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emjay · 10-26-2014, 03:24 AM

SPOILER!!: answers

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sararara

Norah nodded at Professor Glendower's answer to her question. That made sense...ish. She picked up her quill and dipped it in ink, placing it on her parchment to record all the information on the blackboard. Squinting at the words, she scribbled out the incorrect spelling of a few beast names. These things should be easier to sound out, uh huh.

And an answer to the professor's question? Norah itched her nose with the top of her quill and stared at the front of the room. Yeah, no. She had no answer for this one.

From where Professor Glendower was standing, it appeared to her that Norah was taking notes. That was good, though she was starting to get slightly worried that the subject matter was a little too advanced for some of the younger ones. Hmm.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kayquilz

OKAY. Eden knew about this stuff, too, and she quickly raised her hand when she asked about the previous arguments...she was also scribbling things down a lot, too. "Professor--before Stump came along, that guy, Muldoon, right?" She didn't remember the blokes first name at all. "Well--he was trying to say that Beings should be any creature that walks on two legs--but THAT would certainly be a problem because look at werewolves in form--they certainly can't think to our capacity." She explained. "I think he realized he was wrong when he tried to hold a meeting with trolls, though--" and she crinkled her nose at the thought. How chaotic THAT must have been...wow. Muldoon was kind of dumb? But his think wasn't completely off track, at least not to Eden.

Nessa smiled at Eden as she really seemed to have a handle on today’s discussion. She listened a moment to the girl’s contribution before she responded. ”Yes.. Buldrick Muldoon attempted the first definition of Beings as those in the magical community that walked on two legs. Some goblins decided to prove a point and brought several two-legged creatures with them to a summit where they’d discuss magical law. These creatures included trolls, diricawls, fwoopers, pixies.. hardly capable to help create laws, in fact the trolls were rather destructive.” And she dearly loved her Ophelia but how on earth would she be able to shape any sort of law?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Compootor

Raising his hand once more, he waited patiently for the professor to call on him, at which point he tentatively presented his answer:
"I'm afraid, professor, that I can't recall anything quite so specific, but if I remember correctly, when the original system was first created, it only had the 'Being' and 'Beast' categories." He paused for a moment as he collected his thoughts. "Soon after they started using this new system, enormous groups of ghosts who were not satisfied with their placement in the 'Being' category organized several protest floats - Ghost demonstrations outside the Ministry which eventually lead to the creation of the 'Spirit' category."

Taking a deep breath, Andrew crossed his fingers and hoped his answer had been good enough. "That sounds to me like a 'dispute over a definition' if I ever heard of one."

Nessa called on Andrew again as he raised his hand. “Oh.. but of course you can use your book..” she began as he admitted not having the best of recollection. But they all knew that right? She didn’t mind if they looked in their books as long as they used their own words when giving the answer. But he did have something to say.. ”Yes that’s right too.. It took ghosts a bit to be classified as Beings but even after they were, they didn’t feel they fit there as the council and Ministry matters always seemed to focus on matters related to the living. They felt somewhat discriminated against.” Of course, they received special classification after their protests.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Felixir

Toby was just doing a whole lot of thinking now, and staring from the board to the professor and back again, frowning a little though he wasn't entirely aware of it. As for the question, well... he thought he had something and raised his hand.

"There was someone who said about how something would be a Being if they could speak like humans do," the Hufflepuff offered. Still looking thoughtful and now... a little distracted. "But some creatures could be taught to talk like us and stuff, like trolls, so the ministry changed it again."

Nessa nodded as Toby provided an answer next. “Correct.. After the first definition failed, the next chief of council tried another definition. This time those with human speech.. with the same disastrous results.”

Quote:

Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19

Adi added the new stuff from the blackboard to his notes, vaguely wondering if there were anymore that could be added to the spirits category. He'd check on that later but for now...

He had his hand up again. "Someone called Elfrida wanted to re-define those that can speak English as Beings. Trolls were still classified as Beings because they could learn English.'' But as can be seen from the list on the board, trolls were now classified as Beasts.

And Adi provided the name of the chieftainess who tried for the second definition. “Right.. and also jarveys..” Neither of whom were responsible enough to be shaping laws.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daydreamer11

Jasmine kept writing as more notes were added to her notebook. When another question was asked, she heard others give the answer she was thinking of. So back to the drawing board. Jasmine wracked her brain, trying to think of another fact to share. Then she remembered something and raised her hand to share it.

