[Utr] More thoughts on the Diploma Core Classes

[Sally Mennill]

Hi everybody. I've spent a few hours today reading through all of the emails
and ideas that have been circulated. I think Magdelena's plan is well
thought-out, and the thoughts that have been added by Alicia, Halima and
Elena since the circulation of the plan are also excellent. The only thing I
have to add is something I know I've said before but can't remember to whom.
I agree that a Board of Directors isn't the right idea for the University at
this time, but I think Wrenn's concept of all the work NOT being done by one
person is a good one. I would suggest that each Dean has some sort of
portfolio of tasks that s/he (I know we're all women but we might have guys
in the future!) is in charge of in addition to running sessions. That way
we're a committee of folks invested in the univerity with the Governor as
our co-ordinator. That's my suggestion, which has the added bonus of not
requiring a change of laws.
 
I'm wondering what happens next. If we all agree, do we get started on our
projects? Should we get done what we can in the various areas and then meet
at Investiture to give a progress report (Halima, who can't make it to
Investiture, could send a written/email report)? It would be nice to present
Their Excellencies Ulfgar and Renee with a work in progress.
 
And I'm still willing to be the drop dead deputy Governor, since I have no
intention of applying to be the next Governor.
 
What's next?
 
Aine

  _____  

From: KEJ [mailto:ellana at telus.net] 
Sent: August 4, 2009 8:00 AM
To: doerksen at island.net
Cc: jdharcus at telus.net; cristin at shaw.ca; wrenshenna at hotmail.com;
sweetsilentgirl at gmail.com; dcraknar at gmail.com;
elena.de.maisnilwarin at shaw.ca; smennill at shaw.ca; walkazon at hotmail.com;
lenora.is at shaw.ca
Subject: Re: Re: More thoughts on the Diploma Core Classes



Hi Everyone,

 

I have stayed out of the discussions as I was waiting to hear back from
their Highness's on my quarterly report. As I have not heard from them I
thought I would like to share the proposed project plan that I had put
together in the hope we could move some items forward.  I would like to
preface that the project leaders are not finalized and only serve to
demonstrate.  I had left the time lines blank but had proposed that there be
meetings at August investiture and September coronet to finalize.

 

I think that there are some really excellent ideas being floated but we need
to impose some structure and the project plan could assist with this.  The
idea with the projects is for people to take charge of a section and then we
can review together.

 

So - take a look and lets see what needs to be added, deleted etc.

 

 

 

 Cheers,

 

Magdelena





On Aug 3, 2009, doerksen at island.net wrote: 

I'm not clipping this post because I think there is too much meat to 
allow it...

If the purpose of the Diploma is to display the range of activities 
available within the SCA, call it "Temptation 101" and show students 
in hand-outs, with slideshows, and/or samples/examples/demos in 
whatever time is allotted (whether 1.5 hours per or?). (Well, maybe 
not "Temptation 101", but something alluring!)

I can see this set up as an outline so that more than one person can 
teach it. e.g. Minimum 4 pieces needlework to include blackwork and 
hardanger. Leaves room for teachers to expand beyond the minimum, but 
must at least meet the minimum.

(Which kind of leads to the thought of the retaining of hand-outs. If 
a copy of the hand-out of every class is supposed to remain on file 
for whatever reason, I can see value in storing it online, possibly 
making it available to whoever is interested. Either as scanned images 
or as PDFs. One more thing for the web...)

Halima, who isn't trying to make trouble, but...
-- 
http://www.island.net/~doerksen/


Quoting Judy Harcus <jdharcus at telus.net>:

