[Ansteorra] Participation vs. Recruitment

Tue Jan 24 18:01:43 PST 2012

"Ok, so that is your vision of the SCA, a bunch of people who conduct
period activities with out ever getting together? That is a better
fulfillment of the SCA mission than being involved in a simulation of
period fighting at an organized event for the enjoyment and instruction of
all who attend? Interesting, obviously i don't agree."

Please note the use of the word "technically" in my statement. As has been
pointed out by others, both kingdom and local players are needed for the
society as a whole to function. While you can assert all day long that
those who go to events are amazing people, I'm sure it can also be
counter-asserted that there are many amazing people who don't.

"Being the only one to be an expert in a period activity in the SCA is a
lot like being the tallest building in a prairie town. And the fact that
that expert is not available at our calendar events but who is only
available in his local area means about as much to the people i am trying
to get to participate in the SCA as the tallest building in a prairie town,
eight hours away."

This is where you are wrong. Due to this awesome thing called "the
internet", invented by the wonderful Mr. Al Gore, distance can be
irrelevant. I have taken, and taught music lessons over Skype; I've
answered questions and help others with research via email. It's a small
world nowadays.

"According to that logic any one with a PhD. in history should not even
have to show up, we should just send them their Laurel in the Mail right
after they submit to us a copy of their thesis, by mail. It is not about
"having something to offer" it is about actually showing up and actually
offering it."

See my above answer. Define for me "showing up". I think that if someone
participates by contributing to the SCA -- through whatever means -- they
deserve recognition and their ideas and contributions deserve as much
thought and consideration as anyone elses, whether it is someone who weaves
and shows off their stuff to events... or our aformentioned calligraphers
who make charters and scrolls.

"Because when you involve your self in something that is popular enough to
draw more students than you have time to teach you have no choice but to
decide who you will teach and who you will not, all I am saying is it is
best for the SCA to teach the ones that will then go to another Calendar
event to pass on what you have taught him."

That may be true to a point, but if I only taught musicians who were going
to calendar events I'd be awfully lonely during the week and have no one to
jam with. One would hope that if I were in an activity that popular, that
there would be others able and willing to teach as well.

--AS Zorzi

On Tue, Jan 24, 2012 at 7:34 PM, Cionaodh O'Hosey <
CionaodhOHosey at verizon.net> wrote:

>
> On Jan 24, 2012, at 6:46 PM, Jeffrey Clark wrote:
>
>  But the SCA is not a sports team, it is an educational organization (or so
>> the NPO filing allegedly states). This means that a local player who
>> researches period blacksmithing and never makes it to an event is
>> technically fulfilling the "mission" of the SCA than a fighter who goes to
>> every event and wins every tournament but can't tell you the first thing
>> about Talhoffer or Fiore.
>>
>
> Ok, so that is your vision of the SCA, a bunch of people who conduct
> period activities with out ever getting together? That is a better
> fulfillment of the SCA mission than being involved in a simulation of
> period fighting at an organized event for the enjoyment and instruction of
> all who attend? Interesting, obviously i don't agree.
>
>  Then again, those of us who have a niche skill but don't make events are
>> not as useless as some might say. Sure, I teach classes about period music
>> infrequently and next to never make events, but how many historical
>> musicologists are in the SCA? How many artisans in the SCA have formal,
>> conservatory training on period instruments? How many people in the SCA
>> can
>> claim any real expertise in period *instrumental* music? Hell, how many
>>
>> people in the SCA can play a viola da gamba? In Ansteorra, your options
>> for
>> serious/obscure music questions pretty much are Master Avatar and myself.
>> So, while I'm not that active of a participant in the SCA, the work and
>> research I've done in my little niche field is still here and available;
>> and I'm sure that there are many others out there who are/were like that.
>>
>
> Being the only one to be an expert in a period activity in the SCA is a
> lot like being the tallest building in a prairie town. And the fact that
> that expert is not available at our calendar events but who is only
> available in his local area means about as much to the people i am trying
> to get to participate in the SCA as the tallest building in a prairie town,
> eight hours away.
>
>
>  Just because someone only plays at a local level does not mean that they
>> do
>> not have something to offer at the kingdom level. Some I teach to someone
>> about music at one of the few events I go to may eventually find its way
>> into the hands of a kingdom player and make waves through the entire
>> kingdom. Actually I heard a story a few years back (in Midrealm I think)
>> about someone who was made a laurel even though she barely ever went to
>> events (health issues, I think); she was a professional librarian who did
>> a
>> good deal of research and publication using the resources that she had
>> access to due to her professional ties.
>>
>
> According to that logic any one with a PhD. in history should not even
> have to show up, we should just send them their Laurel in the Mail right
> after they submit to us a copy of their thesis, by mail. It is not about
> "having something to offer" it is about actually showing up and actually
> offering it.
>
>  Honestly, if I'm going to teach something, then I am going to teach it to
>> anyone who is interested -- regardless of whether or not they are going to
>> meet some, arbitrary benchmark of worthiness. The point of groups like the
>> SCA is to education *everyone* about our area(s) of interest. I don't care
>>
>> if you are a veteran player asking for help with your A&S entry for Gulf,
>> or a 6-year-old with a plastic recorder -- both are equally worthy of the
>> time and effort.
>>
>
> The biggest problem with that statement is the "if i am going to teach.."
> it is easy to say if "i am going to teach i will teach it to anyone .." the
> point is "do you teach at calendar events" and when you do teach have you
> ever had the problem of having more people who want to learn what you teach
> than you can possibly teach? Because when you involve your self in
> something that is popular enough to draw more students than you have time
> to teach you have no choice but to decide who you will teach and who you
> will not, all I am saying is it is best for the SCA to teach the ones that
> will then go to another Calendar event to pass on what you have taught him.
> If your goal is to teach "any one who wants to learn" i would say teaching
> at a university would be a better forum.
>
> Of course, i could be wrong.
>
>
> Cionaodh O'Hosey
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