Civics Class (open)

[Warren Worthington III]

(( OOC: Open to anyone who wants to be in Warren's Civics class, or observing it, or whatever. ))

" We the people of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. "

Warren writes the words down on the blackboard as he recites them, idly wishing his TK were reliable enough to avoid getting chalk on his hands. "The Preamble to the Constitution of the United States. Probably the most often quoted part of it, at least by laypeople. Practically nobody thinks about it much."

He underlines a phrase as he quotes it: "‘To form a more perfect union.’ More perfect than what? I’ll give you a clue: as you know, or should know if you did the reading, the Constitution was not one of the founding documents of this country. Who can tell me what it replaced, and when?"

Warren looks around at the usual collection of attentive and blank and terrified faces in his Civics class, some of whom were relatively new transfers, and decides to pick on someone who looks like they’ve done the reading. Let them start out doing something right, he figures… it tends to make the rest of the class go by more smoothly.

[Matthew Craft]

"The Preamble to the Constitution of the United States. Probably the most often quoted part of it, at least by laypeople. Practically nobody thinks about it much." This class is way over Matthew’s head, but that doesn’t prevent the fact that he needs the credit if he wants to graduate. It was either Mr. Worthington’s Civics class or a math or science credit, and Matthew knows that he would be doing much worse in one of those classes.

With his head resting heavily on a hand and his attentional wavering in and out, Matthew’s finding it hard not to fall asleep in front of his instructor. US history just isn’t his thing, and neither were politics. But again, this class is a necessity, so he drags himself to it everyday whether he wants to or not.

“The Constitution was not one of the founding documents of this country. Who can tell me what it replaced, and when?" Matthew perks up slightly. At least he knows that...or at least thinks he knows that. For the sake of his participation mark, he hesitantly raises his hand and speaks up.

“Uh...the Articles of Confederation in 1789?” He sits and almost fearfully waits to hear if he’s gotten the answer right, lest he be outed in front of the class for having the wrong answer.

[Warren Worthington III]

> “Uh...the Articles of Confederation in 1789?”

"Right! " Warren smiles widely at the answer, as much to keep the classroom rhythm going as for any other reason. "The Articles of Confederation were actually the first constitution of this country, completed in 1781. And I look around at all your shining faces and, as if suddenly telepathic, I can perceive you all sharing a single, profound, and pervasive thought, namely: ‘Warren! What possible reason do I have to care about the Articles of Confederation, much less when they were signed?’" He sees a few nervous smiles at that, and grins back.

"So, here’s the important thing. The Articles of Confederation established the United States of America as a confederation… hence the name. The Constitution, ratified less than ten years later, established the United States as a federation. You see? Clear as day!" He laughs a little manically, sits cross-legged on top of his desk, and goes on before anyone can get too confused, "The difference is: a federation is a single sovereign entity, a confederation is a group of sovereign entities. In other words, in 1781 the states agreed to work together but retained their own sovereignty; in effect they each were a nation unto themselves.

And that’s what this ‘more perfect union’ business is about. The Articles of Confederation talked about uniting for the common defense, to provide general welfare, and to secure liberties… but the framers of the Constitution came along and said ‘Well, that’s great, but in order to form a more perfect union, along with all that other stuff, we have to give up some of our sovereignty to create a strong federal government.’ To quote Benjamin Franklin: ‘We must hang together, or assuredly we must all hang separately.’

Now, that sounds great, except… take a second and think about it. You’re, let’s say, the governor of Maryland, or Virginia, or any of the other colonies. You just got finished fighting a huge war with England, the whole point of which was to establish your autonomy and independence from a central government. And along comes this lawyer, young Alex Hamilton, and says “So, sure, this Union of ours is great, but you know what we need to make it more perfect? A stronger central government.” So of course you cheer him on, right?

Of course not. You tell him to go on home, and not politely at that. And Alex knows that. So, what’s all this about, really? " He’s on a roll now, hopping off his desk and walking straight through the middle of his class to pull a large canvas bag off from a shelf in the back of the room.

