The XCOM Files Chapter 112: ADVENT - History: ADVENT and Education, a x-com fanfic

ADVENT: History

ADVENT and Education

"Ensuring we continue on the correct path requires investing in future generations. We made ADVENT, and the children will preserve what we have started."

- Myong Hwa-Young, Director of the Bureau of Education

Department Proposal 0013

Latest Revision: 12/27/2016

Program Type: Executive Administration; Education

Authors: Professor Myong Hwa-Young; Professor Bruce Wilcox; Professor Vavilov Svyatoslav; Chief Overseer Keith Watkins; Director of ADVENT Intelligence Elizabeth Falka

INITIAL PROPOSAL: The overall function for the Bureau of Education is ensuring that future generations grow up within ADVENT with access to the highest quality of education possible to equip them to face the challenges that ADVENT will face both now and in the future. The Bureau will establish guidelines, regulations, and standards for all levels of education within ADVENT, and equip the academic facilities to meet the instructions put forth.

The Bureau will also be responsible for regulating all education within ADVENT, both public and private. All educational material utilized within ADVENT will be curated and produced by the Bureau utilizing experts and professionals both domestic and foreign. The Bureau will take appropriate steps to ensure that participants of all ages receive the highest possible attention without concern for financial cost, safety, or intimidation.

The Bureau will also exercise authority to only teach to participants materials with evidence and facts accompanying them, and will act against all bodies within ADVENT which spread misinformation about ADVENT or historical events. Persons or organizations in violation of this, be they inhabiting physical locations or Internet bodies, are subject to fines, arrest, and prosecution.

BUREAU DIVISIONS: The Bureau of Education will be organized by multiple Divisions, each one maintaining control over a certain part of the Bureau. Divisions will coordinate with each other when required, and the leader of each Division will hold a seat on the Administrative Council of Education, chaired by the Director of the Bureau of Education.

Division of Arts and Creativity: This division will be responsible for the development and creation of all creative and art courses at all levels of education, utilizing a variety of methods including digital and physical tools. The goal will be to provide a diverse range of options and opportunities for students to exercise their skills in a way that reflects themselves. Responsibilities will also include the incorporation of music through theory classes, bands, specialty groups, or choirs.

Division of History and Culture: This division will be responsible for developing and producing curriculum and standards for all historical and cultural courses, as well as ensuring historical information in other courses is similarly accurate. This division will strive to provide a clear understanding of histories and cultures through an objective lens, not through a specific nation or culture. This division will recognize all verifiable aspects of history, both the positive and negative, and train students to refute misinformation spread about certain historical events.

Division of Mathematics: This division is responsible for the creation of all curriculum relating to mathematics, and to provide students a solid foundational base, and gradually introduce more complex concepts as their understanding of mathematics increases. A priority of this division is to ensure that all mathematical concepts and problems are explained and presented in a way for the majority of students to easily follow, provided there is an acceptable foundational base.

Division of Science and Experimentation: This division is responsible for the creation of all curriculum and designated experiments in the areas of physics, biological science, and chemistry. A priority will be a focus on hands-on experimentation in addition to classroom lessons to more firmly illustrate and demonstrate various scientific concepts.

Division of Computation and Programming: This division is responsible for ensuring that all students graduate their respective level with an increasingly complex understanding of computation and programming. This is intended to be started at a young age and built upon in following years to ensure that future citizens are computationally literate in an increasingly automated society.

Division of Civic Development and Maintenance: This division is responsible for ensuring that all students have a firm and comprehensive understanding of ADVENT and how it functions, free of misinformation spread outside of educational facilities. The goal is to have students understand the truth of how ADVENT operates and be able to refute misinformation spread by the uninformed and underlying enemies of the state.

Division of Engineering and Architecture: This division will develop and produce curriculum for all engineering and architecture classes and educational materials, utilizing continually updated techniques and information. This will include instruction on the use of useful and developmental technology utilized in engineering and architecture beyond theoretical concepts.

Division of Linguistics and Language: This division is responsible for the development of curriculum for languages to teach to students from youth to adulthood. Primary languages will be English, Spanish, and Mandarin; others available upon request and demand.

