2 May 2007

Beltane. 

Well, it’s over.  The 2007 Kid’s Days event at Scarborough Renaissance Festival is over.  Thank God. 

In all fairness, I actually agree wholeheartedly with the theory behind such an event.  I agree that the school kids of today are the faire patrons of tomorrow.  I agree that there is the potential for the kids to love the faire so much that they go home all excited and bring their entire families back on a weekend day.  I agree that there are countless educational opportunities—history, literature, the arts, sciences, vocations—all multi-faceted categories begging for easy study at the renfaire.  I even understand that many of the benefits of Kid’s Days are long-term and may take many years to be realized.

Unfortunately, something, somewhere seems to be going terribly wrong.  First, I put forth that the festival doesn’t seem to adequately prepare the schools for what they are going to experience at this event.  No one really seems to understand that they aren’t getting the “whole show” and that if they come on a Saturday or Sunday, when we’re really open, they will see so much more!  No one really seems to understand that this is a village of artisans, and that they might want to bring money to purchase something really special.  No one really seems prepared for the hot/cold/rain/mud/sunburn/excess walking/etc. that they encounter at faire. 

Secondly, I believe the schools do not adequately pass along even their limited knowledge of the faire, to the teachers, and likewise the teachers to the students.  What teacher shouldn’t want to use some aspect of the faire, if not many, to teach some subject, some concept, some idea, to his or her students.  It doesn’t have to be all work, to make sure some learning happens. 

At some level, the incredible opportunites the faire provides are being ignored.  The visit to the faire becomes absolutely nothing more than a field trip. There seems to be nothing whatsoever being done to tie this event into the school curriculum.  If a student does happen to ask a question that starts us down the path of sharing information, their eyes glaze over and soon they’re gone.  Even use the words “teach” or “learn” and they literally run away.  They don’t care who wore this outfit, or played this game, they only want to know if they can afford it, and they aren’t savvy enough to understand why the price is more than five bucks. 

Does the problem lie with the festival and its marketing of this event?  Would a “sales” visit to the schools help?  Perhaps even a pre-event visit by a costumed cast member!  Or, comp tickets for any teacher who comes to the faire before the Kid’s Days event so they will better understand the faire and can go back to the school with postive reports.

Or, does the problem lie with the schools and teachers—not really concerned with teaching the kids anything that isn’t on the standardized testing.  In the early years of this event, many students would come to us asking questions—about our clothes, our wares, our village—and they’d take notes.  I haven’t seen anyone doing that in a very long time. 

I am sad.  I once had very high ideals about Kid’s Days, because, again, I believe in the concept and the theory behind the concept.  But, sadly, like many theories, it is just that—a theory.  And the reality is something very, very different.

Today, all this was made even worse by the mud.  I may get back on a soapbox about all this later, but for now, I’m too tired.

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