"What it’s usually about: money." To emphasize his point, he spills the contents of the sack onto his desk… about twenty dollars worth of pennies, making a great dramatic clanging that, he hopes, wakes up the sleepier students in his class. "You see, the Articles of Confederation didn’t allow for the collection of taxes from the individual states. Which meant that all of Mr. Hamilton’s big plans for this new country, the national bank and the strong trade agreements and a central army and the Coast Guard and all of that stuff, there wasn’t any way to fund any of it. So he needed a federation!

He got the thing ratified, thanks largely to the support of a popular general name of Washington. You’ve heard of him. And he went on to push those big ideas for a couple of decades, until his chief rival – an obscure fellow named Tom Jefferson – became President in 1800, and Hamilton lost a lot of support. Except a decade later, we were at war with Britain again… the War of 1812… and all these individual states realized that it’s hard to fight a war without strong central leadership, and no-longer-young Mr. Hamilton became a lot more popular.

Or, well, his ideas did; Alex himself died in 1804, in a duel with Vice President Aaron Burr, but that’s another story.

So, for those of you who are still wondering why you should care about any of this stuff…" He walks back to the blackboard and writes ‘MONEY POWER WAR’ in large letters, "I answer that we’re dancing the same dance two centuries later, and it’s time we got good at it. And I’d probably say the same thing to any class of high-school students but I say it more loudly here because, in case you’d forgotten: you’re mutants."

He’s completely serious now, working to catch their attention. " Wasn’t that long ago a fellow mutant the press tagged ‘Magneto’ fought his own revolutionary war; rest assured he won’t be the last one to try it. You’re going to hear this song play out again in your lifetime, and like it or not most of you aren’t going to get to choose whether you dance or not. Your only choice will be whether or not you lead.

So… here’s one of the big questions, buried underneath a bunch of boring statistics about who wrote the Federalist papers and when the Constitution was ratified. The question is: how much autonomy do you demand? Demand too much, refuse to cooperate, and enemy troops slice you up. But accept too much external authority and all of a sudden you aren’t a free agent. So… where do you stand? "

He sits back down on his desk and lets the echoes of his little performance die down. More quietly, he adds "That wasn’t a rhetorical question, folks. Let me see some hands…"

[Laurie Collins]

[[So...Laurie's sort of a brat sometimes now 0.o]]

Laurie’s spent most of the class so far slumped down in her seat, staring at the surface of the desk as if by avoiding eye contact with the teacher she can become completely invisible. This isn’t an unusual set of circumstances- she’s spent most of high school doing her damndest to avoid speaking in front of the class- but her expression usually tends more towards the fearfully tense than the sullen and openly, almost mockingly given how hard Warren’s trying to keep the class interested, bored cast it’s settled into today. Her focus isn’t on her Civics notes either, she’s rather blatantly doing her lit reading in preparation for her next class without a hint of remorse or nerves at the idea that she’ll be caught.

Her scowl cracks briefly into a smile when Matthew pipes up with a correct answer and she nudges him with her left elbow, raising her eyebrows slightly in an expression meant to convey well at least one of us did the reading. That’s more reflex than anything else though, in their time in the future and since getting back it sometimes feels like he’s one of the only people she’s still herself around and the idea of being snitty with him hasn’t really crossed her mind. With everyone else there are days when a strange sense of irritation, like she’s in a tiny space beating her fists against the wall and just can’t get out, has been cropping up, even with her mother. Especially with mom, she thinks a little wryly, remembering the fight they’d had the night before but still unsure as to the cause. It had just sort of escalated subtly yet seemingly inevitably and unlike the occasional spats they’d had in the past when Laurie had stormed back to her own room there had been no sense of catharsis or guilt, only the same steady, throbbing irritation and the sense of being somewhere too small. She’d spent the rest of the night alternately reading and watching TV, not really able to focus on either but not wanting to do her homework. Now she’s still in a bad mood from it and wants nothing so much as to just get out of here and be left alone about the Constitution already.