"I believe that there was a group of people who wanted to have Muggles classified as beasts." Jasmine could not believe that people could actually think that way. Then again, maybe she could believe it and that was sad.

Although Nessa knew this to be true, she couldn’t help but to gasp at Jasmine’s answer. ”Isn’t that dreadful?” Thankfully enough people had enough sense.

SPOILER!!: Dot, Cassie, Alexa – Spirit talk

Oooh a discussion.. Nessa loved those. But had they heard what Toby said? She would certainly elaborate for them as they were bringing up such great points, but she couldn’t help but feel quite a portion of the class were so distracted today like they weren’t paying attention to what she was saying to other people. ”Yes, exactly.. Spirits were once humans and are plenty intelligent. I don’t think anyone is trying to discount that.” But she could totally see how one would think that given their change in status. ”They were also once given Being status.. not originally as the original definition was that Beings walked on two legs and they… well, glide. But eventually they were but did not like their placement as they felt the Council/Ministry tended to focus on more matters pertaining to the living. They felt they had their own special set of circumstances so they wanted their own special classification.”

Quote:

Originally Posted by ArianaBlack

So yup. He was going back to the board notes. Dipping his quill into the ink pot, Zander began scribbling down some more. Honestly, he just wanted to get this lesson over with. How come they were doing so much writing lately?! His wrists were gonna die.

Brown eyes fell on Zander a moment, watching him take notes. That was good, she thought, but also a little worrying to her that he wasn’t saying much.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Squishy

More things were being written down on the board, and Professor Glendower kept the questions coming. This whole class was starting to make Lux feel overwhelmed, and it was hard for her to keep track of anything. Confused, she wrote more things down in her notes but it was impossible for her to mention anything because she was lost. All she gathered was that they were talking about Beasts, Beings, and Spirits.

And Lux was another that was concerning her. She had been so quiet the entire lesson, Nessa hoped that she was following along, but at least she was taking notes.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harry174

Angel raised her hand so she could ask a question. "Professor so can you be moved from one list to another?" Angel was confused about that so she thought that she might as well ask.

”Only in very special circumstances,” she answered. And she had pretty much named them already.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SpiritWolfe Malfoy

Wrinkling her brow in thought Hady continued taking down notes just as she had been. There wasn't anything else she could think of about the laws to answer the Professors questions right now.

Another quiet note-taker.. Nessa gave her an approving nod before moving on.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhoenixStar

AJ was still stuck on the ghosts, but she had something a little bit different to add. "I think the ghosts got all offended by being called beings since they technically weren't "beings" anymore once they bit the dust." Sensitive much?

“In a matter of speaking, yes..” Professor Glendower nodded as Aubrey provided her thoughts. “Though they’d still have the intelligence required for beings, they do have their own special issues that they felt weren’t being taken care of as Beings..”

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeraLecter

This lesson was STRANGE. He was taking LOTS of notes, but he didn't understand the point, and it was BUGGING him. He liked points, knowing the WHY element of what they were doing. On top of that, he had no idea what the answers were to the questions, he was here to learn, not already know things... so he was just going to sit and wait for the answers in the hoped that it would eventually make sense. Or Merlin help his sanity.

Paying attention and taking notes was always good, especially if one was still struggling to understand. Though if that was the case, asking questions was also helpful. As he had none nor had an answer, she moved on.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TakemetotheBurrow

Maddie had been the one to MENTION Stump so that sort of gave her an out where this discussion was concerned, yes? Contribution already made and all, the brunette flipped to a new page in her notes and scribbled down a few things, like the point Dot had made about spirits. She agreed with that.

Nessa glanced at Maddie whom she was fairly certain had a grasp on the discussion. But as she was busy jotting down notes, the professor simply gave her an approving smile and looked for a raised hand.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hermionesclone

The question? He'd mentioned one already, hadn't he? About merpeople and hags. Grayson wanted to know WHY exactly merpeople hated hags so much but that would prooooooooobably go off track so, he tried to think of something else.

