[Bards] Standards...alternate idea
Esther
reese_esther at yahoo.com
Mon Jan 7 12:42:03 PST 2008
Okay....
Objective crieria, check.
But is it GOOD?
I can rattle off the nordic stuff, and can tell you more about Dante and terze rime than you ever want to know, and I can write it correctly, BUT -- my stuff STINKS.
Emma
Cisco Cividanes <engtrktwo at gmail.com> wrote:
Okay, this is be brainstorming... and little more.
The major practical problem with standards is the criteria. Frankly
bardic has a large and powerful subjective element to it.
However, what if we were to offer 'certifications' for proficiency in
things that are highly *objective* in their nature.
An example would be a certification that someone has demonstrated the
knowledge of the accepted roles of nordic Scalds in the early part of
the middle ages, including the basic methods for the construction of
their proes, as well as some select examples of recorded Scandinavian
law that we know Scads were expected to memorize.
any example would be demonstrating a working knowledge of 15 century of
the 15th century Troubadour and his role within a society. This could
include showing basic knowledge of composition, and what were his
traditional performance venues.
What does this accomplish? you might ask.
Well, for starters, it establishes a cookie system to reward and
acknowledge people who take the time to learn historical, factual material.
Through this... it helps to raise the average knowledge of the history
of our trade within the SCA performing arts. That is always a good thing.
also, I hope I'm not going out on a limb with this, but I believe that
when a person increases their knowledge about the culture that they are
playing, the quality of their performances benefits as well.
Saying someone is a good bard is always a risky proposition for obvious
reasons.
*However*
Saying someone has demonstrated working knowledge about the Scald, the
Troubadour, the minstrel and the 15th century English court poet, those
are objective demonstrations of knowledge that help to show that that
individual HAS taken the time to learn something about his trade. These
are things to be recognized, and be proud of in and of themselves.
As for the pratical end of this... namely logistics, no, this wont be an
easy thing to do.
However, setting and implementing any form of standards is no small task
either, so I submit that this is a comparable topic in terms of workload.
The truth be told, however, such a system could be created where the
initial investment of time and energy is high, but after that, the
information and paperwork need only be kept in a box.
One possible format is this:
a written test taken before a facilitator. say 20 questions, 1 hour. Not
unlike a herald's warenting class and test in many ways. The tests would
be 20 questions selected at random from a list of maybe a hundred, or
something like that. The questions would have to be researched,
documented and formulated, meaning that to make the master test would be
like writing a research paper. Each test would cover a specific
historical element of performing arts, as mentioned above.
BTW: Historical also includes the history of SCA bardic. How many
people know who the first titles bard in the SCA was, or who the first
kingdom bard in the SCA was, or even what kingdom was the first to have
a titled Bard? I don't know any of that myself.
In reality, something like this would require someone to volunteer to
make a test up, and then submit it with documentation to the KMoAS or
the appropriate deputy for review. After that, the test could be
administered by anyone the KMoAS wants.
anyway, thats my theory...I'm just talking.
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