The dark side of Force-cheating

[Klesta]

"I hope you understand that there are certain grade minimums to respect if you want to remain eligible for grav-ball scholarships. And certain universities would be more demanding than others. Also watch out for a few of the popular kids, as well as the bullies: thanks to them I have to be front and center in the classroom for the history test tomorrow"

For better or for worse, Yula was having a fully loaded schedule of extracurriculars, the most time-consuming of which was, hands down, fencing. At Nuba City High School, having such loaded EC schedules were mostly a thing for the smart kids, with the themes often revealing the ambitions or passions of the kids. She often had nights where she slept rather little. Here she was tutoring one of the grav-ball players, one [member="J'kara Jakar"], without him suspecting that she is the centerpiece of a cheating plan hatched by one of the popular kids. Most likely because she seemed to excel in history, a subject that not many liked - usually electives were stuff people cared more about. Because she dreams of becoming a better general than Darth Centax ever was, her dream school was already pretty much chosen: the Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy which was associated with the One Sith but isn't anymore. Although she had to grant him that he had some talent to manage the losing end of an operational theater, the tactical aspect of it may be easier to achieve.

"Do you have any questions, as it pertains to the material? Any point where you don't seem to understand?"

 

[J'Kara Jakar]

So far this year had been great for the Nuba City High School Sentinels, they had won their first few matches, and he even made a few scores himself. But that was just for the Grav-Ball team. J'kara had been having trouble with his core classes...All of them really, but history was his worst subject, it was just so boring, who wanted to hear about the first starship created, or the Yuuzhan Vong war? Definitely not him...Zip maybe, but not the fullback of the Nuba City High School Sentinels. He sighed, here he was in the high school's library sitting at one of the many tables. Across the table was his redheaded tutor, some girl he didn't know. But his teacher had decided to contact his coach and organise a tutoring thing. The teen sighed as the girl across him spoke. He kept his head down on the table as she spoke about how there was certain requirements that he had to get in order to receive the Grav-Ball scholarship he wanted.

She then asked if he had any questions about the material or what he didn't understand. The boy groaned before opening his mouth. "I don't understand any of it..." His voice trailed off. He would sit up and lean against the back of the chair. Just then his friend Zip walked by, Zip was a year older, and one of the best damn Grav-Ball players he had ever seen.

"Hey Jakar! Oh that must be you're new girlfriend....Yah I heard you got dumped The other night after the match, you're a real player... Already dating another girl." Zip said with a huge grin on his face. J'kara glared at him. "It's not like that and you know it. She's just tutoring me...I wouldn't need to be tutored if you'd just help me." The teen said with a small growl. Zip just laughed as he walked out of the library.

The teen began to mumble curse words under his breath. "Can't I just go....You could just say you tutored me." He said as he pulled out his datapad and opened up his history book.


[member="Yula Knezevic"]

 

[Klesta]

"Tomorrow's test is about the fall of the Yuuzhan Vong and the rise of the First Order, and how these two events are related. Oh and the conduct of the New Republic, as was called at the time, or the Second Republic as we call it today, during that era is also content in the test"

Zip? Yula knew him from the history club. She accepted that it was normal for teenagers to assume that romance would be afoot every time a boy is around a girl for any reason, except when it's obvious that there is something awry going on between them. It appears that the history teacher would rather emphasize the reasoning of the students over their knowledge. Oh, sure, she estimated that it was likely that the questions would be on exactly how the First Order was a reaction to the Yuuzhan Vong, and how much truth, if any, there were in the First Order's allegations.

"The trick is that, due to a format change, the essay questions are worth a lot more than the multiple-choice ones. I know how many in this class feels, but could you please explain whether there was any actual basis for the First Order's allegations in Hux's speech in 34 ABY (the Second Republic acquiescing to disorder, lying to the galaxy, secretly supporting the Resistance) and, if so, what is it, as well as why it is a basis. The teacher feels we get more out of this class if the assignments, and the resulting questions, are more than just absorbing facts"

@J'Kara Jakar

 

[J'Kara Jakar]

How he wished all his core classes were cut, he hated having to learn about things that barely pertained to him. Sure it was history and knowing your history helps one not to repeat it...But that's the thing, history is bound to repeat itself, just look at the Galactic Republic. They collapsed many times yet they still managed to come back each time. The teen sighed as Yula began to speak about what would be on the test the next day. Of course it had to be the Yuuzhan Vong war, and how it's fall was related to the rise of the First Order. The boy scratched his head. He didn't know much about the Yuuzhan Vong war, but he did know that it plunged the galaxy into Chaos™

He listened as Yula continued to speak of how the essay questions would be worth more than the multiple choice. The teen shook his head, he was hoping to get by just with answering the multiple choice questions. Guess that was out now. She had asked if there was any basis to the First Order's allegations of the Second Republic supporting the Resistance. Saying that the teacher wanted students to get more out of the class instead of taking in facts to be discarded the next day. J'kara sighed as he thought of an answer, he was no history buff, and his parents preferred to stay out of political things.