Division of Sports and Athletics: This division is responsible for the establishment and maintenance of sports and athletics programs across ADVENT, encouraging and maintaining a diverse variety to ensure a majority of students are healthy and/or active. Sports will additionally comprise mentally demanding activities in addition to physical activities, as well as the establishment of select groups who are eligible to receive genetic modification.

Division of Alien Education: This division is responsible for ensuring that students are properly educated about alien physiology, their cultures, their technology and how to properly consider and act towards them. Preferably taught by, or assisted by an alien (Ideally Vitakarian) in order to reduce xenophobia further.

Division of Psionics: This division is responsible for ensuring that all students have a thorough and accurate understanding of psionics, the treatment of psions, and determining if students are capable of, or eligible for psionic awakening.

Division of Early Childhood Education: This division is responsible for managing the curriculums, events, staff, and organization of education of children ages four to ten.

Division of Teen Education: This division is responsible for managing the curriculums, events, staff, and organization of education of teens ages eleven to eighteen.

Division of Higher Education: This division is responsible for the management of all higher education requiring completion of general ADVENT education. There is no set age range this falls into.

Division of Trade Education: This division is responsible for the management of all trade schools, which do not necessarily require completion of general ADVENT education. This division is also responsible for the promotion and increasing interest in the trade school programs, as well as student recruitment.

Division of Disability Education: This division is responsible for managing all matters, schools, and needs for physically and mentally disabled students, and provide them access to possible treatments, gene therapy, cybernetics, and educational opportunities. This division will work closely with the Cybernetics Division of the Bureau of Engineering and Advanced Technology, as well as the Genetic Modification Division of the Bureau of Research and Development.

Division of Campus Peacekeeping: This division is responsible for ensuring that all academic facilities are completely safe and secure from outside threats, as well as handling internal facility matters and student or administrative disputes. Peacekeepers have full authority to intervene or open investigations into all criminal activity, social media or physical abuse, and corruption within the facility they operate in.

Division of Psychology and Mental Health: This division is responsible for ensuring that all students have access to needed mental health treatments and counseling if necessary, as well as the promotion and education of students regarding these subjects.

Division of Medical Services: This division is responsible for handling any injuries within their facility of operation. All information and classes related to sexual education and health, as well as reproductive services will also be handled by this division. All prescribed medicine must only be given out with student consent and with parental knowledge. Parental consent is also required for all students under the ages of sixteen.

Division of Private School Oversight: This division is responsible for ensuring that all private schools are complying with ADVENT regulations and guidelines, and has authority to take action if private schools are in violation of these, from monetary fines up to the administrative takeover of the school in question.

Division of Homeschool Oversight: This division is responsible for ensuring that all homeschooling families and coop organizations are complying with ADVENT regulations and guidelines, and has the authority to take action from monetary fines, up to removal of parental custody of children and disbanding of groups with arrest of parents or leaders.

Division of Academic Recruitment and Retainment: This division is responsible for recruiting and retaining staff for the Bureau of Education, and will handle all complaints, suggestions, and concerns from staff and handle them in a prompt and decisive manner.

BUREAU HIERARCHY: The hierarchy within the Bureau of Education will be twofold. There will be the official Administrative Council of the Bureau of Education, comprised of the Head of the Divisions and the Director of the Bureau of Education, and there will be established administrative hierarchies for Introductory-Level Schools, Advanced-Level Schools, and College-Level Schools. Divisions will be managed internally and established by the Head of the division.

INTRODUCTORY-LEVEL (AGES 4-10) ADMINISTRATIVE HIERARCHY:

Principal: Manages all activities within the school, and has authority to recruit the majority of advisors. Speaks for the school, and handles internal and external issues related to it. Candidates for this position must have a minimum of 3-5 years experience, and should be up to date on ADVENT curriculum (Educational materials will be provided upon request on applying for the position) and ADVENT school policies. Preferably a local resident or held a position within the school itself for two or more years.

