Child (no ontology)

From Mazeworld

Children in Mazeworld exist, but are not seen in the regular mazes and cannot be seen by contestants in normal circumstances. Due to the nature of the realm, the Administration has taken particular measures for children not to interfere with the life in the Mazes, most notably a separate realm just for them.

The children's realm

All human and youkai births in Mazeworld are controlled by medics, and should the parents choose so, one or both can be withdrawn from the regular Mazes to the children's realm (sometimes nicknamed Kidsworld or Mazekids) to properly raise the children, or leave them in the hands of medics, nurses and specific caretakers. Those caretakers are often, Maze Citizens and youkai who volunteered for the job - which is paid, 45 P$/day, although it may also be specifically trained personnel who work full-time in the realm and almost never live in the regular mazes.

Children are raised until age 17, where they are ready for insertion in the regular Mazes - the age of majority in the Mazes means the age of entrance in the actual realm. Youkai receive the same treatment, although they stay until age 50 and are strictly raised by volunteering youkai personnel.

Differences with the regular Mazes

The children's realm has been made to prioritize education and safety. As such, several items which are otherwise the core and life of the regular Mazes are outright banned or severely restricted. Among them:

Guns and weapons of all kinds are strictly banned, except in the hands of authorized personnel and in exceptional cases only. Maze Soldiers are usually absent from the children's realm as there is no need for their presence. Maze Guards very rarely appear, but may be needed in exceptionally violent situations, in case teaching personnel is unable to settle disputes, violent unrest, or other similar cases.

Exception; older students who study weapons and firearms, as well as combat and survival techniques, can be taken to a firing range, which is strictly controlled and watched by Guards. Moreover, extensive gun safety rules are part of the studies, which are meant to further increase the children's safety.

All types of medical aid, at the exception of bandages, are restricted due to the potential hazards, to the sole use and administration from trained medical personnel (medics, nurses) only.
There are no non-human and non-youkai creatures in the realm, and all areas and objects are treated for maximized safety.

Education and life

Children in the "kidsworld" are in company of each other and, similarly to a large boarding school, are separated in classes similar to scholar grades. For humans, those grades separate the children by age; youkai are separated by species as they are raised and evolve differently from humans, and further differently between species; an oni is not raised the same way as a satori or a tengu.

A human student automatically climbs grades as they grow up; when they reach the corresponding age, they are reclassified to the new grade. There is no concept of class repeat because of this system, however there is a system of "educational failure" which will be discussed later.

When students are not attending classes, they live in dormitories which separate them by gender. Common grounds include mess halls, sporting facilities, and outside areas designated for free time and relaxation.

Human scholar grades

Red denotes Basic education (E0).
Yellow denotes Elementary education (E1).
Green denotes Middle school (E2).
Blue denotes High school (E3).
After attaining age of majority, if a student remains in the scholar system to pursue further studies, they enter Advanced education (E4) and become students in the regular Mazes with full implications.

Grade	Infant	Preschool	E1 Grade-1	E1 Grade-2	E1 Grade-3	E1 Grade-4
Age (humans)	At birth	3	6	7	8	9
Age (youkai)	At birth	3	6	10	14	18

Grade	E2 Grade-1	E2 Grade-2	E2 Grade-3	E2 Grade-4
Age (human)	10	11	12	13
Age (youkai)	22	26	30	34

Grade	E3 Grade-1	E3 Grade-2	E3 Grade-3	Majority
Age (human)	14	15	16	17
Age (youkai)	38	42	46	50

As it can be seen, Youkai children follow a longer curriculum due to their longer lifespans. Despite that, they are taught a comparable amount of skills and information to human children before their insertion in the regular Mazes.

Basic education (E0)

Basic education (sometimes just called Basic) comprises all essential aspects of life all human children have to know until reaching their 6th birthday, which is the integration in the "actual" school system of Mazeworld. Parents who have chosen to stay and raise their children enter the children's realm and are assigned a room to live in with their offspring.

The Infant "grade" is assigned to all newborns, and remain so until they reach the age of 3. Before so, they are taught basic motor skills; walking, running, doing basic exercises through the use of toys, etc., and are expected to be able to speak.
In Preschool, children are taught basic academic skills, such as how to read and write, and bases of algebra and mathematics. They are also prepared to live in the Mazes' society and are taught the merits of teamwork, sharing and mutual help over individualism; which is said to strengthen the bonds between them later in life.

Physical training is also included in E0, although it is kept as a minor aspect due to the limited physical capability of children of such ages; as such the only PE exercises included are short runs and gymnastics.

Elementary education (E1)

Elementary Education (sometimes just called Elem) focuses on academic and social skills once again, with increasing difficulty and complexity over time.

