Be a teacher for a day

The four things you protect as a Teacher

• 📚
  Learning

  If Learning reaches zero, your day ends early with “Nobody learned anything”. The lessons slipped away. The students left cheerful and none the wiser.

  35% of the choices in this role lower it, and 54% raise it.

• 😄
  Mood

  If Mood reaches zero, your day ends early with “The class went wild”. Mood broke and the class took over. The principal arrived to a very loud room.

  25% of the choices in this role lower it, and 46% raise it.

• 👪
  Parents

  If Parents reaches zero, your day ends early with “Called to the principal’s office”. Parents lost faith in the class. You were asked to explain several things at once.

  19% of the choices in this role lower it, and 29% raise it.

• ⚡
  Energy

  If Energy reaches zero, your day ends early with “Lost your voice and your will”. You ran out of energy. The last bell was the sweetest sound.

  48% of the choices in this role lower it, and 23% raise it.

Tips for a better day as a Teacher

1. Do not chase one number. In every role, a day with all four meters between 50 and 70 beats a day with one meter at 95 and another at 10. As a Teacher, the danger is rarely the big mistake. It is the quiet neglect of one meter.
2. Watch Energy most closely. In this role, 48% of choices lower it, which makes it the meter that slips away fastest. Parents is the most forgiving, with 19% of choices lowering it.
3. Read your advisors as opinions, not answers. Each one backs the option that helps the meters they care about, so when they disagree, ask which meter you can least afford to lose today.
4. Look for the choice that gives you something back. Many of the best options cost one meter a little and help two others. The tempting “easy” option often costs more than it seems.
5. Remember that choices can come back. A decision in the morning may return as a follow-up situation later in the day, so a quick fix early on can be expensive at six in the evening.

A sample day, step by step

Here is one example of how a careful player might get through a day as a Teacher. It uses six of the sixteen situations, picks the option with the best overall balance each time, and shows what each choice did. Your own day will be different, because situations are drawn at random and some choices bring follow-ups later.

1. 7:00 AM

   The science fair

   The class wants to build volcano models for the science fair, but the budget is just three bars of soap.

   Chosen: “Ask parents to donate materials”. A pile of vinegar, baking soda and old bottles.

   📚 Learning +10😄 Mood +10👪 Parents +10⚡ Energy −10

   The road not taken: “Skip the fair”. The class is a little sad.

   Standing after this call: 📚 60 · 😄 60 · 👪 60 · ⚡ 40

2. 9:30 AM

   The new student

   A new student joins mid-year. He is shy and has just moved from a city far away.

   Chosen: “Pair him with a friendly buddy”. By lunch he has three friends.

   📚 Learning +5😄 Mood +10👪 Parents +5

   The road not taken: “Let him settle quietly”. He sits alone and watches.

   Standing after this call: 📚 65 · 😄 70 · 👪 65 · ⚡ 40

3. 12:00 PM

   The broken projector

   Your whole lesson on the solar system relies on a projector that has just made a very sad noise.

   Chosen: “Teach it with chalk, drama and a lemon for the sun”. The best lesson of the term.

   📚 Learning +10😄 Mood +15⚡ Energy −10

   The road not taken: “Cancel the lesson”. Easy and dull.

   Standing after this call: 📚 75 · 😄 85 · 👪 65 · ⚡ 30

4. 3:00 PM

   Rain on the roof

   There is a power cut and the rain is loud. The class is restless and the room is dark.

   Chosen: “Send everyone home early”. They cheer. The syllabus does not.

   📚 Learning −10😄 Mood +10👪 Parents +5⚡ Energy +10

   The road not taken: “Carry on shouting over the rain”. Nobody hears anything.

   Standing after this call: 📚 65 · 😄 95 · 👪 70 · ⚡ 40

5. 6:00 PM

   The fan breaks

   The only fan in the room has stopped working, and it is the hottest day of the year.

   Chosen: “Teach outside under the big tree”. Cooler, and full of birds.

   📚 Learning +5😄 Mood +15⚡ Energy +5

   The road not taken: “Carry on in the heat”. Everyone melts, quietly.

   Standing after this call: 📚 70 · 😄 100 · 👪 70 · ⚡ 45

6. 9:00 PM

   A phone buzzes in class

   A student’s phone buzzes in the middle of your explanation. The whole room looks at him.

   Chosen: “Use it for a quick quiz”. The class loves it. The principal might not.

   📚 Learning +10😄 Mood +10👪 Parents −5⚡ Energy −3

   The road not taken: “Ignore it”. The phone buzzes again. And again.

   Standing after this call: 📚 80 · 😄 100 · 👪 65 · ⚡ 42

Situations you may face

Every game uses six of these sixteen situations, so you will not meet them all in one day. There are also 3 follow-up situations that return after specific choices and 3 surprises that can appear without warning.

• The surprise inspection. An education officer walks into your class unannounced with a clipboard. The students stop whispering and start sitting up very straight.
• The student who never speaks. Meena has not said a word in class all term. Today she looked like she wanted to.
• The broken projector. Your whole lesson on the solar system relies on a projector that has just made a very sad noise.
• A phone buzzes in class. A student’s phone buzzes in the middle of your explanation. The whole room looks at him.
• The angry parent. A father has stormed in. He says his daughter’s marks are unfair and he wants them changed immediately.
• Two toppers, one answer. Two of your best students have submitted nearly identical homework. Both say they worked alone.
• The festival rehearsal. The principal wants your whole class for the festival rehearsal during the revision period.
• Rain on the roof. There is a power cut and the rain is loud. The class is restless and the room is dark.
• The new syllabus. A new syllabus has arrived with a thick book and no training.
• An expensive gift. A wealthy parent has sent a very expensive gift to your desk with a note saying “For my son’s special attention”.
• Sports day practice. The class begs for the afternoon off to practise for sports day. The chapter on fractions is not finished.
• The new student. A new student joins mid-year. He is shy and has just moved from a city far away.
• The dog ate it. A student says the dog ate his homework. This is the fourth time this term, and it is a very small dog.
• A very long staff meeting. The principal calls a two-hour staff meeting during your lesson preparation time.
• The science fair. The class wants to build volcano models for the science fair, but the budget is just three bars of soap.
• The fan breaks. The only fan in the room has stopped working, and it is the hottest day of the year.

Every ending (spoilers)