Practicum
It was my 10th Practicum. (Wow!) (I have never missed one.)
It was a different Practicum from the others. I remarked to Eleanor that it was a "working Practicum" for me. It mostly was. It was a year where there was very little in the way of courses in which I was interested. That isn't any one's fault. Our tastes and interests change. If it had been my first or second Practicum, I no doubt would have signed up for a lot of stuff.
It is also a Murphy's Law of Practicum that if there are two courses that you are interested in, they will be at the same time. If you are teaching a course and want to take a course, the course in which you are interested will be schedule against your own course. That is what happened to me. Marina asked me specifically what I wanted to see in an embroidery course. I said a historical overview to provide me with the knowledge of what stitches went with what time periods and countries. Marina researched this and offered it and I didn't set foot in the class. I understand that everyone else who attended thoroughly enjoyed my idea and I'm glad. I was and still am a bit ticked that I didn't get to go.
First, the one bad things that happened this Practicum was that the children's track was not as good as it was last year. I didn't try as hard this year, partly because I thought it would go better after the success of last year and partly because I was really busy at work. Last year we had 6 courses, 5 of which were really period things. This year, we had 5 course slots and even then one never got filled. I had a gap right after lunch. Worse, Llewellyn got the time of his course confused and didn't show up for his 2:30 class, so we had a 2 hour gap in the children's programming. The children just played. They had fun, but the further repercussion was that when Dame Helen came at 3:30 for her fabric class (a class that I pushed her into teaching), the kids did not focus. Two hours of running around sapped their ability to sit down again and focus which made me feel horrible for Helen. Fortunately, myself, Judhael, and Thora paid attention to Helen - she did get an attentive audience, just 20-30 years older than the one for which she was planning. The children's courses weren't a disaster. Giovanni, Dame Helen, and myself did the best we could. The kids all had fun. But there are lessons for next year:
1) There cannot be gaps in programming or it is hell for the teacher who has the next sit down class.
2) There were a lot of kids who were too young for "children's classes" running around. I'm glad they enjoyed using the space, but it should have been made clearer that this is a children's course room. If the children's courses can't compete with the toddlers running around, then the toddler's running around need to be taken for walk or some how calmed down. The course must take priority or people aren't going to volunteer which defeats the whole purpose of a children's track.
The awesome thing that happened this year for the children's track was the support of Thora. In the past, there has sometimes been a mindset that children's courses were a frill that would be okay if we had the space. But if we needed an extra room for an adult course, that took priority. One year I didn't get the thank you gift for teachers because I was told that they only had so many and needed to make sure the "real teachers" got theirs first. Thora let Giovanni and myself get in free just like the adult course teachers. She gave us the same S hooks that the adult teachers got. In fact, when she thanked her staff, I got called up in court with the gatekeeper, the feast coordinator, and her co-autocrat as one of the important staff members. Before Practicum, I was swearing that after 2 Practicums that someone else could coordinate the children's track next year. Thora really re-inspired me and maybe I will take it on again next year (not that I wouldn't step aside for anyone who really want to do it.) It wasn't the gifts or the applause that mattered to me. It was feeling like my effort mattered to someone; that someone else saw the value in what I had tried to do. Moira got to be the Challice bearer this year in part because of her work with children. That was also validating that there is a slow shift from the mentality that working with children is somewhere between the person who puts out the SCA signs and the person who brings extra plastic bags for people's dishes on the pecking order of important jobs at events. There was also recognition for trying to do period things with children being important. Children's activities should not be about keeping children' out of the way of adults, but inspiring and igniting passion in children to do period things and to eventually find their own place in the SCA.
I did my Commedia course and we performed at feast. I need to truly get it that Grace will 90% of the time be the oldest child. I keep thinking that I could get 8-10 year olds (because they do exist in our barony), but it didn't work that way at Hare or today. My actresses were Grace (6), Lydia (5), and Guin (4). I had written for 6 parts. Fortunately, a delightful young man, Mark, stepped in and volunteered to act. And I had to play Pantelone. I cut one part out. It went. The girls forgot most of their lines. Mark and I prompted them and pretended to hear them say things that they didn't. "What's that you say, you are sad about your daughter." It wasn't too long and the audience was great. Children's theatre is a work in progress. Commedia was really beyond them. Improv with basic plot points could work for 8-12 year olds, but these girls needed structure. Not that they could remember lines, but they still needed more structure. If I keep in mind that Grace will be the oldest child, then I can work with what I will have and not what I hypothetically want to have. I'm thinking that me narrating with acting out by the kids might be the ticket for another year until they get a tiny bit older. I'm not done with children's theatre by a long shot. I had another person tell me that she appreciated what I tried to do. The girls really do love acting and being on stage. I just need to work out a more age appropriate M.O.
One of the best parts of the day for me was meeting all the people for whom Practicum was their first or second event: Vincent, Oric, Jason. Ivor continues to bring the best new people to the SCA. His friend Christine, who was so enthusiastic after Hare, couldn't come due to money. But Ivor brought Mark who was such a blessing in the Commedia del Arte. The enthusiasm of all of these people was re-inspiring.
