ANST - Punch Out Laurels?

[C.L. Ward]

All right.  I usually try to just auto-delete stuff like this, but it was such
a provocative statement (in a bad way) that I have to reply.  For those who'd
like to skip a long post, I'm going to talk about problem resolution, the bearing
of a peer, and what the Laurels are really looking for in prospective candidates.


Tadhg said:
>Actually, I've always thought that there are two reasonable 
>answers to the question "Do anything other than X?" -- one is 
>"Yeah, I punch out stupid Laurels." 

***ALERT!  HEAVY SARCASM WARNING!!***

Oh, that's a good one.  This is certainly going to encourage the type of maturity
and problem-solving skills that we as a Society expect to see in *any* peer.


*** END OF SARCASM ***

I'd like to advise anyone that takes exception to something that a Laurel says
(or anyone else, for that matter) to discuss it with them, stating what you
don't like, and what you want done differently... in an adult, rational manner.
 

Punching out a Laurel, or screaming at them because you don't agree with judging
results or some comment they've made to you, or talking to everybody else in
the world except that Laurel about how awful the Laurel in question is are completely
ineffectual responses to the problem you have, and absolutely will not contribute
towards actually solving your problem.

Not only that, but a public display of punching someone out (no matter what
their rank), or screaming in the face because you disagree with them, or backstabbing
talk-to-everyone-except-the-principal behavior, when it comes to the ears of
the Peerage Circles, is as good as a guarantee that the person acting this way
does not have the qualities that we want to see in a peer.  In other words,
a great way to shoot oneself in the foot. People who act this way regularly
are never going to get a positive vote in the Laurel's Circle.

I've found as a rule of thumb that anyone can live anything down with five years
of blemish-free behavior.  But that's a high price to pay for the short-lived
and unproductive pleasure of acting like a three-year old.

>and the other is "Certainly; where the hell have you
>been, that you don't know that?"But that's me....

One of the really good things about participating on the SCA-wide Laurels' List
is that I've been exposed to lots of interkingdom anthropology, and I've learned
that in a lot of kingdoms Laurels are quite often made for a single field --
and this field is usually announced at their elevation, rather as we do with
the Sable Thistle.

As a result, when people from out of kingdom ask me, "What did you get your
Laurel in?"  I don't immediately bridle anymore and deliver the standard Ansteorran
answer about the fact that in Ansteorra, we expect to have well-rounded peers,
and hence we don't get our Laurels "for" something, we get our Laurels because
we are master artisans and have the bearing of a peer.

But by the same token, those artisans living in Ansteorra do need to understand
what exactly it is that the Circle is looking for.  We do try to avoid making
Laurels who have an extremely narrow field of ability -- we don't require that
a Laurel candidate have master-level skills in all their arts, but we'd like
to see a good, strong master-level art, with one or two or more supporting arts
that the candidate is competent to practice and hopefully to teach.  We also
expect to see the type of finishing and attention to detail in all their work
that bespeaks a master craftsman's attitude about such things.  And we expect
to see teaching (did I mention teaching?)

In Isobel Hadleigh's case, she's doing amazing work in stained glass.  But what
a lot of people don't see is that she also is an excellent researcher, and has
put together some fantastic work on the history of our period, including her
interesting research on the Roaring Girls.

Research, when shared via articles in SCA publications, or as research papers
submitted in A&S competitions, or circulated by hand to people in the SCA, all
have the ability to spread knowledge to others within the Society, and hence
fulfill some of the requirement that a Laurel-to-be must teach.  In addition,
the Circle regards research as a valid artform in and of itself, which is largely
why I am a Laurel.

In Isobel's case, she just needs to get her research out and get it seen.  It's
a harder task, since no one oohs and aahhs over a research paper, no matter
how you present it -- and the stained glass panels have a way of distracting
one from anything else in the vicinity.  And it's harder yet to get people,
including Laurels, to read research, unless they're a research geek like me.


Isobel, keep doing what you're doing.  We don't expect you to take up petit
point -- the points you make in your research are just fine (as, I must admit
from personal experience, is her schlager point!)  

Anyone who wants to know what they should do in their path to becoming a Laurel,
or what they should do differently, I advise to talk to a selection of Laurels.
 You will find that there are at least as many different opinions as there are
Laurels.  You will also find that there are some broad areas of agreement in
what we'd all like to see.  

When you speak to the Laurels, ask for feedback and suggestions about how to
improve not only your art, but ask as well what peerage skills you need to work
on.  It's amazing how many people see a master artisan and ask "Why isn't he/she
a Laurel yet?" but never consider that we also look for maturity, problem-solving
skills, leadership, spark, courtesy, and all the other attributes that make
up what we term "the bearing of a peer".

Some Laurels will be better than others at telling you this information.  But
ask four or more, if possible from different regions of the kingdom, and you'll
get a good guide to where you need to go.

And if you don't feel that you're getting a straight answer, and want to know
the grim facts without dancing around the subject, come ask me... I guarantee
you'll get my unvarnished opinion.

::GUNNORA::

Not the grumpiest Laurel by any means, but one who believes strongly in addressing
problems immediately and directly.
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