Chief Academic Advisor: Advisor to the Principal regarding issues about teaching, classroom environments, and students. Must be a currently practicing teacher from the school in question, preferably a veteran with 3-5 years of experience.

Chief Peacekeeper: Responsible for all criminal activity, arrests, and investigations on the campus grounds. Appointed by the ADVENT Peacekeepers, must be a resident of the location in question and able to handle children maturely. Appointment non-negotiable.

Chief Logistical Planner: Responsible for the planning of all school events, bookings, guests, and additional responsibilities. Candidates for this position should have 2-4 years of experience in administration, and be extremely familiar with relevant ADVENT policy and law.

Chief Financial Executive: Responsible for ensuring that the budget for the school is planned and balanced, and responsible for handling any unexpected financial emergencies or events. Candidates for this position should have 3-5 years of experience in administrative financial positions and be extremely familiar with ADVENT financial laws and regulations.

Chief Child Psychologist: Responsible for ensuring that the mental health of the students is acceptable, and developing methods and ideas to specifically appeal to them, as well as countering, encouraging, or creating trends which appeal to the demographic to utilize them for the ultimate benefit of ADVENT. Must have a Masters degree or higher, and 3-5 years documented experience.

Parental Advisor: An appointed parent of one or more students who will provide additional insight and ideas to benefit the school itself. Parent should have a high-performing student enrolled, be involved in school activities, and have no strong antagonistic feelings to ADVENT.

ADVANCED-LEVEL (AGES 11-18) ADMINISTRATIVE HIERARCHY:

Chief ADVENT Representative: This individual is responsible for beginning recruitment efforts for ADVENT within the school and tailoring them to specifically gifted individuals and the needs of the current area. Appointment non-negotiable and chosen by either the Oversight Division or ADVENT Intelligence. Representative ideally a local resident, but not necessary to achieve position.

Chief Career Advisor: Responsible for helping students determine career choices, advising them on possible options and helping them with registration for higher education or speaking with professionals in a field of their interest. Works closely with the Chief ADVENT Representative, although also focuses on non-ADVENT careers to students. Candidates require 2-4 years of experience in a relevant field and must be able to maturely interact with indecisive teenagers.

Chief Psychologist: Responsible for ensuring that the mental health of the students is acceptable, and developing methods and ideas to specifically appeal to them, as well as countering, encouraging, or creating trends which appeal to the demographic to utilize them for the ultimate benefit of ADVENT. Also responsible for directly dealing with troublesome or dissident students. Appointed by the Principal, with recommendation from ADVENT Intelligence. Must have a Masters degree or higher, and 3-5 years documented experience.

Student Advisor: An appointed high-performing student between the ages of fifteen to eighteen who will provide additional insight and ideas to benefit the school. Should ideally be popular and friendly with students to achieve accurate insight into school morale and opinion, willing to work with advisors to deal with incidents, and must not harbor antagonistic feelings to ADVENT. Appointment will be made based upon the recommendations of the Chief Psychologist, Chief ADVENT Representatives, and ADVENT Intelligence. Parent and student Advisors must not be related in any way.

COLLEGE-LEVEL ADMINISTRATIVE HIERARCHY:

Note: The following also applies to all ADVENT Trade Schools

President: Manages all activities within the college, and has authority to recruit the majority of advisors. Speaks for the school, and handles internal and external issues related to it. Directly manages research agreements between ADVENT and the college. Candidates for this position must have a minimum of 3-5 years experience, and should be up to date on ADVENT curriculum (Educational materials will be provided upon request on applying for the position) and ADVENT college policies. Preferably a local resident or held a position within the college itself for two or more years.

Chief Academic Advisor: Advisor to the President regarding issues about teaching, classroom environments, and students. Must be a currently practicing teacher from the college in question, with 3-5 years of experience, a Masters degree or higher, with the ability to manage large volumes of information outside field of expertise.

Chief ADVENT Representative: This individual is responsible for beginning recruitment efforts for ADVENT within the college and tailoring them to specifically gifted individuals and the needs of the current area. Appointment non-negotiable and chosen by either the Oversight Division or ADVENT Intelligence. Representative ideally a local resident, but not necessary to achieve position.

