May 2nd, 1892 - Hogwarts Staff Room
Terence Higgs

It was hard to believe that May was upon them already. Exams were swiftly approaching and then there would be the end of year celebrations and summer would finally arrive. While he thoroughly enjoyed the school years, he did enjoy his time off in the summers as well. He wanted to help his mum figure out a few safety precautions to help with her monthly problem and he had some plans with Lissington so it wouldn't be a typical sort of summer he was used to at least.

He needed to finalize his plans for the exams for the in between years. Fortunately OWLs and NEWTs were pretty much set, he reused similar assessments from years before, adjusting them on what they covered that year. With the other classes however, he tried to make them a little different, pending the students and what it was they got through. Not to mention his sixth years had some long-term projects he would need to grade in the upcoming weeks.

Knowing there was some sort of energy boost in the staff lounge after his first class of the day, Mason rather thought it might be a coffee morning over tea. Hopefully he wouldn't have to hunt down a house elf. "Higgs," He greeted upon finding the new art professor in the lounge, along with the sought-after coffee. "You made it to May, congratulations." Mason joked, echoing a sentiment said to him once upon a time, early in his own teaching career.

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magic by MJ the magnificent

It was hard to believe his first year teaching art at Hogwarts was nearly over yet the final days were so near at hand. As his class didn't have OWLS or NEWTS he didn't need to prepare a 'final exam' for his students to do but he did require all projects to be completed and handed in by the end of the last official day of classes.

Art wasn't a simple class to grade, something he found challenging as how does one judge talent? Terence did eventually figure it out, looking for specific parameters his students had to meet in each practical project. Quizzing them on theory and art movements was far more straight forward but he found his students preferred hands on projects than long lectures.

Terence felt he had learned as much as his students, though his area of learning was how to teach art to multiple students of varying ages and skill in a more formal setting. He learned plenty and knew next year he will have a far better syllabus laid out. He was also certain he had a few errors here and there but none which brought him to the attention of his superiors. Fortunately none of the errors were so great they needed his superior's attention for him to correct.

Relaxing in the staff room, more as a change of scenery than a need to refresh himself, Terence was enjoying a mug of the fresh coffee he had brewed. His thoughts had drifted to the summer months, he had several plans he wanted to put forth, not to mention a gallery showing he managed to arrange with the local gallery. His thoughts were interrupted when another teacher entered the room and called out a greeting.

"Hello Skeeter," he returned the Herbology Professor's greeting. "It seems I have survived my first year teaching. I have to say I look forward to next year. I will be far better prepared for it and everything won't see so new and as challenging."

"I expect end of the season must be a bit more difficult for you and the other Professors, seeing an entire class of students off with their final year completed. Do you miss graduating students, especially those you've taught for five or more years?"

  

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Moving automatically to the coffee, Mason poured himself a mug and nearly sighed in relief as it his his bloodstream almost instantly. Amazing what a good shot of something strong could do for a man. He leaned back against the counter casually, soaking up the energy boost gratefully, taking a couple more sips to help sort his brain.

"First one is the hardest. Learning more of what not to do than to do." At least was how it had been for him. He certainly had struggled somewhat that first year, readjusting to being back at the school and handling the role of professor over student. Now, with more years of teaching under his belt, things came pretty naturally. He was not one to teach the same old tired lessons, he tried to keep it fresh, so it wasn't always as straightforward as one might admit.

Nodding along, he wasn't exactly sure how the art students ended their year, but assumed there were projects and pieces to wrap up. "It is certainly weird. I've only graduated a couple of classes that I've had all the way through, but watching them go from awkward, timid first years all the way to young adults is certainly something." He took another pensive sip of his coffee. "Some yes, some I'm quite glad to see the backside of." He chuckled. It was much less often with the latter set of students, but generally the students who wore him down did not take Herbology at the NEWT level, so there was that. "It's quite something to see them go from start to finish." This was his ninth year and he still wasn't quite used to watching eleven-year-olds blossom into adults.

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magic by MJ the magnificent

Terence expected he would also enjoy seeing his students grow and evolve through the years, assuming he had many who took art more than one year. In truth he felt it should be a compulsory class, as important to a young person's development as potion making. Even if some students wouldn't be able to make a career out of art, not all students made careers focused on only one subject. What he felt was important was learning how to express themselves through art, be it painting, sculpture or other mediums. Music certainly was seen as a way to convey many things, fine arts was just as important.

"I don't know how many students I will have over the years who'll take art every year they are able. There isn't any OWL or NEWT exams, though I think there should be. There is plenty of practical, theory and history a dedicated artist can learn. Unfortunately I have no say as to what subject is deemed suitable for extensive testing. I may wish for art to be far more important to develop in children but to convince others is a far different story."

If he truly did want to push for more importance to be placed on art, he expected he would need to present his argument to the Deputy Headmaster at the very least. Now wasn't the time to push for change, not when he was barely finished his first year as a teacher at Hogwarts. Perhaps something he could aim for down the road, once he was comfortable and better established here.

  

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In truth, Mason knew very little about art, though he supposed flowers and gardening could be considered an art form to some, he did not exactly have the best eye for the grand scheme of it all. "You do have the benefit of having your students be genuinely interested in your subject, instead of being forced to take it." Generally most students came to like his class, except those who did not want to get their hands dirty, but at least in some of the elective classes, the students had chosen to take them and therefore wanted to be there.

"And, correct me if I'm wrong, at least art is generally quite fluid? You have such a wide variety of periods and pieces to choose from, students can come in and out and catch up easily enough." Mason supposed it might not be quite that easy, but something like that would never work for the core subjects. There was a scope and sequence that had to be followed in order to achieve a logical connection through the curriculum. "You can always come up with your own final assessments based on what you accomplish. I know the final grades unfortunately don't count for much, but it would be a nice final piece for them to do and for you to see what they learned." Mason had to come up with his own tests outside of the OWLs and NEWTs himself, so he understood the process.

