Chapter 758: Miss Goth

Regarding vocational education in Gotham, Victor, Shiler, and Anna had long been concerned about it.

Victor cared because he genuinely loved teaching; Shiler wanted to raise the overall educational standard of Gotham's residents; Anna believed students from vocational schools could provide the Gotham University main campus with far superior applicants, rather than admitting a yearly cohort of utterly hopeless illiterates.

Due to Gotham University's peculiar location, it was nearly impossible to attract good students from major cities; the elite talent along the entire East Coast either entered Ivy League schools or enrolled in other metropolitan universities, and almost no one would risk coming to Gotham for education.

Those who came to Gotham for university were generally those with no other choice, or local students determined to stay in Gotham.

These two groups rarely possessed high talent or quality; out-of-town students usually came from small coastal towns like Brudhaven, unable to attend universities in nearby cities, so they risked enrolling in Gotham—students from such places, due to poor local education, had weak foundations and were difficult to teach.

Local Gotham students were even worse: they generally fell into two categories. The first were genuinely decent students who didn't want to leave home, so they never applied elsewhere.

But these students were the most authentic native Gothamites, possessing all the so-called virtues of Gotham citizens—thus, while their talent was decent, they were extremely hard to discipline, with no interest in studying whatsoever; as long as they didn't use their high intelligence for crime, it was already a miracle.

The second category of local students were like Yin Wensi—gangster offspring; gang bosses didn't send their children to school to learn knowledge, but merely wanted the prestige of the "college student" title, sending them merely to gain a veneer of respectability.

Among them, there were occasionally students as good as Yin Wensi, but their numbers were far too few, and most of their energy went into managing family businesses; attending school was merely a formality, never serious study.

This kind of student composition made it nearly impossible for Gotham University to rank among the top institutions on the East Coast; bluntly put, it was near the bottom—only because the East Coast's overall educational standard remained decent, it barely managed to hold a modest national ranking.

To improve this situation, Shiler and other Gotham University professors unwilling to defect planned to begin with foundational education.

But implementing compulsory education in Gotham was impossible—there was no soil for universal or compulsory education; to get more people to accept education, one had to lure them with benefits—meaning they had to learn skills that yielded quick returns, otherwise they wouldn't enter school at all.

For this reason, Shiler and others had long devised a vocational education plan.

Yet when the vocational school was first proposed, it faced strong resistance; since benefits were used to attract students, they inevitably attracted interference—too many people wanted to meddle in education, to turn teachers and students into their tools, to force the school to teach only what they desired.

But if they succeeded, everything would inevitably revert to its original state, failing utterly to achieve the goal of guiding more people into systematic education.

Therefore, this vocational school had to stand entirely independent of all factions—and achieving that was no easy task.

Yet Shiler had one ready-made lever he could use: Gotham University itself.

For certain reasons, it had now become his domain; all Gotham gangs knew that no matter what happened, they must never enter the university or disturb its students' studies.

If a student failed to submit homework on time because of them, something terrifying would happen.

Since Shiler became a professor at Gotham University, this had become an unspoken consensus among Gotham's gangs; in most cases, Gotham University was a sanctuary in Gotham, truly offering a conducive learning environment.

If so, why not expand Gotham University's territory and directly integrate the vocational school into its educational system as a preparatory program?

This way, more talented children from the common class could be screened and admitted to university, rather than relying solely on rare geniuses or gold-plating rich second-generation heirs.

Moreover, vocational students who passed exams to enter university would develop a learning habit, effectively correcting Gotham citizens' sloppy, illogical thinking patterns, encouraging them to think more logically—and thus influencing their next generation.

Additionally, even if they didn't enter university, graduating from the preparatory program would equip them with a livelihood skill, raising their income and enabling them to provide better conditions for their children—including educational opportunities.

In this long-term educational reform plan, the first generation were merely experimental subjects—or rather, a blood-producing machine—designed to identify more rational learners, whose descendants would gradually dominate Gotham's middle class, making top-down reforms easier later.

After the plan for Gotham Vocational Technical College was finalized, Victor handled all the paperwork; because Mayor Luo Yin colluded with them and the state legislature couldn't intervene, approvals for venues, funding, and materials came through with almost no effort.

Previously, Lex Luthor had donated a new laboratory building to Gotham University, but due to the rushed construction, over half remained unfinished; only the first phase's single building was completed—and the vocational school would be housed in this new structure.