Chief Financial Executive: Responsible for ensuring that the budget for the college is planned and balanced, and responsible for handling any unexpected financial emergencies or events. Candidates for this position should have 3-5 years of experience in administrative financial positions and be extremely familiar with ADVENT financial laws and regulations.

Chief Psychologist: Responsible for ensuring that the mental health of the students is acceptable, and developing methods and ideas to specifically appeal to them, as well as countering, encouraging, or creating trends which appeal to the demographic to utilize them for the ultimate benefit of ADVENT. Also responsible for directly dealing with troublesome or dissident students. Non-negotiable appointment by ADVENT Intelligence. Must have a doctorate degree, and 3-5 years documented experience.

Student Advisor: An appointed high-performing student who will provide additional insight and ideas to benefit the college. Should ideally be popular and friendly with students to achieve accurate insight into school morale and opinion, willing to work with advisors to deal with incidents, and must not harbor antagonistic feelings to ADVENT. Appointment will be made based upon the recommendations of the Chief Psychologist, Chief ADVENT Representatives, and ADVENT Intelligence.

CURRICULUM: All curriculum curated and approved by the Bureau of Education will be developed with multiple experts in their respective fields across the world, and cross-checked to ensure that there are no major biases or agendas, especially in regards to historical, scientific, and cultures studies. This curriculum will be updated yearly for most subjects, and bi-annually for rapidly developing fields.

All educational material will be provided to students for free, with the understanding that it will be treated well and returned in usable condition. All online materials will similarly be provided free of charge and will be intermittently updated. If students wish to permanently keep textbooks, it can be arranged with the local ADVENT representative.

All curriculum is non-negotiable and must be used regardless of the location of education. All private schools, homeschool families, and coop groups must utilize approved ADVENT curriculum or action will be taken against them. There are no exemptions to this, but be assured that the Bureau of Education will have curriculum for every subject necessary. In the unlikely event that there is not, there will be means by which to request it and development will begin, temporary utilization of non-ADVENT material will be allowed until approved curriculum is finished.

However, while the curriculum must be used by teachers, they are allowed some control over the pace and speed the material is taught. They are allowed to prioritize certain parts of the material, so long as they do include certain critical sections of the material as designated by the respective divisions. With this said, teachers must not focus on one element for excessive amounts of time or fall significantly behind schedule.

On the matter of testing, all ADVENT curriculum comes with standardized tests with multiple formats, including short answer, fill-in-the-blank, multiple choice, and combinations of all three which can be customized by the instructor using the test designer toolkit, software provided to all instructors. Teachers can create custom tests without drawing from the curriculum, but these custom tests must be submitted to the respective division for approval. Should they be approved, they will be saved and be added to the pool of options for customizing curriculum tests.

STANCE ON PRIVATE SCHOOLING: It is important that parents and students have the option to choose where they will receive their education, and all private schools will be permitted provided they follow established ADVENT guidelines and use approved curriculum. The Bureau of Education will not interfere in how the private school is run, though we cannot make guarantees as to the quality of education the students will receive.

All private schools will be subject to an annual audit to ensure that they are using their money responsibly and legally. Private schools found to be in violation of any rules and regulations will have action taken against the appropriate parties and there will be no exceptions to this.

CONCLUSION: To reiterate, the Bureau of Education has one simple goal – to provide an education to students which will allow them to solve the issues and problems we face in the present, and in the future. We will do everything in our power to ensure the ADVENT Education system is the most efficient, effective, and lasting academic body within the Human race.

This is our goal, and this is what we will achieve.

Education is, to the surprise of some, a more contentious subject than might be expected. On the surface, it is fairly innocent. It is the controlled distribution of knowledge with the intent of promoting learning and problem solving. A noble goal, one which most regular people wish to pursue in some form or another.

Humans are diverse, and each of us has our own interests and talents. Through education we learn about the options available to us and then eventually how to learn to achieve our dreams. Sometimes our dreams are not typical of society, but nonetheless fill a demand or void in the workforce. Creativity can make new professions materialize and start a drive for something most people didn't know they needed.