New subjects are introduced to children in E1; they include basics of crafting, various forms of art (music, drawing…), linguistics (reading exercises, dictations, creative writing, etc), basics of science and natural science, with focus on the different creatures that inhabit the Mazes and how to differentiate them, as well as basics of physics and non-hazardous chemistry.

Proper physical education is introduced in E1 as well, in the form of various sports and exercises. Young students are also expected to pick up a particular sport to practice to increase their physical capabilities, although this is optional as a wide range of them are introduced already during the course of E1 classes.

Middle school (E2)

Middle school is the continuation of E1, continuing its focus on academic and social skills, as well as the beginning of shaping vocations and projects for the future. Students, which have reached the age of 10 upon entering and will attain puberty at the end of E2, will be expected to have an idea of what kind of job they want to do before entering E3.

More new subjects are introduced; various subjects of technology, which include mechanics, crafting and basics of computing. More complex linguistic exercises will be given; students will be expected to write essays and dossiers about various subjects and will be taught to search for information in libraries and how to organize information found there. Sexual education is explored in Grades 3 and 4, although it remains minor in E2 and is theory only - mainly focusing on the physiological differences between genders and how reproduction works. Weapons and firearms are introduced as a subject to study as well, though much like sex ed, it remains purely theory as students are still deemed too young to manipulate weapons. Lastly, scientific subjects are expanded to physics and chemistry, and natural science will explore animal, alien and human anatomies.

Physical training becomes more challenging, and all students that haven't picked up a sport to practice in E1 will now be required to pick one in E2, or be assigned one if no choice is made. Competition is introduced as well, inciting students to increase their performance.

High school (E3)

The final category before age of majority and insertion in the Mazes, High school education focuses on specialization and orientation towards a specific job for the future of the students and to fully prepare them to the life in the Mazes. Students are now teenagers who need the final tools to be ready for the "adult life" and its dangers.

Among the new subjects; Basics to weapons and firearms, which include live-fire training, disassembling/reassembling various types of guns, as well as survival and self-defense classes. Optional martial arts classes are also proposed for students who wish to. Sexual education becomes a more proeminent subject as all students are expected to have passed puberty upon entering E3 - both theory and practical classes are held, with focus on various sexual acts as well as aspects of safe sex. Scientific subjects are further broadened and are now divided in subjects that correspond to each Science Team's field.

Physical training is now fused with weapons and firearms handling; E3 students are expected to have skills in both regular sports and survival/combat techniques. Extended training is proposed for students aiming the military or law enforcement careers.

Failure

As grades are pegged on the student's age rather than determined "school years", there is no concept of passing exams or tests to advance to the next grade; instead, the progress of students is tracked continuously by teachers and personnel. Although progress is made automatically as students age and grow up, there are ways for children to "fail" academically; if the teachers deem their progress insufficient or if the child's behavior is too problematic.

On a broader point of view, the Admin determined that if a child is deemed unable to follow the education system for any reason, including genetic trouble, diseases or other crippling afflictions, a child can be deemed "suitable for termination", with obvious implications.

In both cases, failure leads to the same process; the child is removed, or prevented from access to the education system and its features and is, essentially, 'terminated'.

Example causes of failure:

Academic failure - Insufficient results in a given amount of subjects; a student can be terminated for having too low scores in given scored tests.
Academic failure - Problematic, hazardous or violent behavior; a student can be terminated for being too violent or dangerous or for being socially inept.
Genetic failure - Birth defects and other physical and mental afflictions which would prevent the child from normally going through the school years without problems
Medical failure - Physical and mental afflictions obtained during school which would prevent the student from continuing through the school years (severe illnesses, irreparable or crippling fractures, etc.)

Youkai education

The main difference with human education is that youkai are largely separated from humans during normal circumstances; there is very little common activities or area shared by both humans and youkai, and the two groups function fundamentally differently.

The most notable difference is the age of majority (50 years old) due to the inherently higher life expectancy of youkai. Because of this, education is not as fast-paced as it is for humans and is generally regarded from human eyes as being "laid-back" and "relaxed" (although it is in fact not).

Youkai are grouped according to their species rather than by age, and their teachers are often themselves of the same species, except in certain rare cases such as for weapons handling and training. While the subjects they are taught are mostly the same as for humans, there are key subjects which are exclusive to youkai; most notably learning about themselves and the capabilities of their own body. For example, the tengu are masters in martial arts due to a natural affinity to speed and great combat potential; the majority of the fifty years they spend in the children's realm is spent learning how to fight alongside their traditional academic obligations. Satori are natural mind readers; they spend the beginning of their lives controlling this ability, repressing the potential hazards to their own minds and learning that their ability is also a responsibility. Other such examples can be made for every species.