Post by Roderich Edelstein on Sept 15, 2010 23:31:49 GMT -5
application form
General
name: Roderich Edelstein
age: 24
Nationality: Austrian
Date of birth: October 26th, 1922
function: teacher of math and economy
likes: classical music, peace and quiet, good books, strong coffee, pastries, wine
Dislikes: Noise, mess, waste, vulgarity, dogs
IC
Personality
Roderich generally keeps to himself, unwilling to get close to other staff members or his students. He is known around the school for his strictness and comtemptuous attitude towards others, but also has a softer, gentlemanly side which he keeps well-hidden from his pupils. He tends to put his play before his work - no harm done, as long as everything is accomplished eventually - and if he is not teaching a class he can usually be found sitting at the piano, an instrument for which he has an incredible affinity. He prizes dignity and order, and does attempt to encourage them in the children.
background story
Roderich is himself a former student at Fond de L'Etang. Born the only child of a once-noble Viennese family who found themselves stripped of their titles after the war, he enjoyed a comfortable life for his first eleven years: he was introduced to the piano at three and fell in love with it, and was sent to school in Switzerland a few years later.
In the meantime, his father had made a few very unwise investments, and young Roderich arrived home for his summer holidays to find that he no longer had a home: their house had been sold off to pay the family's debts. It was probably then that he learned to value money as he did.
The Edelsteins, now existing rather uncomfortably in a much smaller house, were not about to deny their precious son his education, and they sent him to the least expensive school they could find: a small international school in France.
Roderich spent his first two years at Fond De L'Etang writing pleading letters home: the food was awful, the children were savages, he missed Vienna. After resigning himself to the fact that his parents were not going to let him come home, he slowly settled into school life, attaining excellent marks while keeping as low a profile as possible. He also managed, to his utter relief, to find a piano teacher in the nearby town, and got permission to leave the school for weekly lessons.
In March of 1938, when Roderich was fifteen years old, Austria was annexed by the Third Reich. Although his father's family was Roman Catholic, his maternal grandmother had been Jewish, and he recived frantic letters from relatives telling him to stay in France. The Edelsteins disappeared within the next few weeks; he has been told since then that they escaped across the Swiss border, but is not sure whether he believes this. He withdrew even further into himself, but his grades remained high and he finished his schooling in 1941.
Roderich knew he couldn't go back to Austria, and wasn't about to travel through occupied France alone, so he took advantage of his math teacher's retirement the same year to take the job himself. Apart from the oddness of teaching pupils who were only a year or two younger than he was, he found he was good at it, and stayed on even after the war ended, too accustomed to his safe haven to want to move. He would like to become a concert pianist, when he has the money to travel (perhaps to London or Paris, or what is left of them), but until then Roderich is content enough to save up his salary and play for himself.
RP sample
" . . . Complete the questions on the facing pages there for tomorrow, please. Class dismissed," Roderich told his students, not bothering to glance up from his marking as he listened to them file out the door, complaining quietly amongst themselves. Unfortunately for his pupils, Roderich had excellent hearing; fortunately, he could not care less whether or not they liked him, as long as they learned their trigonometry.
The second-years' tests were abysmal. He made several small, neat markings in red ink and frowned, massaging his temple with the hand that was not holding a pen. This was worth at least two hours of Chopin, he told himself, cheering up a little at the prospect of rewarding himself. Two hours, and some Mozart.
Perhaps he should have the piano retuned. It certainly needed to be done, but it would have to come out of Roderich's own pocket and not the school's. He made another few marks, wrote a short comment in the margins of one test (how had the boy gotten that answer? Honestly, it was hopeless) and drummed his fingers against the table. He was about halfway to his financial goal for the year, and he'd had enough setbacks.
The piano wasn't that badly tuned, Roderich decided, and went back to his work.
OoC
ways to contact you outside of the RP! It's not necessary though.
MSN: garguillian
Skype: garguillian
General
name: Roderich Edelstein
age: 24
Nationality: Austrian
Date of birth: October 26th, 1922
function: teacher of math and economy
likes: classical music, peace and quiet, good books, strong coffee, pastries, wine
Dislikes: Noise, mess, waste, vulgarity, dogs
IC
Personality
Roderich generally keeps to himself, unwilling to get close to other staff members or his students. He is known around the school for his strictness and comtemptuous attitude towards others, but also has a softer, gentlemanly side which he keeps well-hidden from his pupils. He tends to put his play before his work - no harm done, as long as everything is accomplished eventually - and if he is not teaching a class he can usually be found sitting at the piano, an instrument for which he has an incredible affinity. He prizes dignity and order, and does attempt to encourage them in the children.
background story
Roderich is himself a former student at Fond de L'Etang. Born the only child of a once-noble Viennese family who found themselves stripped of their titles after the war, he enjoyed a comfortable life for his first eleven years: he was introduced to the piano at three and fell in love with it, and was sent to school in Switzerland a few years later.
In the meantime, his father had made a few very unwise investments, and young Roderich arrived home for his summer holidays to find that he no longer had a home: their house had been sold off to pay the family's debts. It was probably then that he learned to value money as he did.
The Edelsteins, now existing rather uncomfortably in a much smaller house, were not about to deny their precious son his education, and they sent him to the least expensive school they could find: a small international school in France.
Roderich spent his first two years at Fond De L'Etang writing pleading letters home: the food was awful, the children were savages, he missed Vienna. After resigning himself to the fact that his parents were not going to let him come home, he slowly settled into school life, attaining excellent marks while keeping as low a profile as possible. He also managed, to his utter relief, to find a piano teacher in the nearby town, and got permission to leave the school for weekly lessons.
In March of 1938, when Roderich was fifteen years old, Austria was annexed by the Third Reich. Although his father's family was Roman Catholic, his maternal grandmother had been Jewish, and he recived frantic letters from relatives telling him to stay in France. The Edelsteins disappeared within the next few weeks; he has been told since then that they escaped across the Swiss border, but is not sure whether he believes this. He withdrew even further into himself, but his grades remained high and he finished his schooling in 1941.
Roderich knew he couldn't go back to Austria, and wasn't about to travel through occupied France alone, so he took advantage of his math teacher's retirement the same year to take the job himself. Apart from the oddness of teaching pupils who were only a year or two younger than he was, he found he was good at it, and stayed on even after the war ended, too accustomed to his safe haven to want to move. He would like to become a concert pianist, when he has the money to travel (perhaps to London or Paris, or what is left of them), but until then Roderich is content enough to save up his salary and play for himself.
RP sample
" . . . Complete the questions on the facing pages there for tomorrow, please. Class dismissed," Roderich told his students, not bothering to glance up from his marking as he listened to them file out the door, complaining quietly amongst themselves. Unfortunately for his pupils, Roderich had excellent hearing; fortunately, he could not care less whether or not they liked him, as long as they learned their trigonometry.
The second-years' tests were abysmal. He made several small, neat markings in red ink and frowned, massaging his temple with the hand that was not holding a pen. This was worth at least two hours of Chopin, he told himself, cheering up a little at the prospect of rewarding himself. Two hours, and some Mozart.
Perhaps he should have the piano retuned. It certainly needed to be done, but it would have to come out of Roderich's own pocket and not the school's. He made another few marks, wrote a short comment in the margins of one test (how had the boy gotten that answer? Honestly, it was hopeless) and drummed his fingers against the table. He was about halfway to his financial goal for the year, and he'd had enough setbacks.
The piano wasn't that badly tuned, Roderich decided, and went back to his work.
OoC
ways to contact you outside of the RP! It's not necessary though.
MSN: garguillian
Skype: garguillian