Ideally, this is how the system should work. But like all institutions, it attracts the attention of those who understand the immense power education has. It attracts the ones who wish to lure and trap well-meaning, but gullible people into financial debt. It attracts those who wish to leverage education to promote or spread agendas of all types.

No country or government is immune to this, and indeed, they perpetuate the problems of education for their own gain. This problem will likely never go away, and if it is meant to continue to exist, it should work to promote critical thinking, free thought, and logic. Children's minds are easily shaped and influenced when young, and it is extremely difficult to alter mindsets molded by years of repetition.

It is said that an educated citizen is one of the worst enemies of the government. To a certain extent this is true, but I do not believe it has to be, and there is little reason for a reasonable government in power to fear the educated. To imply otherwise speaks either to how incompetent and terrible the government is, or a lack of confidence in the decisions made which might be challenged.

This obviously depends on the government in question, but any reasonable person can see that lowering the quality of education will hurt the country in the long run. The party in power may maintain their hold through emotion, manipulation, and fear, but the quality of life will decline, enemies will be made, and it will eventually collapse to the angry mobs.

It is the short-term solution made by those who fail to understand history or logic.

An intelligent government would not look to education as merely a means of influence, but as a powerful tool. Children are special and unique in their own ways, each of them has, at the beginning a bright future with dozens of possibilities for how they could change the world. Over time this has been seen to collapse due to multiple factors, from apathetic teachers, to poor domestic situations, to debt, and lack of support networks.

It is the responsibility of the government to help these struggling citizens. I should not have to state that productive and happy citizens are much less of a financial burden to the state than one homeless or shackled by debt. From a purely economic perspective, the initial cost to properly equip future adults with the help they need will more than pay for itself in the form of spending citizens, increased engineering and scientific output, greater global recognition from the achievements of these citizens, and ultimately a healthier economy.

But in order for a government to truly embrace the concept of an educated society, it itself must be built on a singular goal of betterment for the Human species, not merely driven by nationality and partisan agenda. A society that can fully appreciate citizens educated through logic and reason is one which employs it in every decision made. Every decision is sound and justifiable. Numbers and facts are used, not opinions and money. The value of education is understood, and not derided. People are placed in charge who hold a commitment to ensuring they produce intelligent citizens, not mere administrators motivated by money.

The proper education system requires sacrifice of the government; it requires relying on experts and professionals; it requires the right people. The current educational systems around the world are, and likely will continue to be, flawed. I fear such a system will not come so long as our species is divided and further antagonized by all sides of the political spectrums of the world.

But I can guarantee that the first nation to embrace this philosophy will ultimately be the new world power of the future.

- Article: Repetition of Education (Excerpt) by Professor Myong Hwa-Yong

There has been near-equal parts praise and skepticism from the public as ADVENT prepares to make sweeping changes to the education system across their territories, many of which have radically different education systems. It will take a long time for this to be fully implemented, of course, but by the end the entire education system of ADVENT will be fully standardized under the firm hand of the Bureau of Education.

Having been given the opportunity to interview multiple officials in the Bureau, as well as read several planning documents, it is important that everyone, parents especially, understand the changes that are going to be coming to education. There is some legitimately good news, and then there is news which is potential cause for concern. There will be concern regardless, but even the most neutral citizen will raise an eyebrow at some of what ADVENT is planning to implement.

Cost: Here is the first good piece of news ADVENT released. All education, regardless of if you're just starting, or want to pursue a college degree, is completely free. No strings attached.

Most people reasonably think that there is some kind of catch, but after spending a good deal of time on this question, I can confirm that there actually isn't. In fact, it is arguably more than people will expect. It's not just tuition that is free, but any kind of educational material (such as textbooks, online codes, or field trips) are also free of charge. You will need to keep the materials in good condition and return them at the end of the semester, but that is certainly not too much to ask.

Furthermore, the Bureau also announced that all debt of current students would be waived, and those who are still under financial debt as the result of education, but no longer in classes, could apply to also have their debt cleared. This was universally praised, as it should be, and ADVENT has put this into effect immediately.