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I apologize profusely for the wait, it has been a wild ride for a few weeks for me!

  

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magic by MJ the magnificent

It was his hope every student who took art would genuinely be interested in learning what he had to teach. Unfortunately he couldn't dismiss the likelihood some would just take art as an easy 'throw away' class just to gain the necessary electives. In the end he could simply have such students removed from his class.

"For the most part I do hope that's the case but some students may take it simply because they believe it's an easy pass." Terence's voice sounded more sad than annoyed at the thought however. He personally felt there was so much one could gain by studying art, even if one doesn't have a passion for it. Art was one way of expression one's emotions without worrying about reputation or harming anybody.

Terence chuckled softly when Mason described art as something easy to jump into at any point. In some ways what Mason said was true but in truth, there was so much to gain by learning all Terence had to offer. Art was a subject that never ran out of material to learn, even if one stuck with a single medium.

"Art is fluid but it also builds on what has gone before. Techniques learned long ago are used to build new art forms and styles. It's my humble beliefe any student who truly enjoys art would greatly benefit from taking the class every year in sequence. What I teach in my beginner's class will be build upon in subsequent years, as if one doesn't understand the fundamentals, future work will be more difficult."

"It's my hope to put more importance on art and petition to have the study of art qualify for OWL and NEWT grade qualification. Till then I will endeavor to teach how important art can be to my students and encourage them to continue to pursue it even after graduating from Hogwarts. To those who truly have a passion for art, this won't be difficult."

"Next school season I'm planning to make arrangements with the art gallery in Hogsmeade or London to show my student's final assignments. It'll give them a chance to display their art to the public and even kick start their artistic dreams." Terence would have done it this summer but he hadn't had a chance to make the necessary connections. He will give his current year students a chance to include their work in next year's showing, if they desire.

  

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It seemed that Terence knew what he was talking about, even if Mason knew little to nothing about art. He had never taken it, had zero natural ability for it, even for factual diagrams, but he could appreciate wanting the class to go well and be of substance for the students. Mason also knew he was one of the easier teachers himself, so he was an easy pass generally, unless students really made an effort to not put in the work. As art was not a required course and did not count for anyone's graduation, he would hope only students with a genuine interest would take it, but he had no idea.

"I'm sure that you will be able to mold things the way you would like as time goes on. It just takes a little concentrated effort." Higgs seemed to have a strong desire to do as such and that was really all a good teacher needed, was the dedication and the drive to put in the work so that the students were given what they needed to be successful.

"That would work out well, I believe." Working with professionals in the field was certainly a way to push things along. Mason always thought he could do something similar with herbologists or healers in the Potion and Plant poisoning wards of the hospitals. He should seek out Miss Simpson or ask after Mr. Fisk out of the Hogsmeade hospital for guest lecture this upcoming year. "If you would like to use the greenhouses at any point for floral inspiration or anything of that nature, please let me know, I'm sure we could arrange it." He was open to helping his colleagues in any way he could. "Or if you wanted to do something with anatomical sketches of plants, if that suits something you'd like to do." He really didn't know much about it, but those were the only things he could think of. "I'm rubbish at them, so having somebody else do it for a class or two, would be nice." He admitted with a chuckle, scratching the back of his head with one hand.

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magic by MJ the magnificent

"As I'm only beginning my education career there is plenty of time to work towards long ranged goals," Terence agreed. It may take plenty of work on his part, gaining the support of the Board of Governors as well as other influential people, all work he wasn't the most experienced at doing but he hoped to find friends who were better at the areas he was weakest.

"I would appreciate it very much," Terence responded. "Nothing better than having living examples of plants and flowers to draw. We will definitely talk on arranging times for my class to visit your greenhouses."

At the mention of anatomical sketches Terence was reminded of his nephew who drew such wonderful drawings of plants. "Using accurate sketches of plants will be helpful especially the more dangerous kinds to be around. Speaking of plant sketches, you must know my nephew Nelson? He has done truly wonderful sketches of plants, the sort I feel would be perfect for book illustration. I don't know if you have any need for an accurate plant illustrator or know of somebody looking, I would gladly see if he's interested."

  

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Truthfully Mason had not put two and two together between Nelson and Terence, but he could see it now that it was brought to his attention. Pleased that Terence seemed to be amenable to working together on some projects in the future, Mason left it at that. He didn't have anything specific in mind on that front, other than providing some flowers for still life drawings or paintings. He was sure Higgs would come up with something if he needed it.

"That does make sense, he is quite the artist." Mason agreed. Nelson was very talented. Even in all of his years in the profession, Mason could only make passable drawings. They were accurate, just not very artistic. "Perhaps I should have him lead the drawings." That would be less embarrassing, plus giving students some ownership over their own learning seemed to do the trick.

His coffee was ready and Mason took a sip after blowing away the steam. "Ah, that'll do. I have to prep for some upcoming things in the greenhouse, but it was good to chat with you Higgs, looking forward to working with you in the upcoming terms." By now Mason had worked with most of the staff on one thing or another, he did look forward to continuing the pattern.

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wrap? so sorry I've been inconsistent!

  

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magic by MJ the magnificent

Terence was glad others recognized Nelson's skill at drawing and illustration. Whether his nephew will pursue a career as an illustrator remained to be seen. The Unbreakable Vow he was under will have to be addressed soon however, if his nephew was to ever have hope of a normal life.

"I look forward to working with you in the years to come," Terence responded. "Good day to you Skeeter."

ooc: and wrapped. We can definitely due more threads between these two for the upcoming school year, just let me know.

  

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