[ Ben is someone who knows by instinct how to navigate other people's silences. So he can tell, when Kieran falls silent after telling him in an abstract way what is customary for his time, that he's thinking about adding something a little more personal. And so Ben doesn't rush him, or go back to the lesson just yet. He waits, and that patience is rewarded.
Heading west. Strange to hear details from historical novels and old documentaries incorporated into someone's life story - someone who is sitting at this table with him, drinking coffee with him. A real and living human being, but also, someone who is the product of such a very different environment. Ben makes a soft hmm sound, resting his cheek against his hand, looking over at Kieran. ]
My dad didn't send any of us to school, either. Which is really really rare, like I said. He taught us all at home. Things he thought would be useful, for his plans. I was lucky that reading just happened to be one of those things. Otherwise, I never would have had the chance to learn, either.
[ It is... about as positive-to-neutral as Ben can be about his own education without flat-out lying. Because he doesn't really want to get into all of that awfulness now. Only to offer his own story of how he had learned and gotten here, so Kieran knows there's many different ways that people end up with knowledge like how to read. ]
Sounds to me like you had to grow up really fast.
[ He would like to hear more about it, but he doesn't want to push too hard too fast. The point is not his curiosity - though it is there - but to deal with any shame Kieran might be struggling with. That would only get in the way of him learning. Because of course he's going to make mistakes along the way and it will take time and Ben doesn't want him giving up because he feels like the whole thing is silly and too late. ]
I don't think there's anything wrong with learning something later you didn't have the chance to learn as a kid. I think it's a lot more common than people pretend. Some people never learn how to cook. Some people don't know how to manage money at all. And some people don't know how to read. That's just life. We're all trying to catch up in one way or another, and pretending we have the answers to everything.
[ And Ben gives Kieran another small, encouraging smile. ]
Now that we've got the letters down, we can start on some vocabulary...
[ His smile widens just a little as he erases what's on the board and writes out, again in that neat script: HORSE ]
no subject
Heading west. Strange to hear details from historical novels and old documentaries incorporated into someone's life story - someone who is sitting at this table with him, drinking coffee with him. A real and living human being, but also, someone who is the product of such a very different environment. Ben makes a soft hmm sound, resting his cheek against his hand, looking over at Kieran. ]
My dad didn't send any of us to school, either. Which is really really rare, like I said. He taught us all at home. Things he thought would be useful, for his plans. I was lucky that reading just happened to be one of those things. Otherwise, I never would have had the chance to learn, either.
[ It is... about as positive-to-neutral as Ben can be about his own education without flat-out lying. Because he doesn't really want to get into all of that awfulness now. Only to offer his own story of how he had learned and gotten here, so Kieran knows there's many different ways that people end up with knowledge like how to read. ]
Sounds to me like you had to grow up really fast.
[ He would like to hear more about it, but he doesn't want to push too hard too fast. The point is not his curiosity - though it is there - but to deal with any shame Kieran might be struggling with. That would only get in the way of him learning. Because of course he's going to make mistakes along the way and it will take time and Ben doesn't want him giving up because he feels like the whole thing is silly and too late. ]
I don't think there's anything wrong with learning something later you didn't have the chance to learn as a kid. I think it's a lot more common than people pretend. Some people never learn how to cook. Some people don't know how to manage money at all. And some people don't know how to read. That's just life. We're all trying to catch up in one way or another, and pretending we have the answers to everything.
[ And Ben gives Kieran another small, encouraging smile. ]
Now that we've got the letters down, we can start on some vocabulary...
[ His smile widens just a little as he erases what's on the board and writes out, again in that neat script: HORSE ]