However, I should note that this is only for public education. Free tuition sadly does not apply to private schools, though debt relief can be pursued even for graduates of non-public schools. Those still in colleges will not be affected, though ADVENT has said that they will work to make any kind of transition quick and efficient, as well as throwing in paying off currently owed tuition for good measure in an attempt to attract students to their own colleges.

It is somewhat amazing that ADVENT is not only waiving most costs associated with education, but also actively properly funding all public education. From how one of the financial advisors explained it, what is most important is making sure everything is in order – it doesn't matter how much or how little – and sending it to the Bureau of the Treasury who will fund whatever you need.

This allows previous underfunded programs to be on the same level as traditionally more well-funded programs such as sports. While sports funding is not necessarily diminished, it now is no longer on another level of quality compared to programs deemed "less important". Furthermore, it causes a chain reaction where schools which were severely underfunded become almost modernized overnight.

Struggling schools and programs received the equivalent of a blank check, and all of them quickly pounced on it in the unlikely event that it was genuine. Indeed, it appears to be, and already there are places where it is having a positive impact on the students going there. I suppose it would make a difference to be working with tablets and electronics compared to using computers decades old previously.

For some personal commentary, it is very clear what ADVENT is trying to do here, and while some of it is altruism, there is a massive practical component which will be elaborated on later. ADVENT wants the complete elimination of the private education sector, and they mean to accomplish this not by oppressive laws and intimidation, but by making it affordable, superior, and better in every measurable way to private schools so that the average citizen won't even consider an alternative.

If this method is acceptable or not as a way to kill competition is a matter of debate, but ADVENT does not seem to be hiding its intentions that well, if it cares at all.

Teachers: ADVENT made a point to say that they will be working on recruiting and retaining the best teachers in the world for all levels, and they will do this by ensuring all schools are well-staffed and paid livable wages across the board. Looking at some of the figures (The average starting college salary was equivalent to $100,000), I would not be surprised if teaching becomes a much more highly competitive field in the coming years.

Furthermore, ADVENT has stated that they will be giving teachers a more prominent voice in schools, and have cited the "Academic Advisor" position as one with among the most influence in any school. Teachers are also informed about the Oversight Division, which will presumably assist in any administrative issues and abuses they may encounter.

What is slightly more controversial is that teachers, especially in lower levels, have been given far more authority in how to handle students, as well as limited control over the curriculum itself. ADVENT has said they want to instill respect in children for teachers, and other figures of authority. As such teachers will be given much more leeway in dealing with disobedient or abusive children up to and including requesting investigations into families such children come from to determine if it is a systemic household problem.

In cases of suspected (or blatant) bullying, the teacher also has the authority to directly intervene or bring in the school Peacekeeper to handle the situation, which can result in arrests. ADVENT has stated that they have no issues arresting and punishing children "Especially of ages who should know better" or similarly arresting parents of troublesome children for negligence, or in extreme cases, taking the children away.

If it isn't clear by now, ADVENT does not care about parent outcry if it isn't justified. I suspect that this will become apparent in the future once they complain to the Oversight Division and get promptly arrested when they end up wasting their time.

Disabled Students: ADVENT made a special point to show what they would be doing to help students suffering from both physical and mental disabilities. They would be in separate schools to begin with, and the schools themselves will vary depending on the disability and cognitive level. Mentally functioning, but physically disabled students would have a fairly similar (though not quite as intense) curriculum and format.

The main differences would come from the extracurricular activities, which would likely be more mentally focused, or cybernetic limb adaption. Yes, ADVENT will be allowing disabled children access to the cutting edge of cybernetic enhancements. This would obviously not be applicable to all students, and would need the permission of the student and parents to go through with the surgery, but the option will be provided. However, ADVENT has said that they would likely only be able to perform any kind of surgery at this stage for patients which fit certain conditions. However, they did assure us that when the appropriate technology is developed, these children would be near the front of the line to receive it.