"Didn't they have a huge meeting in a courtroom but it all turned to dung? Like Eden," 'Sup, Eden. "mentioned, Beings were classified as creatures that can walk on two legs and they held a meeting that included all these creatures and..... " Lulz. "It didn't work out well. The trolls smashed things and everything turned into chaos."

”Correct,” she nodded at Greyson upon hearing his answer. “Beings were first defined as those who walked on two legs and a council meeting showed them how very wrong that definition was.”

Quote:

Originally Posted by Expecto-Penguin

Kace was glad his question was answered so Boggarts were neither. Hmmm he wondered what they could be but he was glad he was on the right track. As he listened in on the lesson the professor lost him on this topic. He really had NO idea what she was talking about. He just stood there and listened to the other students answers. He kept his nose in his notebook and continued to doodle.

Nessa wasn’t completely sure if Kace was completely grasping the topic or not, but as he remained silent and appeared to be writing notes, she moved on.

It seemed that those were all the answers that she would be getting to that line of questioning, which was probably fine. They had gone through much of the main points anyway and Nessa found need to fill in just a bit more. "Thank you for your contributions, everyone," she began, addressing the class once more. And since several of them seemed to need it.. "As a summary, there were once two classifications created by the Ministry, or Council as it was then, Being and Beast. The definition of Being was anything that could walk on two feet. By that definition, ghosts were not included as they glided, not walked. To prove that this definition was not feasible, some goblins brought every creature that walked on two feet that they could find to a meeting for creating Wizarding law. These creatures included Trolls, Augureys, Fwoopers, Cornish pixies, and fairies among others." She paused a moment to let this mental image and its corresponding thoughts sink in. "None of them have the intelligence to help with laws and the Trolls smashed things with their clubs."

"A few years later, an attempt to redefine Beings was made to include those that could speak a human language. Again this included Trolls and also Jarveys.. neither of which could successfully help with laws yet again. Centaurs were unhappy that Merpeople could not be included under this definition. Ghosts felt that the council focused on living matters rather than some of their issues."

"Our current definition was created in 1811 by Minister Grogan Stump to include those with the intelligence required to shape laws. However, Centaurs and Merpeople refused to be categorized alongside Hags and Vampires, creatures they consider to be dark. And ghosts still felt they needed their own category to address their own set of needs, so Spirit was created for them." She made sure to add all of the newer information to the board as well.

"So, as you can see, regulations and laws and classifications.. those kinds of things can evolve and change over the years due to what those in charge feel works best. Sometimes it is what is easiest for them, sometimes it is what is most beneficial for those involved. What I want you to do - and this will also be extended into your homework - is to choose one of the Beings, Spirits, or Beasts and create an argument either supporting its current place within the classification system or creating a case for why its not where it should be. Remember some of the advantages and disadvantages we talked about including rights and protections and possible discrimination."

"I want you to first identify with your character, become the one you choose in a sense. Of course you can do this through prop or costume if you'd like." She pointed to the prop and costume boxes that were always at the back of the classroom. "Then I want you to interact with the other Beings, Beasts, and Spirits of the classroom.. how do they see you? Are they discriminatory or accepting? Do they or you need protection? Perhaps Banshees like me should to be in the Beings category." She did a flourishy bow-curtsy thing before continuing. "Or what about Dementors or Boggarts.. should they be in an actual category? Explore your Beast, Being, or Spirit today, thinking about these things.. and you will write your findings and argument in your homework." Yes, lots to think about... but it could really be fun if approached the right way.

Quote:

Originally Posted by blackboard!!!

Beings (any creature that has sufficient intelligence to understand the laws of the magical community and to bear part of the responsibility in shaping those laws)

Wizards/Witches
Veela
House-Elves
Goblins
Vampires
Werewolves (in human form/untransformed)
Giants

Beasts (a magical creature that does not have sufficient intelligence to understand the laws of the magical community nor bear part of the responsibility in shaping those laws)
– some have speech but most don’t, can be vicious or savage, no input in magical laws

Dragons
Trolls
Werewolves (during transformation)
Merpeople – originally categorized as Beings, asked to be changed
Centaurs – originally categorized as Beings, asked to be changed
Basilisks
Kneazles
Crups
Sphinxes
Grindylows
Cornish pixies
Flobberworms
Jarveys
Etc.