"There was obviously no basis in Hux's speech. The allegations he made against the Second Republic, I think we're false. He was clearly doing it for the First Order's personal gain, trying to win over the mind of the people and brand the Republic as liars and traitors to their own people. The First Order wanted to connect the Resistance to the Republic so they could have a reason for attack." He would say. Before tapping his fingers on the desk. Whether he was on the mark or off he didn't care much. He had no reason to.

"I think."



[member="Yula Knezevic"]

 

[Klesta]

"There are many different interpretations, but based on the last test, the teacher cuts some slack to students so long as the answers make sense, given the historical context of the question: in that sense, it's much more about critical reasoning than facts. But you do realize that the First Order had followers because said followers believed the Yuuzhan Vong to have considerably weakened the Second Republic, and the Unknown Regions were called as such at the time because they were unknown to the Yuuzhan Vong. That's as far as everyone would acknowledge pretty much universally. Now, unfortunately, while the basis is tenuous at best, there is one: it mostly is about how a few of the more radical senators secretly funded, in part, the Resistance. Their funding didn't amount to that much, though, and they funded only a small fraction of the Resistance, but it's clear that destroying Hosnian Prime (which was rebuilt, along Alderaan, Byss, and a few others about 400 years later) was far too much for the basis they had, I'll grant you that. The Second Republic didn't, per se, lie to the galaxy, but they did, as many political entities of any Force-allegiance, twist the truth to their own ends"

Kuat-Entralla Engineering was called as such because the then-leaders of Kuat Drive Yards supported the First Order and installed an ancillary facility on Entralla, but one that could nevertheless build battlecruisers like the Resurgent-class, loaded with 300 turbolaser and ion cannon hardpoints of all sizes. By 34 ABY two Resurgent-class units were in service: the Resurgent and the Finalizer. But another one of the questions pertained to the displacement of the capital of the Second Republic.

"Second question: what concern(s) prompted the Second Republic, from the downfall of the Empire until after the Yuuzhan Vong war, to displace the capital every few years, and why?"

@J'Kara Jakar

 

[J'Kara Jakar]

Yula said that there were many different interpretations of of the allegations of Hex's speech. This made some sense to the Grav-Ball star. He would just nod acting like as if he understood the girl across from him. The teen would wonder why she was trying so hard to tutor him, most of the smarter students in the school disliked any Grav-Ball players. The teen was still wracking his brain on why the girl across him even cared. It couldn't be just for tutoring. He would shake his head for a second. Before returning to the conversation. She finished off saying that while he didn't get the answer fully correct, he didn't get it completely wrong either. So it was pretty much a pitty thing. Thats why the teen hated history, he had heard once that history was written by the victor, so you could be having lies spoon fed to you. J'kara would scratch his head. If history always changed why should he care? He shook his head as he heard her pause obviously thinking of another question. J'kara's mind drifted to what Zip was probably doing. He was probably with his drama club...He always had some extra corricular things to do whether it be drama club, Grav-Ball, or even the History club he was in.

He shook off the thought before hearing the girl across him speak. she led on to the second question. She asked about the concerns the Republic had that led to the displacement of their capital every few years. He would sigh, he had no clue what she was talking about. It was amazing the teen even got to be a freshman. Honestly he was so used to charming his friends to give him answers, but now that their classes had them split...He couldn't do that. He would be irritated at the thought.

"Umm...Did the teacher tell you history isn't my forte? Cuz he's right....It isn't." He would say, that was an excuse for not knowing the answer.

Stupid Zip, it was all his fault, if he'd just give the fullback the answers, none of this mess would even happen. The teen smiled a charming smile, while he wasn't Zip, he was sure he was able to charm people all the same. "How about you let me out early...And I'll... I'll um, I'll let you uh." His voice trailed off, he had nothing. He would just with as he waited for whatever it was that was coming.

[member="Yula Knezevic"]

 

[Klesta]

"Because history is mostly written by the victor, this is why the interpretations often change on a whim, and often based on a different set of facts, too. That is why the teacher emphasized not so much the facts or even the famous interpretations, but critical thinking. That is much more easily portable to other areas. The only reason why I care is because you have too much talent as a grav-ball player to waste it away: all that really matters is to remain academically eligible to play at the university level, basically, to be in good academic standing. That being said, some planets are different from others as far as their university structure is concerned. While, for example, on Coruscant or Naboo, an undergraduate university education emphasizes the students to be able to understand a variety of subjects, on Omwat, an undergraduate is in the thick of the major from day one. I would think that your best bet is to play for a university on a planet that emphasizes specialization if you make it to that level"

Yula was part of several extracurriculars: JROTC (Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps in full), the fencing team, of which she was the captain, and the history club. But she was the only one with any real talent for fencing, probably because she was the one that actually scored victories among the team. Her mind was wandering about those until she came back to the main issue at hand.

