that she would have to do later. “ Good morning headmistress.” She smiled as she took a seat beside of Elena. Now she was going to have to pay extra attention. As she knew how tough the headmistress could be. And she promised her uncle that she would do good in school. But she hadn’t gotten a letter from him. Which she assumed that she could write him again. Right now it was time to pay attention as it was important.

As you had to pay close attention, if not you would get lost. And if that would happen then you best believe that she would say something out loud. And she already knew all about that and didn’t want it to happen again.

Clara didn't much care for the holiday spirit. She didn't hate it, she just...didn't really care either way. There were some nice things about the holidays of course--she enjoyed going home to visit her parents, she enjoyed the time to herself during the break, and she liked presents as much as the next person--but the whole "Christmas spirit" thing with the decorations and the traditions, and the horrid music...she could do without that. She saw Christmas as an excuse more than anything. In an increasingly secular world, it had mostly lost its original meaning, and was now simply an excuse to take a break and celebrate something, even if that something was different for everyone. She guessed the idea had some merit. The tinsel and bells and mistletoe on the other hand were simply unnecessary.

As such, she felt vaguely relieved as she stepped into the Global Citizenship classroom to find it completely unaffected by the holiday cheer that had assaulted the rest of the school. Even with the break approaching, this class would proceed as normal. Clara appreciated normalcy.

She took her usual seat, as she did every class, and retrieved her usual supplies, glad to maintain the routine she'd grown used to.

With the class full and the black board still blank, Adelaide watched her students carefully. They had all learned that this class wasn't for idle chatter and so, none were whispering among themselves - something the redhead surveyed with pride. She might actually recall this group fondly if she ceased teaching from next year. They had come a long way from the batch that first ambled into her class expecting mind numbing formatted learning and book recitation. By the time they were done with her class, each student would be equipped with the most dangerous tool of all - critical thinking.

"Good day class," the Headmistress began as the door shut soundly behind them, barring entry to anyone who hadn't bothered showing up on time. Adelaide had been pleasantly surprised to not have had to paste a list of blacklisted names up at the door over the first term. Everyone who attended her class participated or submitted their homework - most did both.

"As students, your work does not extend to only the classroom and the school. Books are merely opinions printed on words or formulae that can help but they are not the final say on any matter. They are also not very useful in studying current events." Here she paused, glancing down at ehr copy of the Daily Prophet. It wasn't simply meant for her perusal but instead would serve at today's teaching tool.

"For those of you who keep up with current events, congratulations. You are already better than abut eighty percent of your peers. Take comfort in not being simply mediocre." With that, her gaze drifted to those who looked like they had never opened a newspaper in their life. "And to those who do not, I suggest you start immediately. Information is power, and if you don't think you need every bit of it, you are in the wrong class."

The redhead let this sink in before continuing. "In your desk drawers,you will find a copy of The Daily prophet, The New York Times, Le Figaro, Novaya Gazeta, Berita Harian and Dawn - popular publications from around the world. Do not reach for them yet." The newspapers chosen had been selected carefully for the course, and they would be required for the week's homework. But first, Adelaide wanted to see how many could recall recent stories independent of the learning aid in their desk.

"So, without looking at the source material, can anyone offer up anything interesting they've read or seen or heard through the news recently?"

Clara didn't actively seek out the news, but she did like to stay informed. She mostly kept up with new studies, subscribing to a number of scientific journals and online updates that got sent to her phone. Her parents also discussed current events at the dinner table when she went home, so she certainly wasn't uneducated by any means. Even some of her mum's emails mentioned interesting snippets from the muggle news, which was harder to get ahold of at Hogwarts.

Clara had once gotten a subscription to the Daily Prophet sometime during her fourth year, but though she did like to know what was going on, she found the paper a little too...embellished for her taste. Some of the stories either seemed clearly biased, or extremely exaggerated, and she soon grew tired of having to comb through the fluff to get to some semblance of truth. She'd decided not to renew her subscription once the year had ended.

The headmistress' words prompted her to reconsider. Information was power, those were words she lived by. Perhaps it may be worth it to consider a different news source, if she could find one she trusted. As it was, she was kept relatively well-informed about muggle news via her parents, and she was fairly certain the headmistress would consider that just as valid as wizarding news. She had mentioned The New York Times in her list of papers, and that was one of the ones Clara's mum read.

She raised her hand, following Elenore's analysis of the ICWW situation. Clara may not be as informed of the wizarding side of things, but she knew a thing or two about what the muggles were saying.

"Part of the situation in America stems from turmoil within the muggle government," she started when called upon. "Donald Trump, who was first elected in 2016, is at the end of his second term as president. He decided to run for a third term this past year, despite a rule in the American Constitution prohibiting more than two terms as president. This sparked a national controversy as he was eventually allowed to run. He lost, but the country is still reeling from the strange events of the election season. Plus, they have to adjust to a change in parties as Trump prepares to leave, and America's first female president takes his place."

She attempted to summarize the past year as best she could. Her mum was half Puerto Rican, and had grown up in America, so she tended to keep up with American news, and had very strong feelings about President Trump. Clara tried to keep any familial bias out of her explanation, sticking strictly with the facts lest she end up like the Daily Prophet.

Elena read newspapers when she really had to, but there was one that she had read. She came to this class because she liked it but the article she had read from before made her wonder really on if Global Citizen was a thing. There was a man who wondered if there was such a thing as Global Citizen. She waited for the Ravenclaw girl to have her answer before Elena added hers.

"There was an article I read about if Global Citizen was real. The man talked about how the community would never come together to stop the importance of poverty to save the community. He also wonders what would happen if the community would put their differences aside to come together to stop pollution, to save schools, and even help one another with just normal things. It's sad because it makes one wonder" Elena knew that kindness was everything but sometimes it was never returned most of the time.