> I'm trying to wrap my mind around what the purpose of this Diploma 
> is and how it can be best implemented. I'm kind of "thinking out 
> loud" here and hope that others will add their thoughts.
>
> It sounds like you want the class curriculum fully written so just 
> about anyone can teach the class, regardless of how familiar they 
> are with the subject. Is this correct?
> I can see that there would be an advantage in that we can get anyone 
> to teach it, so we should always be able to find a teacher, 
> eliminating the problem of classes not being available because there 
> are no knowledgeable teachers available. On the other hand, some 
> people feel constrained by teaching someone else's material.
>
> I understand the purpose is to provide an overview to help people to 
> understand what the SCA is. One of the reasons I'm hesitant to call 
> it Newcomers is that although new people would definitely be the 
> main target, I also know many people who have been playing for years 
> in one 'section' of the SCA who really don't know much about all the 
> other aspects. These people could definitely benefit from taking 
> some of these classes to expand their understanding of the SCA as a 
> whole, and I don't want them to feel they can't take these courses 
> for fear of showing their ignorance.
>
> Let's start with the concept that these 10 classes could potentially 
> be taught in a weekend. I'm guessing that's a maximum of two eight 
> hour days (16 hours). Any more than that and everyone's brain will 
> be toast. So let's say say 1.5 hours per class, or else half of 
> them 1 hour classes and half 2 hour classes.
>
> Looking at the class descriptions in the Dean's Manual, it looks 
> like most are based on the Ithra class descriptions. Considering 
> all of the Ithra 'core' classes were at least two hours long and 
> many were 4 hours, trying to teach the same material in two hours or 
> less does not make sense to me. I'm wondering if we should look at 
> these classes from a different perspective. I don't know how the 
> Lions Gate newcomers classes are taught so I can't compare to them.
>
> I'm going to start by discussing the areas I have most knowledge of 
> (heraldry and calligraphy).
>
> I can see a couple different ways these classes could be taught.
> Heraldry A: Overview of heraldry - This class would cover the 
> various aspects of heraldry a new person might want to know about 
> such as discussing that voice heraldry includes court heraldry, 
> field heraldry, and town crying, and the book heraldry includes 
> names and devices. It would talk about what the each of the types 
> of heralds do and how to get involved. It would discuss (in general 
> terms) how to come up with a suitable name and device, who to get 
> help from, how to learn more, what conflicts are, how the submission 
> process works, how to use heraldry (ie banners), etc.. It might 
> briefly discuss that device heraldry has specific rules and give a 
> few examples but would NOT be a detailed discussion on how to design 
> a device, go into all the rules, etc.
> Heraldry B: Intro to book heraldry - This class would only cover 
> coming up with a name and device for yourself. It would go into 
> more detail on the parts of your name, the rules for designing 
> devices, tinctures, lines of division, etc. It would get people at 
> least started towards getting their name and device.
>
> Calligraphy A1: Scribal overview - This class would cover both 
> calligraphy and illumination. It would discuss calligraphy and 
> illumination within the SCA context. It might discuss them in 
> context of scrolls and charters. It would introduce the concept 
> that different styles were used in different countries and time 
> periods (but not teach how to do them). The purpose of this class 
> would be to give an understanding of how calligraphy & illumination 
> are used within the SCA
> Calligraphy A2: Calligraphy overview - This class would briefly look 
> at the different styles of calligraphy and introduce the concept 
> that different styles were used in different countries and time 
> periods. It might have a small hands-on component.
> Calligraphy B: Calligraphy intro - This class would be more hands-on 
> and briefly introduce the students to a calligraphy hands. It would 
> briefly discuss tools and materials, how to form the letters, etc.
>
> The B versions are closer to the descriptions in the Dean's Manual 
> but my personal feeling is that the A versions are what should be 
> taught in the Diploma classes and the other information taught in 
> Degree classes. I'm not sure I could condense the B class material 
> into the allotted time. Is it more important (for example) to teach 
> someone to write in Uncial (when they are more interested in the 
> 14th or 16th century) or to teach them which calligraphy hand would 
> be most appropriate to learn for their persona? The A version of 
> the classes is more about giving the students an understanding to 
> the OPTIONS available to them in the SCA so that they can then 
> follow up with more detailed (and longer) classes within the Degree 
> program to gain the skills. This would also mean that there is less 
> likelihood of an overlap in class material with the classes for a 
> degree. The time limit is critical for other classes as well. 
> Should "Basic Dance" be an attempt to teach a couple European dances 
> (I doubt you'd have time to do more and would have little time to 
> provide any background) or should it be an overview that discusses 
> dancing as found in the SCA? The latter would discuss the 
> differences between European Country dances, European Courtly 
> dances, Middle Eastern dancing. I could also see this being changed 
> to "An Overview of Music and Dance" or possibly "An Overview of 
> Dance and Bardic Arts"which would discuss what's available in the 
> SCA to get involved in: Dancing (in it's various flavors), Singing 
> (individual or group; casual or formal), Playing Instruments 
> (individuals or as groups; casual, background, presentations), as 
> well as possibly mentioning other bardic aspects such as 
> storytelling, juggling, etc. but without going into details of how 
> to do them (the how-to-do would come in the degree classes). Also, 
> one of the disadvantages of having 'Dance' as a core class *if* the 
> class is primarily dancing, is that some people physically cannot 
> dance. An overview class might open their eyes to other ways they 
> can participate.
>
>
> The Intro to the SCA class as taught by Ithra is a 4 hour class. 
> Our version would necessarily have to be pared down. "How to write 
> a letter of recommendation" (part of the description in the Dean's 
> Manual) does not seem a high priority, however letting the student 
> know that anyone can write one might be good to include. What this 
> is boiling down to is - should the classes be an 'introduction to 
> the wide and varied world of the SCA' focussed on showing the 
> students the many options that are available to them, or should it 
> be an attempt to teach them a limited set of skills?
>
> Thoughts? Comments?
>
> Alicia
>
>
>
>
>
>





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