I went through a bit of a snit about the SCA that resulted in my membership lapsing at the end of November and not being renewed until last night. Unlike most people, it wasn't about politics or someone acting like an asshole to me. It was about money. Apparently, I am the only person in Ealdormere who is making less money than I did 5 years ago. Everything is costing more - site fees are up and there is some stupid kingdom tithe being tacked on to events. The final straw was that I missed two events that I really wanted to attend over food. I really wanted to go to the dance event in Kingston, but it was $22 because they built meals into it and you couldn't opt out and just pay site. I really wanted to go to Twelfth Night and even had a performance piece in mind, but they built lunch (which I couldn't eat) into the site fee. Yes, it must be hard to be the lunch cook and not know how many people want your lunch. But others have managed before without making it a mandatory part of site fee. Anyhow, those two events left me feeling like the SCA was turning more and more into a club for single people making over $50,000 a year and there was no part for me in it anymore. It was a bit ironic in that I know people from Caldrithig who can afford to go to events, but have lost their interest; I had the interest, but wasn't able to go to things due to money. But I wanted to go to Practicum, so I paid the membership fee. I hope those were isolated events and I'm able to do more this year.
The only class I did make to was Strappy's bardic class. I wasn't going to go because it was pretty introductory level. But Strappy, apparently asked for me, and since there was nothing to do in the children's room it was good to slip away and be with grown ups. The best part of the class for me was seeing who else went and connecting with people who are interested in story telling. Mark came to my Commedia class. I got to tell people about Caldrithig's bardic group. It was really good to build linkages between Eleanor's very thorough introduction to acting/story telling and giving people opportunities to put it into practice. It was the same with the children's track and children's A&S. Isabella once talked about how everything we do outside of events is like rehearsal for events. I think it's a bit circular: the things we do outside events should propel us back into events, but events should also inspire us to do things outside of events and work on our crafts or skills to then be used at the next event.
We got to dance after the potluck, which was a rare treat. Grace danced Quen Quer Que with us. I learned a few new ones: All the World is Paper and New Beau Peep. Plus we did Black Almande and Official Bransle. I got dragged through Official Bansle at Pennsic, so it was good to seriously learn the correct steps. It was wonderful and I forgot how much I loved dance.
In the end, it was a good day. Grace had an amazing time. I got re-inspired to keep pushing for children's activities and bardic activities. I got to see a lot of my favourite people. I even got to taste 99% dark chocolate. Who could ask for more?
I even have two ideas for courses for next year: one for children and one for teens/adults.
It was a different Practicum from the others. I remarked to Eleanor that it was a "working Practicum" for me. It mostly was. It was a year where there was very little in the way of courses in which I was interested. That isn't any one's fault. Our tastes and interests change. If it had been my first or second Practicum, I no doubt would have signed up for a lot of stuff.
It is also a Murphy's Law of Practicum that if there are two courses that you are interested in, they will be at the same time. If you are teaching a course and want to take a course, the course in which you are interested will be schedule against your own course. That is what happened to me. Marina asked me specifically what I wanted to see in an embroidery course. I said a historical overview to provide me with the knowledge of what stitches went with what time periods and countries. Marina researched this and offered it and I didn't set foot in the class. I understand that everyone else who attended thoroughly enjoyed my idea and I'm glad. I was and still am a bit ticked that I didn't get to go.
First, the one bad things that happened this Practicum was that the children's track was not as good as it was last year. I didn't try as hard this year, partly because I thought it would go better after the success of last year and partly because I was really busy at work. Last year we had 6 courses, 5 of which were really period things. This year, we had 5 course slots and even then one never got filled. I had a gap right after lunch. Worse, Llewellyn got the time of his course confused and didn't show up for his 2:30 class, so we had a 2 hour gap in the children's programming. The children just played. They had fun, but the further repercussion was that when Dame Helen came at 3:30 for her fabric class (a class that I pushed her into teaching), the kids did not focus. Two hours of running around sapped their ability to sit down again and focus which made me feel horrible for Helen. Fortunately, myself, Judhael, and Thora paid attention to Helen - she did get an attentive audience, just 20-30 years older than the one for which she was planning. The children's courses weren't a disaster. Giovanni, Dame Helen, and myself did the best we could. The kids all had fun. But there are lessons for next year:
1) There cannot be gaps in programming or it is hell for the teacher who has the next sit down class.
2) There were a lot of kids who were too young for "children's classes" running around. I'm glad they enjoyed using the space, but it should have been made clearer that this is a children's course room. If the children's courses can't compete with the toddlers running around, then the toddler's running around need to be taken for walk or some how calmed down. The course must take priority or people aren't going to volunteer which defeats the whole purpose of a children's track.
