The Diego Diaries: Onward (dd7 77)

-0-School daze, school daze, good old-fashioned school daze …

They entered the Central Office Building of the Autobot City Colonial Unified School District which was now housed in Metrotitan. Tyke was now off line for further escapades unless The Pit required it so the Central Office and all related educational parties parked themselves there in the dedicated school tower for the last time. All of the specialists and their departments with staff along with all of the specialized equipment used by them, the procurement offices and officers for all things educational, the main kitchen and the dietitian department for the lunchrooms of every school in the district minus human, data processing, the committees who worked on materials and supplies along with a huge printing operation and video center, the main dispersal library as well as the materials depot where things from small blocks and art pencils to electron microscopes and vast kits for science and art were housed here.

Specialists who devised programs such as the art and music coordinators, data processing who managed the children's progress portfolios and their personal reports and information, the director for student transportation who oversaw the buses that were available for students, arranging off world transports for visits to Trypticon and various other sites from the District's dedicated fleet of ships, those who taxi cabbed like Hero and the buses that brought and/or delivered children from their neighborhoods or to and from day care centers, the offices that belonged to the School Board members and their official office manager, a studio to make videos and music presentations for the schools, hold interviews and train older students to work at the children's broadcast studio that put their product on the community radio and television stations, the directors for security and medical were housed here as well.

Roto had his office onsite and directed special education, physical therapy, the department of social services as well as the medically fragile student directory here. The visiting artist program was coordinated through the art director's office and so was the mentorship program and advanced placement for gifted children like Hero and Rambler as well as intermediate kids getting ready to graduate. There was a special department to address and support the needs of home schooled infants, the Circle, Missionary and other academies, the Seeker programs as well as all Seeker kids and last but not least, the liaison officer and his staff who worked here to help Earth 1 and Earth2 with their schools and shared programs.

Sitting at the top of the building, the offices of the Director for Education for Mars, Cybertron and the Empire, Herling gave focus to the myriad departments that were designed to facilitate education for everyone.

The University Board of Directors were housed here and the different offices of that formidable establishment occupied an entire floor.

The curriculum committees that provided materials for all educational levels were housed here too. One floor was conference rooms where different groups along with the School Board met or genitors came to speak, hear and find out the news on their children or themselves. They were state of the art and ready to show what was learned through several mediums. It was to that level that the Mob of R v IH made their way.

Hero was already in her classroom nearby doing her thing so they made their way upward to hear the story from Roto who was director of the program for special education and his staff. Leaving the elevator, they meandered to room 52, glancing inside to see Roto waiting.

"Well, here we are, all 100 of us. You ready for this?" Ratchet asked as he wandered in followed by everyone else.

"I was born ready, Ratchet," Roto said with a grin. "You look like a very tall mini-con village or a Stanix clan. Have a seat, everyone. We have a lot of information to give to you."

Everyone did expectantly, with some on edge.

Ratchet and Ironhide waited for the elders to park, then turned to Roto. "Give it to us straight, Roto. We can take it. Maybe."

Roto snickered, then slid a folio to both. He lit up a monitor which showed the same information to everyone. The elders who were cowed by education, Ratchet's family, that is were quiet and intimidated. Ironhide's family, everyone of them college graduates watched him with more confidence but this was their little femme, after all. Everyone was expectant.

"Let's start with her testing. We gave her a number of batteries, the names of which don't matter but they were comprehensive and some designed specifically for this group of kids. They were given in little bits over a period of orns, disguised if you will as regular stuff. She wasn't under any self-imposed anxiety about it so they're very accurate. We have a femme that is highly advanced for her age. She can read at levels far in excess of her age group and the best part is, she can understand what she reads. We have conversations about the content and she speaks knowledgeably about it with caveats. Of course, some things she hasn't learned yet so the data she can draw on is sparser but what she has learned she can apply.

"Many are the so-called gifted kids who are great readers. They have a lot of good things going on but what they generally are, most of them just good readers. Hero is a great reader but she also can explain and extrapolate on what she read. She can draw conclusions, give reasonable commentary about what might happen next and she understands the mechanics of plot, characterization and motivation of the characters in the situations of the story. I've never had a child this age who was this advanced in their ability to do that.

"We tested her grammar and organizational abilities in reading and writing. They are equal to the task. Given that 95% of the children her age are working on the basics of reading and writing, she's an anomaly because she's reading at a level one intermediate student's understanding of the material."

It was silent as they gathered that to their heaving bosoms.

Ironhide leaned slightly forward. "Our little princess is smart? That smart?" he asked almost in a whisper.

Roto nodded. "She's not just advanced in reading, she's advanced in writing, mathematics and art. She can work out concepts in math at a level that meets first level students in Intermediate School. She can figure out and compute math equations that would stump good students in Youngling Day."

"She never let on," Ratchet said. "This is news to me," he said as he glanced at the others.

They nodded in agreement.

"She's very smart but she wants to be a young femme. She's afraid of being around older students, an aspect of her youth and lack of confidence. Her perfectionism is still a factor in her confidence. She's incredibly precise and determined to be what she calls 'a good femme'. Does she say that around you?" he asked as some of the others took notes.

Raptor nodded. "She's bound and determined to be helpful and a good femme. She's pretty tightly wound that way. None of us expect her to be that way. None of us understand why she is but I'm thinking she feels responsible to help out given that Ironhide and Ratchet are gone so much. She's the only femme living in the house. Having older sisters helped, right?" he asked the others.