"As for the question, security concerns were the crux of them changing capitals on multiple occasions. Chandrila was the first capital of the Second Republic, and that was before the Galactic Concordance was signed. Noquivzor came immediately after Chandrila, and after the Galactic Concordance was signed, the [Second] Republic feared that a government that was too Core-centric would cause trouble in the outer regions, mainly the Mid and Outer Rims. But also because Imperialist warlords, including Thrawn, still were lingering threats: individually they were regionalized, but if the Second Republic placed the capital in the wrong region, it could cause them problems. Coruscant's turn came nearly 20 years after Chandrila, but by 27 ABY it was captured by the Yuuzhan Vong and Hosnian Prime was where it ended up being afterward. One note though about Coruscant as it pertains to the Yuuzhan Vong: the sheer cost of Coruscant's capture by the Yuuzhan Vong was prohibitive to them and they found themselves overextended, meaning that, if they made a move in an area of the galaxy, they had to leave another area undefended. Finding and interpreting cause and effect relationships, and the reasons behind them, in context, are at the basis of what the teacher wants us to get out of the class but correlation does not imply causation"

@J'Kara Jakar

 

[J'Kara Jakar]

Jakar would listen as Hula spoke of the different requirements of different universities across the core worlds. The teen listened carefully. She advised J'kara to find a university that emphasises on Specialisation. Jakar would nod as he pulled out his notebook, he should have done that a while ago. She would remain silent for a bit, allowing J'kara to catch up on taking notes. He finally accepted the fact that he needed tutoring. He would stop writing as the girl began to speak again. He would write the main idea of what she said down on his paper. She talked about how the Republic had moved their capital and moved from a more core centeric thinking to relieve pressure from the mid and outer regions. He would continue to write about how the Yuuzhan Vong over extended themselves as they took Coruscant. She said that there was a cause and effect relationship between the two.

Jakar rubbed his temples. He would then tilt his head. "How do you know all this stuff Yula?" He would ask as he continued to add a few notes to his notebook.

[member="Yula Knezevic"]

 

[Klesta]

"Much like Zip, I'm part of the history club. Unfortunately, its members are the anchors of most cheating plans in all history courses from the most basic to the most advanced, but they can't be everywhere at once. Plus, even though the onus is on the transferrable skills with that teacher, some knowledge base is still necessary to be able to apply them. The activities of the history club seem to mostly follow the flow of coursework: that's what I dislike about the club - it might be more beneficial to a freshman than to a senior because then the younger members can learn the material of coursework years in advance. Also, separation into honors streams is not effected until next year. Popular kids who aren't that smart rely on us to cheat at almost every opportunity. Now, this test lasts just one hour and tomorrow's test has the following layout: 20% of the grade will be based on the multiple-choice and short answers, 35% on the first essay question and 45% on the second"

That was a tricky operation to a teacher. Any teacher will tell you that much: composing exams is an art that is difficult to master, even though it is rather easy to learn the basics. The best known guidelines depend on how long the teacher takes to write the answer key vs. the time allotted: it's not hard-and-fast though. At the high school level 5-10% is a good idea (usually humanities have no clear-cut answer keys on essay questions), at the undergraduate level 10-20%, maybe even 30% for more advanced things, but tomorrow's test will be the big-ticket item.

@J'Kara Jakar

 

[J'Kara Jakar]

So she was a cheater? The history club too? The teen would feel gears clicking in his head she talked about how the test was going to be structured with most of the points on essay questions. This was a test bed likely fail. He would cock his head and throw out a smile.

"So what you're saying is you're a cheater...And the history club..." His voice would trail off as he tapped the pen against the table. He would look down to his gym bag which held his pads...His Grav-ball and his overall future. The teen looked up to Yula.

"How do you expect me to pass this next exam if I can't bull crap my way through the essay questions. They're probably not going to be on moral values or what I believe is right." He would say as he tossed his pen across the library.

"I'm a Grav-ball player, not a historian." He would grumble.

[member="Yula Knezevic"]

 

[Klesta]

"In past cheating schemes, several members of the club were asked to be seated front and center at times. They called that person the anchor, the emitter if you will. And other cheaters fanned out at an angle from either the anchor, or another of the receivers. Because school district regulations demand that students keep a copy of the test statements, clubs collect test statements almost like candy, so that historical trends can be detected between exam items being used"

The infamous "Flying V" cheating scheme. And it is called as such because the outer shell is a V, but what goes on inside is actually a net with a lozenge mesh, if there are also cheaters inside the shell. There can possibly be as many orders of cheaters as there are rows in the room, since the foremost emitter had to be placed front and center for maximum efficiency, which leaves the honest kids on either the front corners or directly behind a cheater. Even easier when the classroom has a slope. But also test banks are tools subject matter-specific clubs often use. Yet other collective schemes known to the history club is to have one student (preferrably weak of bladder or illness-prone) distract the proctor or teacher and then another moves in to steal the answer key. Also other female members of the club (or any academic club with a history of anchoring cheating schemes, really) often wear white skirts and hide crib sheets in them: skirts of that variety have the advantage of making enforcement more difficult because it would make the enforcer look like some child molester.

"Although in the past, teachers were reluctant to grade on a curve unless the whole class performs poorly, the one upside of the test being so heavily based on essay questions is that curvature is almost inevitable. I'll be clear: there is only so much the teacher expects from us freshmen, and in one hour at that. The teacher knows that often students don't perform that well in tests with and that topics like history and philosophy are harder to get students motivated compared to even mathematics"

[member="J'Kara Jakar"]