For children with mental disabilities, they are handled in a much more fluid manner. In the face of what ADVENT seems to pride itself in, very little of teaching for these particular students follows the exact same format. The curriculums are the same, but it's largely at the pace of the student and their own abilities.

Despite the far slower pace, ADVENT has made efforts to provide help when available to these students in the forms of experimental gene therapy and psionic treatment. These require parental permissions, as some – especially psionic treatment – are new and experimental fields or are otherwise not completely proven to work. But the option is always there, and ADVENT assured me that they would never go through with an operation if there was a major risk to the child. It might not work, they said, but the child will not be worse off than when they began.

Organization: As with most organizations in ADVENT, the Bureau of Education is extremely well-organized, with a Division for essentially every part of the educational system from mathematics to psionics to athletics. Some divisions are to curate the subjects themselves and put together curriculum, while others are to manage various regulations and ensure they are enforced (Such as in the case of private schools).

Each school or college has an established leadership council, which includes some expected positions, such as a Financial Executive, or a Logistical Planner, as well as a Principal. We already have spoken about the Academic Advisor, and there are also Parental and Student Advisors depending on the educational level, which ADVENT says is to ensure that all relevant parties are represented to some capacity.

It also includes openings for more…unconventional positions, such as Psychology advisors who at a first glance are to make sure the mental health of students and personnel is acceptable, but knowing ADVENT there is an ulterior motive behind it. That there is a Peacekeeper as an advisor, appointed by the Peacekeepers, in a fairly influential position is also odd, but the more overt ADVENT control over the education system will be explained in the following section.

ADVENT Influence: To say that ADVENT has influence over the ADVENT Bureau of Education is not exactly breaking news. They of course are funding and hiring the people running it. But even then there is a noticeable effort by ADVENT to utilize the schools for their own ends. There is a specific type of individual they want to produce, and they do appear to be using everything they can to have their schools turn out these individuals.

The first thing you may notice is that there is a noticeable Peacekeeper presence at schools. The Peacekeepers are friendly to the children, and will often interact with them during games or just answer questions from curious children. But there have already been reported instances of Peacekeepers intervening violently in schools.

When one hears of how one Peacekeeper broke the jaw of one student and tazed the rest, it would be a scandal. But outrage usually dies when the story is that the soldier was intervening on behalf of a bullied child. ADVENT has very little problem completely destroying the lives of those who do not live up to their standards, and there are several documented cases of parental custody being revoked by ADVENT Child Protective Services within days of similar incidents.

The Peacekeepers are to not just protect children, but quash any kind of unauthorized activity. Word travels fast, and public schools are, for better or worse, much safer, if more sterile, to be in than before. This is obviously not as extreme in some schools as others, but it is not unreasonable to say that Peacekeepers are the true authority in schools, not the administration.

The next thing people will notice is that there are several members of the Advisory Board that are appointed directly by ADVENT, one of whom is solely there to clearly pick out talent and recruit for ADVENT, as well as likely watching student morale and opinion. ADVENT, like it or not, is very clearly watching every single one of their schools for anything they don't like.

It is also expected that anti-ADVENT sentiments and attitudes won't exactly be tolerated, but ADVENT doesn't seem to handle this in crude ways. In several of the schools I visited – in places where anti-ADVENT sentiment was initially high – speaking with several students and officials made the situation clearer.

ADVENT seems to identify sources of issues, and then goes right to the source. So if there is a student saying something ADVENT disapproves of, they will usually call them in to talk about the issue, such as the school counselor or psychologist, and move from there. Usually the student will go back and give friends 'accurate' information, and then word will spread.

Other times, students said that even after ADVENT spoke to them, their parents received visits from men and women in suits. This can be explained as ADVENT wanting to make sure misinformation is stopped from spreading at the source, or for others it will be seen as an insidious method of control. Either way, ADVENT is very clearly not tolerating those who disparage them without reason.

If that isn't enough, the curriculums ADVENT has released involve civics courses on the history, organization, and structure of ADVENT itself. This would not necessarily be odd, except that these classes are mandatory and are in nearly every single year of education. Supposedly these classes become more complex and can almost be consider a place for debate in higher levels, but the fact that there are such classes for children as young as six is…worthy of note.