The awesome thing that happened this year for the children's track was the support of Thora. In the past, there has sometimes been a mindset that children's courses were a frill that would be okay if we had the space. But if we needed an extra room for an adult course, that took priority. One year I didn't get the thank you gift for teachers because I was told that they only had so many and needed to make sure the "real teachers" got theirs first. Thora let Giovanni and myself get in free just like the adult course teachers. She gave us the same S hooks that the adult teachers got. In fact, when she thanked her staff, I got called up in court with the gatekeeper, the feast coordinator, and her co-autocrat as one of the important staff members. Before Practicum, I was swearing that after 2 Practicums that someone else could coordinate the children's track next year. Thora really re-inspired me and maybe I will take it on again next year (not that I wouldn't step aside for anyone who really want to do it.) It wasn't the gifts or the applause that mattered to me. It was feeling like my effort mattered to someone; that someone else saw the value in what I had tried to do. Moira got to be the Challice bearer this year in part because of her work with children. That was also validating that there is a slow shift from the mentality that working with children is somewhere between the person who puts out the SCA signs and the person who brings extra plastic bags for people's dishes on the pecking order of important jobs at events. There was also recognition for trying to do period things with children being important. Children's activities should not be about keeping children' out of the way of adults, but inspiring and igniting passion in children to do period things and to eventually find their own place in the SCA.
I did my Commedia course and we performed at feast. I need to truly get it that Grace will 90% of the time be the oldest child. I keep thinking that I could get 8-10 year olds (because they do exist in our barony), but it didn't work that way at Hare or today. My actresses were Grace (6), Lydia (5), and Guin (4). I had written for 6 parts. Fortunately, a delightful young man, Mark, stepped in and volunteered to act. And I had to play Pantelone. I cut one part out. It went. The girls forgot most of their lines. Mark and I prompted them and pretended to hear them say things that they didn't. "What's that you say, you are sad about your daughter." It wasn't too long and the audience was great. Children's theatre is a work in progress. Commedia was really beyond them. Improv with basic plot points could work for 8-12 year olds, but these girls needed structure. Not that they could remember lines, but they still needed more structure. If I keep in mind that Grace will be the oldest child, then I can work with what I will have and not what I hypothetically want to have. I'm thinking that me narrating with acting out by the kids might be the ticket for another year until they get a tiny bit older. I'm not done with children's theatre by a long shot. I had another person tell me that she appreciated what I tried to do. The girls really do love acting and being on stage. I just need to work out a more age appropriate M.O.
One of the best parts of the day for me was meeting all the people for whom Practicum was their first or second event: Vincent, Oric, Jason. Ivor continues to bring the best new people to the SCA. His friend Christine, who was so enthusiastic after Hare, couldn't come due to money. But Ivor brought Mark who was such a blessing in the Commedia del Arte. The enthusiasm of all of these people was re-inspiring.
I went through a bit of a snit about the SCA that resulted in my membership lapsing at the end of November and not being renewed until last night. Unlike most people, it wasn't about politics or someone acting like an asshole to me. It was about money. Apparently, I am the only person in Ealdormere who is making less money than I did 5 years ago. Everything is costing more - site fees are up and there is some stupid kingdom tithe being tacked on to events. The final straw was that I missed two events that I really wanted to attend over food. I really wanted to go to the dance event in Kingston, but it was $22 because they built meals into it and you couldn't opt out and just pay site. I really wanted to go to Twelfth Night and even had a performance piece in mind, but they built lunch (which I couldn't eat) into the site fee. Yes, it must be hard to be the lunch cook and not know how many people want your lunch. But others have managed before without making it a mandatory part of site fee. Anyhow, those two events left me feeling like the SCA was turning more and more into a club for single people making over $50,000 a year and there was no part for me in it anymore. It was a bit ironic in that I know people from Caldrithig who can afford to go to events, but have lost their interest; I had the interest, but wasn't able to go to things due to money. But I wanted to go to Practicum, so I paid the membership fee. I hope those were isolated events and I'm able to do more this year.
The only class I did make to was Strappy's bardic class. I wasn't going to go because it was pretty introductory level. But Strappy, apparently asked for me, and since there was nothing to do in the children's room it was good to slip away and be with grown ups. The best part of the class for me was seeing who else went and connecting with people who are interested in story telling. Mark came to my Commedia class. I got to tell people about Caldrithig's bardic group. It was really good to build linkages between Eleanor's very thorough introduction to acting/story telling and giving people opportunities to put it into practice. It was the same with the children's track and children's A&S. Isabella once talked about how everything we do outside of events is like rehearsal for events. I think it's a bit circular: the things we do outside events should propel us back into events, but events should also inspire us to do things outside of events and work on our crafts or skills to then be used at the next event.
We got to dance after the potluck, which was a rare treat. Grace danced Quen Quer Que with us. I learned a few new ones: All the World is Paper and New Beau Peep. Plus we did Black Almande and Official Bransle. I got dragged through Official Bansle at Pennsic, so it was good to seriously learn the correct steps. It was wonderful and I forgot how much I loved dance.
In the end, it was a good day. Grace had an amazing time. I got re-inspired to keep pushing for children's activities and bardic activities. I got to see a lot of my favourite people. I even got to taste 99% dark chocolate. Who could ask for more?
I even have two ideas for courses for next year: one for children and one for teens/adults.