Professor Acerbus Speks
twenty nine | district thirteen | heterosexual

appearance
- 5'4.75"
- 126 lbs.
- short, dark brown hair
- hair is combed to perfection
- super duper pale skin
- beauty marks
- bad leg from above-ground accident; walks with a cane
- scrawny
- always has a cigarette
- slightly yellowed teeth

personality
- haughty
- arrogant
- dream-crusher
- dreams-crushed
- intelligent
- demanding
- shows that he cares in a strange fashion
- has a friend with benefits
- emotionally distant/unattached
- wants his students to do exceptionally well on tests
- abnormally high standards
- pessimistic
- realist
- learning makes the brain grow, and vice versa

history
- has a twin, Merces (deceased)
- grew up together, polar opposites
- Merces didn't like to study, always liked adventure
- Acerbus was more shy, bookworm
- both dreamed of exploring Panem
- Merces contracts terminal illness when the two are eighteen
- Acerbus agrees to plan an emergence into the wilderness, as one last hurrah
- Preparations required rule-breaking, something he was not particularly fond of doing (former stickler for rules)
- snuck out of hospital ward, emerged into the wilderness
- got to District 11 before they had to turn back
- Merces took a turn for the worse, died under quarantine in 13
- Acerbus severely punished (locked in prison center, rations dwindled), is kept an eye on
- His jobs are limited; not allowed to go to the upper levels of the District, never allowed to leave again
- gets an english degree; lives vicariously through stories, mainly alice in wonderland
- wants his students to realize their dreams, but he has been punished to the point that he's a realist.
- begins to push students to their limits (if they can handle this, they can handle anything that Coin [?] throws at them)
- Wheaton enters & graduates school, Acerbus gives up on this insufferable fool
- Wheaton becomes musical colleague, Acerbus harbors immense dislike for the musical arts (they stifle the mind from the facts that are most important)




also, odair


Oct 10, 2011, 5:32pm, shrimp wrote:

[justify] His name is acerbus cervae speks but you can (and you will, if you know what's good for you) call him Professor Speks. "With an impressive vocabulary and wide range of ways that he can inspire you with, Professor Speks is perhaps one of the most well-renowned english teachers, with his impeccable resume and ability to whip students into tip-top shape. The Board of Academics have hailed Professor Speks as 'A hero in the realm of mediocre teachings. Speks is able to rise above the average music or history teacher and link the english language and grammar to everyday events, from working in the gardens to standing in line for food in the cafeteria. Professor Speks has created a new way of teaching, which should be followed by eager-to-please, amibitous minds who are just now entering the teaching realm.'" - Lucky Tribune: Newsletter for the Education Sector of District Thirteen The devil himself, Acerbus Speks "Acerbus Speks has been known as a tyrant for the entirety of his residence here at the local secondary school in District 13. Mr. Speks is clearly a bitter man who has far too much time on his hands, resulting in him giving out tremendously long-winded assignments, none of which have much to do with anything. Students are currently in an uproar over his latest assignment: A seven page paper over the symbolism in Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll, one of the few novels that was salvaged before and during the Dark Days. It is evident to the entire classroom that Speks enjoys to make his students suffer, insulting them at every turn and grading each sentence with terrifying precision. In addition, Mr. Speks has the audacity to place a box in the front of the classroom, in which students can place anonymous notes about how 'wonderful of a teacher' he is. Yet, it is obvious to many that his teaching methods are flawed, filled with put-downs and spite that must have been created over the course of his twenty nine years of life (there has been rumors of a petition floating around to skip school on Spek's thirtieth birthday, in hopes that they will be able to escape the wrath of midlife angst. This unfortunately, is false), all cultivating with his intense dislike of students and his need to make each and every single one flunk his class (or in the exception of the minute few who lose all sources of social entertainment in the hopes of making the grade, which is very difficult to do. These students should be applauded for their hard work). For today's newletter, we infiltrated Spek's office during lunch break, where a group of select students performed a highly dangerous espionage act, consisting of stealing all of the comments left in Spek's 'Anonymobox', as he deems the devilish thing. Here is what we found: [/justify]