Spirits (“has-beens,” former beings)

Ghosts
Poltergeists
Banshees

Non-beings - Boggarts, Dementors

Grogan Stump - Minister for Magic credited with instating current classification system and definitions, underwent several changes throughout history due to several disputes

Advantages/Disadvantages

Specific rights, privileges, protections
Can meet specific or specialized needs of certain groups
Defined or labeled by others
Organization/Order
Sense of hierarchy
One group has more power
Can be discriminatory

Previous Definitions/Events that led to Current Definition

Being and Beast Classifications introduced by Burdock Muldoon, definition of Being was anything that walked on two legs
Being definition revised by Elfrida Clagg to mean anything with Human speech
Being definition revised by Grogan Stump to mean creatures with enough intelligence to bear responsibility in shaping laws
Centaurs and Merpeople refused Being status, didn't want to be classed with Hags and Vampires, keep their affairs to themselves
Ghosts held protests to obtain their own special classification - Spirits - as they felt Beings focused on living issues only

OOC - Ok, activity time.. I know that was a lot, but basically have your character choose one of the creatures listed under Being, Beast, or Spirit (or non-being). They will then "become" that character through costume or just mindset, then interact with others, thinking about how they are perceived, their rights, advantages/disadvantages to being classified as they are. Homework will reference this experience and thoughts about the issues. Please complete any/all of it in four posts by 11:59 pm EST Monday. Let me know if you have any questions.

