[Stargate] The Elephant in the Room

Fri Jan 12 12:19:00 PST 2007

Okay...I am thinking about all this coming from those people I knew in 
college, those who are my sister's age now, and even some of my coworkers. 
The biggest thing I keep getting told is history is boring.  I know that 
younger people who are below high school for the most part are easier in a 
way to entice into liking history for a short period of time, but when you 
get older from high school on (at least from what I have seen) it is just 
here is a history book...here is some lectures...read these dead guys' 
writings...now give an opinion on it...I don't care that you don't care just 
do it mentality.  So where in all that school work for history and the 
Social Studies is there a draw really.  Even in English literature classes 
where they study the medieval proses do you see kids turning away because it 
makes no sense to them and few people sitting there to help them understand. 
>From where I stand in my opinion really...is there a way to show people 
outside of just fighting the fact that there is fun involved or put a 
different spin on it so that it is not Ren Faire...but not just seen as 
people recreating historical life?
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mike Wyvill" <wyvillmike at hotmail.com>
To: <stargate at lists.ansteorra.org>
Sent: Friday, January 12, 2007 11:51 AM
Subject: Re: [Stargate] The Elephant in the Room


>I think that attracting younger people is certainly one of the biggest
> concerns we (the SCA) should have as a group. I see the list of dormant or
> dead colleges listed on the Kingdom website and know each of those
> represents lost opportunties. I have also seen what the Boy Scouts called
> Explorer Posts and now call Venturing Crews (male and female, aged 14-21) 
> in
> other areas that are dedicated to re-enacting or even LARP!
>
> Those could be things to explore.
>
> 2 pence from Gates Edge
> Engenulf
>
>
>>From: "John Hirling" <jhirling at gmail.com>
>>Reply-To: Barony of Stargate <stargate at lists.ansteorra.org>
>>To: "Barony of Stargate" <stargate at lists.ansteorra.org>
>>Subject: Re: [Stargate] The Elephant in the Room
>>Date: Fri, 12 Jan 2007 10:57:24 -0600
>>
>>not an "either/or" but a "both/and
>>
>>Whether we are talking about recruiting, how to have more fun and make our
>>activities more fun for others, or where is the best place (and what is 
>>the
>>best time) to gather for Populace, the more information, opinions, and
>>angles the better.  Even what might be deemed by some as a 'bad idea' can
>>be
>>helpful.
>>
>>ihon
>>Baron of Stargate
>>
>>On 1/11/07, Michael Silverhands <silverhands at sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>> >
>> > On Jan 11, 2007, at 9:01 PM, Thomas atte Woode (Tom Smith) wrote:
>> > > ...  Let's start a conversation.
>> > >
>> >
>> > Ok, I'll bite.
>> >
>> > > I have been thinking about our recruiting problems.  It seems to me
>> > > that in the early days, the SCA was pretty much the only game in
>> > > town for those interested in "having fun in a medieval manner".  We
>> > > were the original.  Since then, the number of choices have
>> > > multiplied:  Ren Faires, Amtgard, Live Action Roleplaying (LARP)
>> > > groups.  All of these groups put a different spin on things, but I
>> > > think we are all tapping in to the same general ethos - creating a
>> > > pretend world of chivalry and adventure.  As a result, we are
>> > > competing with each other for the same resource - new people that
>> > > might be interested in our games.
>> > >
>> > > In this kind of situation, it is worthwhile to ask what these
>> > > groups do that we don't.  Is there some way of making the game more
>> > > fun and attractive to prospective young members that we can learn
>> > > from them?
>> > >
>> > > I'm not saying there is.  Just that there might be.  It may be that
>> > > the best we can do is maintain our own distinct identity, and
>> > > accept that we will attract a certain share of the population for
>> > > which we are the right "fit", and other will go elsewhere.
>> >
>> > You're right that each of those groups offers something different,
>> > and to somewhat the same pool of potential members. But it might be
>> > more worthwhile to ask what *we* offer that *they* don't, and figure
>> > out how to promote *that*.
>> >
>> > In business, it's attractive -- sometimes fatally so -- to focus on
>> > what the competition's doing, and try to "one up" them at their own
>> > game. This can work when you're selling a commodity head-to-head
>> > against others who are selling essentially the same thing (e.g. fast
>> > food).
>> >
>> > But it can be a disaster when you sell a specialty product.
>> >
>> > There's a saying in business: "Compete or innovate." We don't really
>> > want to compete head-to-head against Ren Faires, Amtgard, LARP, etc.
>> > -- nor do I think we need to. In terms of that saying, we "innovate"
>> > -- i.e., we offer something(s) that they don't.
>> >
>> > So... let's figure out what stands us apart (and hopefully above, in
>> > the eyes of our potential new members) and "sell" that when we do our
>> > demos.
>> >
>> > *passing the cup* Somebody else's turn to play. :-)
>> >
>> > Michael
>> > _______________________________________________
>> > Stargate mailing list
>> > Stargate at lists.ansteorra.org
>> > http://lists.ansteorra.org/listinfo.cgi/stargate-ansteorra.org
>> >
>>
>>
>>
>>--
>>Rev. John F. Hirling
>>Interim Pastor
>>First Presbyterian Church
>>Angleton, TX 77515
>>(979) 849-5722
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