The class goes quiet suddenly and she jerks her head up a little, she’d been letting the lecture wash over her like white noise and its sudden absence is startling, just in time to hear Warren’s closing question:


So… here’s one of the big questions, buried underneath a bunch of boring statistics about who wrote the Federalist papers and when the Constitution was ratified. The question is: how much autonomy do you demand? Demand too much, refuse to cooperate, and enemy troops slice you up. But accept too much external authority and all of a sudden you aren’t a free agent. So… where do you stand? "

Doesn’t matter. The troops slice you up anyway. Wasn’t that what he meant when he said I should just drop out and take ballistics? She sighs audibly and flips another page in her reading.

[Warren Worthington III]

The silence is always the hardest part.

Fortunately for Warren, one of the skills from his earlier life he’s found translates well to teaching is patience. It’s an important negotiating tool; sometimes the most important thing you can do during a negotiation is sit still and let the other person do something. Turns out the same thing is true in the classroom. He’s never been comfortable with silence, but he can fake it astonishingly well.

Besides, he hadn’t asked a simple question, and he wasn’t expecting simple answers. He could see gears turning behind at least some pairs of eyes, making connections between the power and control issues in his little lecture and their personal version of the basic struggle between autonomy and communality that pretty much defines adolescence.

Truthfully, he doesn’t care too much what answers he gets. He’d asked the question primarily to make them think about it, to tie the abstractions of early American history to something they actually care about, make the whole thing easier to remember.

All of that said, not all silence is created equal. And, in particular, the Collins girl is giving him the same sullen silence she’s been giving him for weeks now. Ever since they returned from… wherever it is they were. He still isn’t quite on board with calling it “the future,” though the memories Josh has shared with him have forced him to accept that as at least a working theory.

From what he’d gathered about the state of affairs in… there, he hadn’t been too surprised by her withdrawal; he’d decided at the time to give her some time and some space to collect herself. Now, he’s beginning to think that’s not going to be good enough.

Quietly, he reaches out with a wingtip and shuts the book she’s reading. "How about you, Miss Collins? Do you favor a strong central authority, or a loose coalition of independents?"

[Laurie Collins]

Laurie jumps a little when her book flips shut, flushing with embarrassed indignation and tensing up all her muscles to keep from flinching again.

"How about you, Miss Collins? Do you favor a strong central authority, or a loose coalition of independents?"

She shrugs, chin up, eyes straight ahead, doing a pretty good stab at fearlessly defiant except that her gaze is focused about a foot to the left of Warren’s face and her blush isn’t fading. It’s like the rest of the class is drilling into her with their eyes, Dani, Michael, even Matthew, pushing against her with their startled focus as she just holds that angrily frozen pose instead of shaking or apologizing or muttering something with so many facts no one quite notices there’s no opinion buried in there. The feeling is as good as a spur, urging her incoherently swirling emotions into actual thoughts- Where does he get off pretending to be the ‘inspiring teacher’ or whatever? It’s not like he actually cares, the second things get hard he’ll ditch this stupid class and he’ll ditch us and suddenly the next great idea is ballistics. Why should I have to listen to anything he says? Even he’ll think I’m dumb for listening to him in a few years. She feels a thrill go down her spine and sits up straighter, not giving herself time to actually analyze that thought, just giving in to the new feeling of righteous anger, grabbing onto it and clinging as it pushes the doubts and embarrassment and insecurities to the back of her mind. “I don’t think it matters.” She says finally and her hands tighten briefly to a white knuckled grip around the book on her desk before she forces them to relax again, face hot enough to power at least one wing of the Institute, and the urge to dart a glance at Matthew almost overpowering her determination not to break her defiant stare focused on…well, the space directly over Warren’s shoulder but she’s telling herself she doesn’t need to look him in the eye because she…doesn’t. I don’t care. I don’t care if I get in trouble. I really don’t. Really.