10-26-2014, 03:24 AM	#104 (permalink)
emjay Pygmy Puff Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: working Posts: 18,281 Hogwarts RPG Name: Phoenix Marchbanks Ravenclaw Fourth Year Hogwarts RPG Name: Wiley Whittebrook Hufflepuff Second Year x12 x5	Unforgivably Cursed \| adultescent SPOILER!!: answers Quote: Originally Posted by Sararara Norah nodded at Professor Glendower's answer to her question. That made sense...ish. She picked up her quill and dipped it in ink, placing it on her parchment to record all the information on the blackboard. Squinting at the words, she scribbled out the incorrect spelling of a few beast names. These things should be easier to sound out, uh huh. And an answer to the professor's question? Norah itched her nose with the top of her quill and stared at the front of the room. Yeah, no. She had no answer for this one. From where Professor Glendower was standing, it appeared to her that Norah was taking notes. That was good, though she was starting to get slightly worried that the subject matter was a little too advanced for some of the younger ones. Hmm. Quote: Originally Posted by kayquilz OKAY. Eden knew about this stuff, too, and she quickly raised her hand when she asked about the previous arguments...she was also scribbling things down a lot, too. "Professor--before Stump came along, that guy, Muldoon, right?" She didn't remember the blokes first name at all. "Well--he was trying to say that Beings should be any creature that walks on two legs--but THAT would certainly be a problem because look at werewolves in form--they certainly can't think to our capacity." She explained. "I think he realized he was wrong when he tried to hold a meeting with trolls, though--" and she crinkled her nose at the thought. How chaotic THAT must have been...wow. Muldoon was kind of dumb? But his think wasn't completely off track, at least not to Eden. Nessa smiled at Eden as she really seemed to have a handle on today’s discussion. She listened a moment to the girl’s contribution before she responded. ”Yes.. Buldrick Muldoon attempted the first definition of Beings as those in the magical community that walked on two legs. Some goblins decided to prove a point and brought several two-legged creatures with them to a summit where they’d discuss magical law. These creatures included trolls, diricawls, fwoopers, pixies.. hardly capable to help create laws, in fact the trolls were rather destructive.” And she dearly loved her Ophelia but how on earth would she be able to shape any sort of law? Quote: Originally Posted by Compootor Raising his hand once more, he waited patiently for the professor to call on him, at which point he tentatively presented his answer: "I'm afraid, professor, that I can't recall anything quite so specific, but if I remember correctly, when the original system was first created, it only had the 'Being' and 'Beast' categories." He paused for a moment as he collected his thoughts. "Soon after they started using this new system, enormous groups of ghosts who were not satisfied with their placement in the 'Being' category organized several protest floats - Ghost demonstrations outside the Ministry which eventually lead to the creation of the 'Spirit' category." Taking a deep breath, Andrew crossed his fingers and hoped his answer had been good enough. "That sounds to me like a 'dispute over a definition' if I ever heard of one." Nessa called on Andrew again as he raised his hand. “Oh.. but of course you can use your book..” she began as he admitted not having the best of recollection. But they all knew that right? She didn’t mind if they looked in their books as long as they used their own words when giving the answer. But he did have something to say.. ”Yes that’s right too.. It took ghosts a bit to be classified as Beings but even after they were, they didn’t feel they fit there as the council and Ministry matters always seemed to focus on matters related to the living. They felt somewhat discriminated against.” Of course, they received special classification after their protests. Quote: Originally Posted by Felixir Toby was just doing a whole lot of thinking now, and staring from the board to the professor and back again, frowning a little though he wasn't entirely aware of it. As for the question, well... he thought he had something and raised his hand. "There was someone who said about how something would be a Being if they could speak like humans do," the Hufflepuff offered. Still looking thoughtful and now... a little distracted. "But some creatures could be taught to talk like us and stuff, like trolls, so the ministry changed it again." Nessa nodded as Toby provided an answer next. “Correct.. After the first definition failed, the next chief of council tried another definition. This time those with human speech.. with the same disastrous results.” Quote: Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19 Adi added the new stuff from the blackboard to his notes, vaguely wondering if there were anymore that could be added to the spirits category. He'd check on that later but for now... He had his hand up again. "Someone called Elfrida wanted to re-define those that can speak English as Beings. Trolls were still classified as Beings because they could learn English.'' But as can be seen from the list on the board, trolls were now classified as Beasts. And Adi provided the name of the chieftainess who tried for the second definition. “Right.. and also jarveys..” Neither of whom were responsible enough to be shaping laws. Quote: Originally Posted by Daydreamer11 Jasmine kept writing as more notes were added to her notebook. When another question was asked, she heard others give the answer she was thinking of. So back to the drawing board. Jasmine wracked her brain, trying to think of another fact to share. Then she remembered something and raised her hand to share it. "I believe that there was a group of people who wanted to have Muggles classified as beasts." Jasmine could not believe that people could actually think that way. Then again, maybe she could believe it and that was sad. Although Nessa knew this to be true, she couldn’t help but to gasp at Jasmine’s answer. ”Isn’t that dreadful?” Thankfully enough people had enough sense. SPOILER!!: Dot, Cassie, Alexa – Spirit talk Quote: Originally Posted by Cacklin But... but she was confused. She raised her hand and wiggled it around for the professor. "Why... wouldn't spirits just be classified as beings? 