Gotham University had no shortage of funds, so its hardware and software were both excellent, with ample open space for hands-on practice; ignoring the fact that dormitories and classrooms were separated by only two floors, it was practically a perfect vocational school.

After the school opened, the next step was enrollment; Victor originally intended to reject those students forcibly inserted by gangs, but Shiler countered his view.

Shiler believed that this time, the gangs wouldn't shove their own children into this vocational school.

Most gang bosses were short-sighted; they felt they'd already earned enough money in their lifetimes—why should their children work so hard? Isn't it better to lounge on their family's mountain of gold, eating and playing?

The composition of majors at Gotham University confirmed this.

Most gangster children chose majors with fancy-sounding names; the arts were the most popular, and within the arts, fine arts and art criticism—terms that sounded especially refined—were even more favored.

The gangs sent to vocational school were mostly intelligent mid-level operatives—not low-level thugs who needed daily patrols to defend territory, but those with sufficient free time and the highest technical demands.

In any district, managing water supply, electricity allocation, cold storage operations, and freight logistics sequencing all required these people to organize and manage—and precisely because they lacked these skills, the gangs were eager to send them to school for proper training.

After reaching consensus on this, Victor agreed to accept gang-sent students, but with conditions: tuition fees were mandatory, and any gang sending students must guarantee the safety of the school's transport and delivery vehicles, and provide basic material support for the vocational school.

This process took the longest, as negotiations with various gangs were required; each guarded their territory and interests, and none were willing to yield—after prolonged talks, the enrollment list was finally finalized.

When they saw the list, Victor, Shiler, and Anna all noticed one unusual name: Traci Goth.

"What's going on? The Goth family owns shipyards—they're a prominent family in Gotham. Why would Mrs. Goth send her daughter to a vocational school?" Anna clearly understood Gotham well; she frowned, tapping her chin with a finger: "This kind of pampered girl should study music or fine arts—why would Mrs. Goth make her learn car repair?"

Victor also shook his head, looking puzzled; Shiler didn't know what Mrs. Goth intended.

He speculated: "Recently, I saw them at the theater; at the time, Detective Gordon told me the Goth and Vetter families were negotiating a betrothal."

"If so, Miss Goth wouldn't finish university before marrying—she'd wed right after graduating from a church school."

"Now it seems the engagement may have hit trouble; the Goth family probably wants to break off the betrothal, but needs an excuse—by sending their daughter to university, young Vetter couldn't possibly wait for her to graduate before marrying, could he? That would give them a legitimate way to escape the engagement."

"That makes sense," Anna and Victor nodded; she added: "This also explains why Mrs. Goth is rushing Miss Goth into school before September's official semester start—if she waited until September, the wedding might already be over."

"And I suspect," Victor's imagination ran wilder, "that Miss Goth still has lingering feelings for that Vetter boy. A mother can't forcibly break them up, so she sends her daughter to school—separate them, and perhaps after a few months, they'll forget."

All three nodded, convinced their reasoning was sound.

But Victor now faced a dilemma: "A wealthy family's daughter enrolled in Class 3, which teaches car repair? Not to mention whether she can learn the skills—can she even lift a truck tire?"

Shiler snorted: "If she can't lift it, she lifts it anyway. Learning means overcoming all obstacles—if she can't lift tires, she won't lift them; if she can't unscrew bolts, she won't unscrew them; if she can't memorize textbooks, she won't memorize them—then what's the point of teachers?"

"Exactly. I know these girls too well," Anna sneered. "They look frail—can't carry a load, can't lift a thing, a breeze might knock them over—but let them go shopping, they'll walk for hours without stopping."

"I don't care what her motive is," Shiler tapped the table. "Once she enters this school, she must study seriously, master the material, and graduate—everyone is equal. Even Wayne isn't exempt. Does Goth think she's stronger than Wayne?"

Anna and Victor exchanged glances, both wearing smug smiles—they'd heard about how Bruce Wayne nearly had his graduation delayed due to insufficient credits.

Shiler picked up his cane and stood: "Tomorrow is the first day of the vocational school. I'll attend every class. Anyone who doesn't study properly, I'll personally speak to their boss."

Seeing Shiler's cold smile, Victor and Anna both shuddered.