Then there is the fact that ADVENT is monitoring your child's social media.

Social Media: The Bureau of Education has instituted guidelines for social media for enrolled students. It is initially fairly innocent, namely that each student must register all social media accounts with ADVENT. No passwords or access needs to be shared, but ADVENT needs to be aware of it. There is a statement signed simply stating that their profiles can't be used to harass, attack, or spread misinformation about ADVENT through them.

The goal of this, ADVENT says, is to control internet bullying and harassment between students which may take place off-campus. Students who receive threats or harassment are encouraged to report it to their teacher along with incriminating messages.

More importantly, students who are found in violation of the social media guidelines will be punished in various ways. ADVENT can suspend their social media accounts, they can be expelled, or even arrested in serious cases. Regardless of what the child is using it for, ADVENT is logging and storing every post made and someone is monitoring what is being put up.

There is no anonymity for students in schools any longer. Don't tell ADVENT about a new account you made, and you run the risk of paying the price.

Homeschooling: This may be an interesting thing to bring up, and perhaps more surprising that ADVENT is actually still allowing this in the first place. Indeed, they are, which isn't majorly surprising as homeschool students typically perform similarly or better academically as students from public or private schools, but historically it has largely been an unregulated and unenforced grey area.

ADVENT, of course, has changed that.

First, students must use approved curriculum as chosen by the Bureau of Education. This is non-negotiable, and failure to do so will go badly. The larger change is that parents must pass certain competency tests to ensure that they are capable of properly teaching their children, and homeschooling students must take annual exams to document that they are on the correct academic level.

Parents with certain degrees, specifically teaching, can have the competency tests waived, but the student tests cannot be waived. These regulations also apply to any coop organizations or groups, and any academic body which is not a traditional private school.

Private Schools: Private schools are both majorly affected by ADVENT regulations, and at the same time left to their own devices. They are required to only use ADVENT curriculum, regardless of what kind of school they are, as well as submit to yearly auditing, but otherwise they are fully capable of running the school themselves.

They are allowed to hire and fire at will, they are allowed to charge students as much as they deem necessary. They are allowed to set their own rules and guidelines to an extent. But it is also understood that ADVENT is watching extremely closely, and it was made very clear to me that ADVENT is perfectly happy with hitting them with multiple charges, and taking over the school for their own usage.

There were protests, especially from religious schools, regarding the curriculum which does not teach typically religious views of the origin of the galaxy and humanity. ADVENT largely ignored these complaints, saying something largely to the effect of "If you can prove it or show there is a factual basis for it in peer-reviewed scientific journals, then we'll reconsider".

While that didn't exactly go over well, most of those complaining realized that pushing ADVENT would only make things worse, not better, and have let it go for now.

Curriculum: Speaking of ADVENT Curriculum, ADVENT has said that they will make every effort to ensure that everything taught in their schools is accurate, well-sourced, and factual. There is very little which is left to speculation, and ADVENT has made an effort to standardize every single subject to take subjectivity out of it.

This is certainly easy to do in the math and science subjects, but historical subjects become slightly more muddled. ADVENT has said that the standard history course will not intentionally focus on a specific country, but Humanity as a whole. Country and event-specific history courses will be offered (Such as American, British, Russian, or courses on World War II, the American Revolution, etc.), but those will be presented in a more objective manner.

Controversial subjects in various countries, such as the mistreatment of Native Americans, the Nanking Massacre, and similarly whitewashed subjects will be discussed in their historical accuracy, regardless of the country they take place in. ADVENT has said that these extra courses will not necessarily be taught everywhere, but specific histories of countries will be offered in the country of residence, and others can be requested if there is enough demand.

All in all, it will certainly be interesting to see how much this ADVENT curriculum shapes the minds of future generations. From excerpts I've read, it appears largely unbiased, but as ADVENT is the one behind this, one can never been completely sure.

- Article: ADVENT and Education – What to Know – by Professor Dylan Carita