Education can be carried out in many different ways, and still have the
same results. The Traveller rules generally assume that it will be
conducted in a way that is reasonably mappable to the current Western
postsecondary model - that is, the student attends classes at an
institution of education for roughly four standard years, and comes out
with a piece of paper certifying that Eneri Gaashiba has met the
requirements of the University of Gamuusha-Rakii, East Iish-Kabiibal
Campus, to be called a Disciplined Lettered-Scholar of Theoretical
Thumb-Twiddling, or what-have-you.

Other models are possible. Herewith some basic description of those
models, with type-names of convenience, to add flavor to your education:

Medieval/Renaissance model: Colleges are largely communities of
scholars, teaching and exchanging knowledge without regard to
specificity of discipline. Students study under one or more masters, for
specific subjects, paying the masters rather than the institution, and
moving on when they feel they have learned an adequate amount, or if
they feel that the master is no longer the appropriate teacher for them
for a subject. A degree is conferred by a college upon examination of
the student by a board of masters (all of whom hold the highest degree
possible); if the student demonstrates an acceptable level of mastry of
the subjects associated with a degree, the degree is conferred. (In the
Renaissance, the subjects were those of the Trivium and Quadrivium, q.v.
on Wikipedia.) The student need not have studied under any of the
masters on the examining board, nor under any of the masters at the
particular college that has convened the examination board.

Talmudic model: In pure form, students study written works on subjects
in pairs (chavruta), each reading independently, then debating the
meaning of what they have read, their understanding thereof, and what
the significance of the differences in interpretation are. A master is
available to provide answers to questions that the students feel cannot
be resolved in debate, but such answers are intended to provide data for
further debate. In modified form, small groups (chabura) may meet,
rather than pairs, and in further modified forms, the bare essence and
raw facts may be presented by the master prior to reading and debate.
This model is used almost exclusively for philosophical subjects, rather
than "hard sciences", but can have a place where there are multiple
interpretations of observed fact, with no current conclusive thought on
which is correct.

Apprenticeship model: Generally used for crafts and professions, rather
than for pure academics. The student is bound to a master (and is
treated as a member of the master's household) for a period of years,
during which time he learns the craft/profession under the master's
tutelage. The master is also responsible for seeing that the student
spends adequate time learning supporting material (e.g., book learning/
theory). The student/apprentice works for the master and under his
direction as payment for tutelage, room, and board, and when the master
judges that the student has adequate competence to work under minimal or
no supervision, the student is granted journeyman status. As a
journeyman, the student may not open a business of his own, but may work
for other masters than the one under whom the apprenticeship was served.
The journeyman is not part of the master's household, and works for some
combination of wages and commission, depending on normal usage for the
craft or profession. The journeyman generally may not work independent
of a master (may not open a shop, or take on independent contracts), nor
may the journeyman take on apprentices. During the journeyman period,
further study will be undertaken, under different masters, to learn
techniques and gain broad but intense experience in various subdivisions
of the craft or profession. At some point, the student will face an
examination by a board of masters of the craft/profession, with the
objective of demonstrating sufficient competence to be declared a master
of the craft or profession. Masters are entitled to work for themselves
(i.e., open a shop of their own, for crafts; act as an independent
contractor rather than working as an employee, for professions), and may
also take on apprentices and teach them the craft/profession.

--
Jeff Zeitlin, Editor
Freelance Traveller
    The Electronic Fan-Supported
    Traveller® Fanzine and Resource

editor@freelancetraveller.com
http://www.freelancetraveller.com
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