Education in the World of Avatar
General information
Type Types of education and institutions
Examples Ba Sing Se University[1] Fire Nation school[2]

Throughout the World of Avatar, formal education is a central aspect of society. The importance of learning is especially emphasized among the upper class of the Fire Nation, and to a lesser extent, some people in Ba Sing Se.^[3]

Contents 1 Types of education 1.1 Air Nomads 1.2 Water Tribe 1.3 Earth Kingdom 1.4 Fire Nation 2 Notable educators 3 Notable educational institutions 4 References 5 See also 6 Comments

Types of education Edit

Air Nomads Edit

Spiritual enlightenment was central to the Air Nomad culture, as all of its members regularly meditated, in addition to practicing airbending. Furthermore, they were taught to value all forms of life and considered it to be sacred, regardless of whether it was good or evil.^[4] For children, there existed the Air Scouts, an organization that taught young Air Nomads several useful skills, such as how to tie proper knots around the horns of a sky bison.^[5]

Water Tribe Edit

Besides basic skills such as reading and writing, a warrior's battlefield skills are also highly valued, as the city maintains a fairly large army and armory.^[6] Waterbending is also regularly taught, with waterbenders like Master Pakku instructing and testing male waterbending students during regular dueling sessions, while female waterbenders frequently attend healing classes. Due to the North Pole's sexually segregated culture, female waterbenders are forbidden to learn any waterbending beyond healing.^[7]

Prior to its near-destruction at the hands of the Fire Nation, the Southern Water Tribe hosted regular classes for its students, as the tribe once consisted of several large walled villages. Unlike the North Pole, it also regularly taught waterbending to members of both sexes,^[8] and gender discrimination was not an issue for budding benders. Sadly, this art was virtually lost when the Fire Nation killed or captured the South Pole's entire waterbender population, except for Katara.^[8] Like the North, the South maintains a strong regard for its warrior culture. In spite of the South's dire state and its lack of contact with the outside world, the South's tribesmen are quite literate, as Sokka and Katara were capable of both reading and writing without any difficulty.^[9]

Earth Kingdom Edit

One of the most renowned institutions in the Earth Kingdom is Ba Sing Se University,^[1][10] where young scholars attend a variety of typical college-level classes such as anthropology. However, during the Conspiracy of Ba Sing Se, teachings on the Hundred Year War were strictly forbidden in the university, as displayed by Joo Dee when she silenced a student who was asked about the conflict by Team Avatar. At the peak of the Dai Li's power, public knowledge of the War was forbidden in the city as a whole.^[10]

Fire Nation Edit

In the Fire Nation, education was very strict during the Hundred Year War, and was often oriented toward the ultimate goal of indoctrinating the student population in the country's politics. There were few forms of personal expression, as such actions were considered a threat to the Fire Lord's unquestioned authority during the War. Many common arts such as dancing were thus omitted from the school curriculum. There was also very strict censoring to make the students believe that the Fire Nation's war against the other nations was in fact a justified one, as Sozin's official reasoning for the Hundred Year War was to spread his nation's prosperity to others. At the beginning of every day, the students must stand up and pledge loyalty to the Fire Lord, promising to serve him for as long as they live. The Fire Nation also altered certain aspects of historical events to make it seem as though they were fighting for the greater good. For example, a school textbook stated that the Air Nomads used military force to repel Fire Nation attacks, although the society had no such organization.^[2]

Education, especially military knowledge, is also valued for the children of the Fire Nation Royal Family, as shown in Princess Azula and Prince Zuko's case.^[11]

Notable educators Edit

• Monk Gyatso^[12][13]
• Master Pakku^[7]
• Yugoda^[7]
• Professor Zei^[1]
• Master Yu^[14]
• The Headmaster^[2]
• Ms. Kwan^[2]
• Fire Nation music teacher^[2]
• Piandao
• Katara
• Toph Beifong^[15]
• Iroh
• Zuko
• Kunyo^[16]

Notable educational institutions Edit

• Ba Sing Se University^[10]
• Fire Nation school^[2]
• Royal Fire Academy for Girls^[17]
• Master Yu's Earthbending Academy^[14]
• Beifong Metalbending Academy^[15]
• Master Kunyo's Firebending Dojo^[16]
• Republic City University

References Edit

↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "The Library". John O'Bryan (writer) & Giancarlo Volpe (director). Avatar: The Last Airbender. Nickelodeon. July 14, 2006. No. 10, Book Two: Earth ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 "The Headband". John O'Bryan (writer) & Joaquim Dos Santos (director). Avatar: The Last Airbender. Nickelodeon. September 28, 2007. No. 2, Book Three: Fire ↑ "The Avatar and the Fire Lord". Elizabeth Welch Ehasz (writer) & Ethan Spaulding (director). Avatar: The Last Airbender. Nickelodeon. October 26, 2007. No. 6, Book Three: Fire ↑ Shown throughout Avatar: The Last Airbender by Aang. ↑ Avatar Extras for "The Warriors of Kyoshi" on Nicktoons Network. ↑ "The Siege of the North, Part 2". Aaron Ehasz (writer) & Dave Filoni (director). Avatar: The Last Airbender. Nickelodeon. December 2, 2005. No. 20, Book One: Water ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "The Waterbending Master". Michael Dante DiMartino (writer) & Giancarlo Volpe (director). Avatar: The Last Airbender. Nickelodeon. November 18, 2005. No. 18, Book One: Water ↑ 8.0 8.1 "The Puppetmaster". Tim Hedrick (writer) & Joaquim Dos Santos (director). Avatar: The Last Airbender. Nickelodeon. November 9, 2007. No. 8, Book Three: Fire ↑ Shown throughout Avatar: The Last Airbender by Sokka and Katara. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named CWS ↑ "Zuko Alone". Elizabeth Welch Ehasz (writer) & Lauren MacMullan (director). Avatar: The Last Airbender. Nickelodeon. May 12, 2006. No. 7, Book Two: Earth ↑ "The Southern Air Temple". Michael Dante DiMartino (writer) & Lauren MacMullan (director). Avatar: The Last Airbender. Nickelodeon. February 25, 2005. No. 3, Book One: Water ↑ "The Storm". Aaron Ehasz (writer) & Lauren MacMullan (director). Avatar: The Last Airbender. Nickelodeon. June 3, 2005. No. 12, Book One: Water ↑ 14.0 14.1 "The Blind Bandit". Michael Dante DiMartino (writer) & Ethan Spaulding (director). Avatar: The Last Airbender. Nickelodeon. May 5, 2006. No. 6, Book Two: Earth ↑ 15.0 15.1 Gene Yang (w), Gurihiru (a). The Promise Part 1 (Jan 25, 2012), Dark Horse Comics ↑ 16.0 16.1 Gene Yang (w), Gurihiru (a). The Promise Part 2 (May 30, 2012), Dark Horse Comics ↑ "Return to Omashu". Elizabeth Welch Ehasz (writer) & Ethan Spaulding (director). Avatar: The Last Airbender. Nickelodeon. April 7, 2006. No. 3, Book Two: Earth

See also Edit

• Society in the World of Avatar
• Science in the World of Avatar
• Organizations in the World of Avatar

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