[Warren Worthington III]

> " I don’t think it matters. "

Warren blinks in astonishment at Laurie’s response.

Granted, it’s far from being the most insolent or hostile comment he’s gotten from a student… but, considering the source, Warren figures it has to count for significantly more. In fact, compared to Laurie’s baseline tendency to hide under her desk, that response is… he “hms” quietly as he thinks about it… roughly comparable to, say, Allerdyce setting the room on fire.

And given the timing, and what she went through during her visit to what he’s clearly going to have to get on board with calling “the future,” he suspects this isn't just a fit of adolescent pique.

All of which is to say, this seems like the sort of situation where counseling is more appropriate than ordinary classroom discipline. That said, there’s still half an hour left in the class period, and he can’t very well spend it dealing with one suddenly-difficult student.

" Mistaken, but interesting. I look forward to hearing your reasoning after class. Until then, you can either remain in your seat and make an effort to at least appear attentive, or wait for me in my office, whichever you prefer."

Rather than start a staring contest the outcome of which he’s unsure of, Warren turns back to the rest of the class. "Any other thoughts?"

[Matthew Craft]

"Right!" Relief washes over him. At least some of what he read has sunk in. Odds are, he won’t be able to answer another question like that again. At least, not in this class.

He spends the next few minutes trying to pay attention as he jots down a few of the key points that Warren mentions. It’ll probably all be on a test, so Matthew makes sure he has record of what’s been taught in class, just in case.

“Except a decade later, we were at war with Britain again… the War of 1812… and all these individual states realized that it’s hard to fight a war without strong central leadership, and no-longer-young Mr. Hamilton became a lot more popular.” Matthew looks up again. This part sounds familiar.

“He became a lot more popular, yeah, but that didn’t help win that war.” He remembers his father, Jacob from the ever-proud Canadian Craft clan, talking about the War of 1812 at one point. “The Canadians and the British still managed to burn the White House down. That really must have hurt Alex Hamilton’s whole idea of the central government, with DC being a pile of ashes and all.” He’s not looking for a debate, he just wants to see how the country had managed to pull itself back together after such a humiliating defeat.

"How about you, Miss Collins? Do you favor a strong central authority, or a loose coalition of independents?" Laurie had been ignoring most, if not all of the class, content in reading her book. It was a blatant tease to Mr. Worthington, and Matthew’s surprised he hadn’t acted on her inattention sooner.

For the most part, Laurie was still very much the same since they had returned from the future...to him, anyways. The experience had only succeeded in bringing the two of them closer, but it had pulled Laurie away from everyone else. He could understand the anxiety that knowing one’s future could cause — he was supposed to be dead in about fifteen years, after all. But he had been able to grasp the knowledge and take advantage of it; using it to prevent their horrific future, if that was even possible. Maybe that was what Laurie was trying to do, avoid ending up like her older self, alone and cynical. He would have to talk to her about it — something they had so far silently decided not to do.

“I don’t think it matters.” He tenses. Sure, Laurie was different, but he never imagined her being as troublesome as she was now. Matthew looks at her, not sure if he should say anything — either to defend her, or Mr. Worthington.

Fortunately their teacher speaks up, preventing him from the unpleasant job of choosing sides. “Mistaken, but interesting. I look forward to hearing your reasoning after class. Until then, you can either remain in your seat and make an effort to at least appear attentive, or wait for me in my office, whichever you prefer." Beneath their desk, Matthew grasps his girlfriend’s hand and gives it a squeeze, leaning closer to her ear when Mr. Worthington directs his attention back at the whole class.

“You alright?” He asks in a whisper, wonderful fearfully if maybe Mr. Worthington's bold response would make her use a similar tone on him.

[Warren Worthington III]

> " The Canadians and the British still managed to burn the White House down. That really must have hurt Alex Hamilton’s whole idea of the central government, with DC being a pile of ashes and all. "

It takes Warren a few minutes to get back to Matt’s comment, what with Laurie's episonde; when he does, he tries to put aside his concerns about her and give the class his full attention.

