[Sca-cooks] Re: Apprenticing Again (OT)

[Sue Clemenger]

I find the misconception that one needs to be an apprentice in order to
get on some sort of peerage track troubling.  And seeing how as it's
Labor Day, and I have the day off, let me step out of the cool shade of
The Rock, put down my beer, and address a few perennial concerns
relating to this topic. [Instructional Rant On]
1.  There are darn near as many ways to become a Peer as there are
peers. Mileage varies enormously from kingdom to kingdom about the
apprentice/student/squire thing.  My kingdom (Artemisia) seems to be
pretty relaxed about the whole thing--if folks want to take students
(generic term), they do, and if they don't, they don't.  Likewise, some
non-peers remain "independent," and choose to stay out of a formalized
relationship.  I haven't seen the relationship, or lack of one, make
that much of a difference in how long it is before someone's recognized
as a Peer.  At this point, I'd say the majority of our Laurels and
probably our Pelicans as well, achieved that status _sans_
apprenticeship.  Certainly, I did, and it didn't take forever (more like
4 years).
2.  Becoming a Student (tm) is only one way of being recognized.  I have
also seen/experienced: Knowledgeable participation on internet lists
(such as this one); participation (as judge or contestant) in
competitions, laurels' displays, etc.; teaching; volunteering to make
things (whatever your "thing" is) for gift basket donations for your
local/kingdom royalty; publication in local/kingdom/SCA-wide
publications; and simply being seen to be doing a superb job at what
you're doing.
3.  (I see lots of folks forget this one):  There's a _lot_ more
involved in becoming a peer than just thinking you're really good (or
your friends thinking you're good, or _being_ good) at armored combat,
or the arts and sciences, or service.  Peers' circles, and the Thrones,
look at a wide variety of behaviors in determining recommendations and
awards.  Sometimes folks can't travel (which can make a real difference
out here in the western US, where groups can be spread very far apart),
politics can have an effect, and sometimes, yes, people make assumptions
that a person _has_ a given award, and don't think to write letters of
recommendation. However, I've also seen a fair number of folk over the
years lamenting the lack of a peerage when they are, in fact, in no way
close to a peerage.  Sometimes, they overestimate their own skills, or
they may underestimate the effect of less desirable personality traits
(lack of courtesy, manners, intemperate comments, etc.).  And then
there's always the folks who are ambitious just for the sake of
ambition--it's usually pretty obvious, after a while, when someone's
doing something specifically for recognition.  This sort of frantic
"look at me, look at me, I've done x,y, and z, and now I'm entitled..."
can really turn folks off, and is completely different from a genuine
desire to help, to create, to participate.
In many ways, the SCA is like a small town, or a church group. People
know folks, who know folks, who know you back to the days when rocks
were soft.  (I'm imagining this to be true even in the more populated
kingdoms.) It's amazing, sometimes, how fast word of someone's wonderful
feast, hours of service in the chirurgeon's tent at the war, or
unwarranted/unkind behavior, can spread. About the best advice I can
offer anyone who's not a peer, and is wondering why, is, don't break
your heart over it.  Think of the peerage as a bonus for already doing
something you love to do, and not as an end-goal.  Improve your skills
in combat, or needlework, or whatever, because you want to, and because
it enriches your life, and the lives of others, when you do. If you're
genuinely perplexed, too, you can always ask someone you trust to give
you an _honest_ answer, and not just, necessarily, a kind one.
[Instructional rant off]
All of that said, I'm certainly not implying anything personal, and
certainly not trying to offend anyone, it's just that Marian's post
touched on some points I've been thinking of recently.
--Maire, now returning to the hammock, cold beer, and fresh
salsa-and-tortillas....<g>

Marian Rosenberg wrote:
>
> Greetings,
>
>   Just remember that if you don't get apprenticed to a Laurel it might
> be harder to get your Laurel.  I know more than one Laurel who was in
> the SCA for years and years and doing Laurel stuff for years and years
> before anyone noticed that s/he *wasn't* already a Laurel!  By being an
> apprentice, you have been formally recognized by the system.
>
> -M