'Cause the way it is now, it's like you think that death means you're no longer smart enough to know what's good for you." Quote: Originally Posted by Witches Brewzinga Her eyes back to Nessa she nodded to her points and looked at the list. "Oooh that's a good question." She glanced over a dot. "Spirits were human once and they still as some of you saw in my SNAC meeting like to speak and have thoughts and answers just as we would." She looked back to Nessa to actually answer the question hoping that putting her own thoughts in was alright. She just got so excited about these types of topics. Quote: Originally Posted by DaniDiNardo "I'm with Dot, Professor. How does dying make you less intelligent and less able to contribute to laws? If nothing else I'd figure you'd be smarter when you come back, know what not to do next time and all that. 'Sides, ghosts can be around for ages and they must see a lot of useful stuff and changes that occur over time to best analyse what works and what doesn't." Oooh a discussion.. Nessa loved those. But had they heard what Toby said? She would certainly elaborate for them as they were bringing up such great points, but she couldn’t help but feel quite a portion of the class were so distracted today like they weren’t paying attention to what she was saying to other people. ”Yes, exactly.. Spirits were once humans and are plenty intelligent. I don’t think anyone is trying to discount that.” But she could totally see how one would think that given their change in status. ”They were also once given Being status.. not originally as the original definition was that Beings walked on two legs and they… well, glide. But eventually they were but did not like their placement as they felt the Council/Ministry tended to focus on more matters pertaining to the living. They felt they had their own special set of circumstances so they wanted their own special classification.” Quote: Originally Posted by ArianaBlack So yup. He was going back to the board notes. Dipping his quill into the ink pot, Zander began scribbling down some more. Honestly, he just wanted to get this lesson over with. How come they were doing so much writing lately?! His wrists were gonna die. Brown eyes fell on Zander a moment, watching him take notes. That was good, she thought, but also a little worrying to her that he wasn’t saying much. Quote: Originally Posted by Squishy More things were being written down on the board, and Professor Glendower kept the questions coming. This whole class was starting to make Lux feel overwhelmed, and it was hard for her to keep track of anything. Confused, she wrote more things down in her notes but it was impossible for her to mention anything because she was lost. All she gathered was that they were talking about Beasts, Beings, and Spirits. And Lux was another that was concerning her. She had been so quiet the entire lesson, Nessa hoped that she was following along, but at least she was taking notes. Quote: Originally Posted by Harry174 Angel raised her hand so she could ask a question. "Professor so can you be moved from one list to another?" Angel was confused about that so she thought that she might as well ask. ”Only in very special circumstances,” she answered. And she had pretty much named them already. Quote: Originally Posted by SpiritWolfe Malfoy Wrinkling her brow in thought Hady continued taking down notes just as she had been. There wasn't anything else she could think of about the laws to answer the Professors questions right now. Another quiet note-taker.. Nessa gave her an approving nod before moving on. Quote: Originally Posted by PhoenixStar AJ was still stuck on the ghosts, but she had something a little bit different to add. "I think the ghosts got all offended by being called beings since they technically weren't "beings" anymore once they bit the dust." Sensitive much? “In a matter of speaking, yes..” Professor Glendower nodded as Aubrey provided her thoughts. “Though they’d still have the intelligence required for beings, they do have their own special issues that they felt weren’t being taken care of as Beings..” Quote: Originally Posted by HeraLecter This lesson was STRANGE. He was taking LOTS of notes, but he didn't understand the point, and it was BUGGING him. He liked points, knowing the WHY element of what they were doing. On top of that, he had no idea what the answers were to the questions, he was here to learn, not already know things... so he was just going to sit and wait for the answers in the hoped that it would eventually make sense. Or Merlin help his sanity. Paying attention and taking notes was always good, especially if one was still struggling to understand. Though if that was the case, asking questions was also helpful. As he had none nor had an answer, she moved on. Quote: Originally Posted by TakemetotheBurrow Maddie had been the one to MENTION Stump so that sort of gave her an out where this discussion was concerned, yes? Contribution already made and all, the brunette flipped to a new page in her notes and scribbled down a few things, like the point Dot had made about spirits. She agreed with that. Nessa glanced at Maddie whom she was fairly certain had a grasp on the discussion. But as she was busy jotting down notes, the professor simply gave her an approving smile and looked for a raised hand. Quote: Originally Posted by hermionesclone The question? He'd mentioned one already, hadn't he? About merpeople and hags. Grayson wanted to know WHY exactly merpeople hated hags so much but that would prooooooooobably go off track so, he tried to think of something else. "Didn't they have a huge meeting in a courtroom but it all turned to dung? Like Eden," 'Sup, Eden. "mentioned, Beings were classified as creatures that can walk on two legs and they held a meeting that included all these creatures and..... " Lulz. "It didn't work out well. The trolls smashed things and everything turned into chaos." ”Correct,” she nodded at Greyson upon hearing his answer. “Beings were first defined as those who walked on two legs and a council meeting showed them how very wrong that definition was.” Quote: Originally Posted by Expecto-Penguin Kace was glad his question was answered so Boggarts were neither. Hmmm he wondered what they could be but he was glad he was on the right track. As he listened in on the lesson the professor lost him on this topic. He really had NO idea what she was talking about. He just stood