Ironhide nodded. "They have their 'girl's orn out' dates. She loves them madly and they help her a lot. She's less ready to burst into tears if she thinks she's fallen short. We hear that remark less now than before."

"She was stimulated all her life by genitors who value education and talk to their kids. You cannot underestimate the power of talking to infants. She's very verbal, scoring off the charts in verbal testing but she's always been a good talker. She started early in a house filled with talkers and it paid off for her.

"She spells beautifully, is highly developed in reading and mathematics and can write with great accuracy even if she's still learning style. Her basic fine motor mechanics are still a work in progress. She's a remarkable little femme," Roto concluded.

"She's in this pioneer experimental gifted infant school," Raptor began. "What does this new data mean for that? You mentioned that she might do well in Youngling Day perhaps. What's the word on that from this?"

"She's emotionally an infant. She would have to demonstrate the ability to handle the new social interactions with older children and the strain of the program. There is no point pushing her to do what she can't do because she's still a baby. But I'd like to have her sit in on Terri's class for a couple of three orns to watch her there. She can handle the curriculum to a great degree. The point of the exercise would be to watch her around the older children. Her brother is in Terri's class and so are human children who know her. I'd like your permission to do that."

They stared at Roto, then turned almost as one to have an off line conversation.

Roto sat back with a grin watching as the emotions on their faces showed divisions and the feelings of each one of the family.

Ravel looked at him. "She's our dear little femme. She's very sensitive, Mr. Roto. We're concerned for her tiny spark. How long would this be and how would it work?"

"It would be two or three orns and I'd go with her. I've never seen a child this young this advanced. We don't want her to not be stimulated to the degree she needs. Nothing will kill the spirit of a smart child like being in a situation what doesn't stimulate them. It would be three orns at most with me there," Roto replied. "If there's any distress, we pull her. We're going to put it to her as a field trip to see what other kids do."

The confab began again. At last, everyone turned to Roto.

Ratchet looked at Ironhide who looked unconvinced, then Roto. "If its a controlled experiment for a short period, then we're good with it. Ironhide isn't. He was advanced young, too and it left a skid mark. Maybe one of us can take turns being there, too. Sunspot will take care of her. He won't be upset or feel weird with her there because she's so young will he?"

"I wouldn't think so. She's on a field trip with her teacher. If you were there that might help but we'd need a very low key presence if you do. Sort of wall flower presence," Roto said with a grin.

Confab.

Long deeply debated confab.

Then they turned back.

"We agree," Hard Drive said, "for the well-being of our little femme. If this doesn't work out, will she get a good education at her present school? It was very emotionally traumatic for her to switch to this one from Sparkling Day."

Roto nodded. "Yes," he said. "The Pioneer School program is completely personally designed for each student. She'll get what she needs here if this doesn't come to pass."

It was silent a moment as Ratchet watched Ironhide.

He looked back at Roto, then nodded. "Alright. Three orns."

Roto grinned. "That's good. It's information about her that we need that can be helpful for her if she stays here as well. Now how about we talk about Praxus while we're all here?"

Portfolios were handed out and the screen changed overhead on the monitor. "Praxus is just the most wonderful little mech," Roto began.

-0-A joor later

They walked out with portfolios in hand. Ratchet would copy, then send everyone their own to keep.

Appa Ratchet looked at his grandson. "Those infants are wonderful, Sonny. Praxus being considered for the Pioneer School, too, is a surprise."

"I'm flabbergasted," Ratchet replied. "He's got a way to go yet. He's still a much younger child all around than Hero."

"He stays in Sparkling Day," Ironhide said firmly. "I don't think he's old enough to take on the burden. They'll really have to show me that he is. Hero can read and write better. He's a smart little mech but he's still a baby."

"I think I agree," Trooper said with a grin. "What fine infants we all have. I can't wait to hear about Sunny, the big kids and Orion. What about Prowler?" he asked turning toward Ironhide.

"He's tomorrow. They have what they call an anecdotal report. They tell you want he did and what they see. They don't test the kids the same way the school district does. They tell you what they can do and they show you things. It's different."

"He will be as wonderful as the others. I'm so glad we can come to see Bos, Co-D and Reflector, too," Scout said with a big grin.

"We're going to need an auditorium," Turbine said with a chuckle.

"We have one," Scout said with delight. "The Performing Arts Center is getting to the point where the preliminary inspections are due.I can't wait!Think about the dedication and the plays, the music, the teaching. This is so exciting!"

Everyone grinned at the two who were delighting with a capital D.

Alor hugged them, then turned to Ratchet. "We all have the schedule. Prowler tomorrow, Sunspot in two orns and the big kids, all nine of them the orn following Sunspot. That leaves Prowler when?"

"Prowler is tomorrow. Miss Birdie is certifying a number of teachers in their method so she's going to come to them as well," Ironhide said.

"Oh frag." -everyone

Scout slapped Ironhide on the shoulder. "NEVER A DULL MOMENT, INFANT!Let's go get some ice cream."

It was a short walk to the station and a hop to Terra where their favorite shack shop, The Confectionaire was located. It would be a cheerful group kicking back.

-0-TBC 7-29-17 edited 8-8-17 edited 01-28-2022

NOTES:

Babies wire their brains the first four years of their lives. All the synapses that they will have are born the first four years. Thousands of them happen when they're stimulated. If you talk and interact with babies, they will develop to become intelligent and well-rounded. Babies who don't get that are at a big disadvantage. Brains always develop lifelong even with injuries like strokes. They never stop but the 'magic period' for brain development for individuals is the first four years. :D