Mandalorian School System
Prefacing this by saying that I know jack-shit about education, except for what I´ve scraped off the internet.
So we know training starts at eight, right?
I actually doublecked this, and I have no idea what the actual canon source for this is.
Proposition: That´s a missconception and usually practiced in isolated communities that, very importantly, don´t have a centralized school.
Essentially, up until eight years old you´re free to run around with your friends and family pets and pretend to be heroes - or villains, if that´s your speed - of ancient times, or gather a bunch of frogs in a bucket, haul them in the house and make your parents chase them all over the place like the little menace you are.
Once you´re eight, education starts going beyond songs and stories and basic reading and writing skills, and where the education system turns itself into a hundred-headed hydra where all the heads try to achieve the same objective.
We already know mandalorian lifestyles are as diverse as the entire galaxy. That neccessarily means not all mandalorian kids get the same education, but there are probably some common trends.
Nomadic families probably homeschool their kids, because doing standardized mandalorian lessons with whatever relative volunteered for the ungrateful job of supervising however many schoolaged brats there are is better than changing schools every year. If it´s a whole Clan living in one ship, there´s probably a lot of you. Nomadic homeschooling probably also automatically includes lessons on astronavigation, languages and cultures and economics, because those are skills you need to continue your lifestyle.
Small villages probably have small schools to teach all the kids together, and the duty of teaching all these chaotic brats math is split between the Elders and somebody who hopefully knows what they´re doing. Lessons probably include a lot of local topics and small economics, and you still spend a lot of time outside, chasing vermin with your friends like a pack of hellions.
Isolated homesteads are probably another hotspot of homeschooling, except you learn less astronavigation and more "how to keep the fucking groundhogs out of the vegetable garden".
Larger communities neccessarily have larger schools, and cities might even have a university.
I´m fully convinced Keldabe has one of the oldest universities in the galaxy and consistently produces lawyers who eviscerate opposing council with their arguments.
Basic education between eight and thirteen includes not only math and stuff, but also the Canons of Honor and the entire legal system that comes with it. And, of course, self-defense.
Nobody bothered to explain to outsiders that education means both teaching the little hellspawn how to write a speech and how to throw a punch. Preferably both at the same time.
The crux is that a coming of age "hunt" at thirteen makes no sense. So you´ve shown that you can kill a thing, great. I bet you could do that at seven with a slingshot.
NO, the Verd'goten is a challange to show that you can understand, argue and follow the Canons of Honor. Mandalorian society is build entirely on an oral system of values, and they seem to spend a lot of time debating them.
If you can´t act within the laws, you can´t support the community.
What the task turns out to be is entirely on your nearest goran and how much of a rebellious brat you´ve been the last five years, lol. Better not have them think your Verd'goten needs to be a lesson.
Anyways, after thirteen you probably have a lot of options. Maybe you plan on taking over your parent´s farm one day. Maybe you lined up an apprenticeship under a local craftsperson, maybe you need to move to get into the field you want. Maybe you wrote an application for a university, took the neccessary tests for your field and are now moving in with a clansperson in the city. Maybe your family is nomadic and somebody opted to stay with you while you get a Master in Gungan Opera, who knows.
Thirteen is considered cultural majority. When children are given responsibility for their own path.
Legal adulthood might be a lot more nebulous, based entirely on circumstance, or even a concept of the outside galaxy humored to avoid conflict.
Also, I´m convinced mandalorian schools don´t have grades.
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