there and listened to the other students answers. He kept his nose in his notebook and continued to doodle. Nessa wasn’t completely sure if Kace was completely grasping the topic or not, but as he remained silent and appeared to be writing notes, she moved on. It seemed that those were all the answers that she would be getting to that line of questioning, which was probably fine. They had gone through much of the main points anyway and Nessa found need to fill in just a bit more. "Thank you for your contributions, everyone," she began, addressing the class once more. And since several of them seemed to need it.. "As a summary, there were once two classifications created by the Ministry, or Council as it was then, Being and Beast. The definition of Being was anything that could walk on two feet. By that definition, ghosts were not included as they glided, not walked. To prove that this definition was not feasible, some goblins brought every creature that walked on two feet that they could find to a meeting for creating Wizarding law. These creatures included Trolls, Augureys, Fwoopers, Cornish pixies, and fairies among others." She paused a moment to let this mental image and its corresponding thoughts sink in. "None of them have the intelligence to help with laws and the Trolls smashed things with their clubs." "A few years later, an attempt to redefine Beings was made to include those that could speak a human language. Again this included Trolls and also Jarveys.. neither of which could successfully help with laws yet again. Centaurs were unhappy that Merpeople could not be included under this definition. Ghosts felt that the council focused on living matters rather than some of their issues." "Our current definition was created in 1811 by Minister Grogan Stump to include those with the intelligence required to shape laws. However, Centaurs and Merpeople refused to be categorized alongside Hags and Vampires, creatures they consider to be dark. And ghosts still felt they needed their own category to address their own set of needs, so Spirit was created for them." She made sure to add all of the newer information to the board as well. "So, as you can see, regulations and laws and classifications.. those kinds of things can evolve and change over the years due to what those in charge feel works best. Sometimes it is what is easiest for them, sometimes it is what is most beneficial for those involved. What I want you to do - and this will also be extended into your homework - is to choose one of the Beings, Spirits, or Beasts and create an argument either supporting its current place within the classification system or creating a case for why its not where it should be. Remember some of the advantages and disadvantages we talked about including rights and protections and possible discrimination." "I want you to first identify with your character, become the one you choose in a sense. Of course you can do this through prop or costume if you'd like." She pointed to the prop and costume boxes that were always at the back of the classroom. "Then I want you to interact with the other Beings, Beasts, and Spirits of the classroom.. how do they see you? Are they discriminatory or accepting? Do they or you need protection? Perhaps Banshees like me should to be in the Beings category." She did a flourishy bow-curtsy thing before continuing. "Or what about Dementors or Boggarts.. should they be in an actual category? Explore your Beast, Being, or Spirit today, thinking about these things.. and you will write your findings and argument in your homework." Yes, lots to think about... but it could really be fun if approached the right way. Quote: Originally Posted by blackboard!!! Beings (any creature that has sufficient intelligence to understand the laws of the magical community and to bear part of the responsibility in shaping those laws) Wizards/Witches Veela House-Elves Goblins Vampires Werewolves (in human form/untransformed) Giants Beasts (a magical creature that does not have sufficient intelligence to understand the laws of the magical community nor bear part of the responsibility in shaping those laws) – some have speech but most don’t, can be vicious or savage, no input in magical laws Dragons Trolls Werewolves (during transformation) Merpeople – originally categorized as Beings, asked to be changed Centaurs – originally categorized as Beings, asked to be changed Basilisks Kneazles Crups Sphinxes Grindylows Cornish pixies Flobberworms Jarveys Etc. Spirits (“has-beens,” former beings) Ghosts Poltergeists Banshees Non-beings - Boggarts, Dementors Grogan Stump - Minister for Magic credited with instating current classification system and definitions, underwent several changes throughout history due to several disputes Advantages/Disadvantages Specific rights, privileges, protections Can meet specific or specialized needs of certain groups Defined or labeled by others Organization/Order Sense of hierarchy One group has more power Can be discriminatory Previous Definitions/Events that led to Current Definition Being and Beast Classifications introduced by Burdock Muldoon, definition of Being was anything that walked on two legs Being definition revised by Elfrida Clagg to mean anything with Human speech Being definition revised by Grogan Stump to mean creatures with enough intelligence to bear responsibility in shaping laws Centaurs and Merpeople refused Being status, didn't want to be classed with Hags and Vampires, keep their affairs to themselves Ghosts held protests to obtain their own special classification - Spirits - as they felt Beings focused on living issues only OOC - Ok, activity time.. I know that was a lot, but basically have your character choose one of the creatures listed under Being, Beast, or Spirit (or non-being). They will then "become" that character through costume or just mindset, then interact with others, thinking about how they are perceived, their rights, advantages/disadvantages to being classified as they are. Homework will reference this experience and thoughts about the issues. Please complete any/all of it in four posts by 11:59 pm EST Monday. Let me know if you have any questions. __________________ started like a knight in a fairytale_______________________________________________ ended like a moth in flames______________________ ______________________don't you worry I'll be fine _________________________________________________you were good for the plot line