Besides which, it’s exactly the sort of comment he looks for… not just regurgitating the reading, but making connections between historical events.

And, also, Warren’s amused by the tone of pride in the boy’s voice, and makes a mental note to check his and Toni’s file… he bets himself a hot fudge sundae that they have some Canadian heritage.

"Not as much as you’d think, really… for two reasons.

First, our poor showing in that war is exactly what convinced the states of the need for more unity. The states were officially allied, but they didn’t fight in any kind of coordinated way. In fact, the New England colonies refused to fight at all… they continued to trade with England while the other colonies were at war with her.
So when the fighting was over, that became a compelling argument for a national army and a federal government to manage it, much as our current President has used the threat of terrorist action to justify consolidating more political power into the executive branch than in earlier administrations.
In a way, we have the British and their colonies – including Canada – to thank, or curse, for the existence of the federal government.

And second, precisely because there was no strong central government at that point, Washington DC wasn’t all that important logistically. The “Burning of Washington” was a fiasco in military terms, but its effect on the American government wasn’t as significant as it --"

He cuts that sentence off in mid-thought. He’d been about to say “as it would be today,” but on consideration he decides that given the threat of a modern-day Burning of Washington that they’re all living under, it would be a remarkably tactless observation.

"…as it might seem to a modern observer.

Incidentally," he adds, hoping to distract attention somewhat, "
the War of 1812 is also famous for its final major battle, the Battle of New Orleans. Anybody remember what makes that battle famous? "

[Laurie Collins]

“Mistaken, but interesting. I look forward to hearing your reasoning after class. Until then, you can either remain in your seat and make an effort to at least appear attentive, or wait for me in my office, whichever you prefer."

Laurie blanches a bit, fingers curling convulsively again, as if until it’s been responded to she hasn’t been quite able to believe what she’s just snitted out. It’s a comparatively mild rebuke actually, she’d have expected far worse, but even if she was asking for it she isn’t used to anything like that tone being taken with her by her teachers and that in and of itself is almost enough to scare her straight. But I’m not wrong, it really doesn’t matter in the end does it? He apparently does as much as he can and the second the Washington Massacre happens it all goes to hell anyway and he ends up leading the Brotherhood. And he knows that, he has to, so how can he just stand here talking to us about laws and voting like it matters? Why isn’t he… her thoughts trail off there, defeated by the impossibility of defining what she wants Mr. Worthington to be doing. The recognition that she’s being rather unfair, that there’s probably nothing her teacher can do right now, hurts more than it helps though and her face clouds over again with directionless anger and tension.

“You alright?”

She really does start this time as Matthew’s hand fumbles into hers, clasping it under the desk, and his concerned whisper cuts through the fugue she’s been mentally trudging through. “I…” she starts in response, intending to apologize for being so weird, but cutting off at the last moment as she really registers his gaze- concerned yes, but also with a hint of intent. It’s the way she feels everyone is looking at her these days: a problem, a piece in the machine that is not acting quite the way it should, take it out, label it defective and stick it in a drawer for A Serious Talking To. The line of thought intensifies the heat of most of the class’s still stunned and curious gazes on her back and suddenly all she wants to do is get out, get away from people looking at her whether they’re probing or concerned or curious. “I’m going to go.” She whispers back, disentangling her hand from Matthew’s and sweeping her books and papers carelessly into her bag before slipping out of her seat and practically bolting into the hallway.

Once free of the classroom she doesn’t stop to think about how Matthew took that particular exit, not to mention anyone else, or the fact that she’s probably just made things a thousand times worse. Well maybe I’d rather have them mad then worried. I can just do my detentions and no one will insist on just going over it again and again like crying or being scared is going to change anything… She bites her lip, shoulders her bag more securely, and strides down the hall towards Mr. Worthington’s office.

[[aaand out]]