If You Teach It, They Will Come!

Useful Tips for Teaching at Pennsic.

Number of potential students interested in obscure, specialized, esoteric, and advanced topics
Class descriptions posted on Pennsic website: publicity, exposure
Students from the entire Known World: networking, access to far-away resources
Extended time: all-day, multi-day, evening classes
Extremely messy classes
“Field trips”: shopping, fishing, walking tours (period encampments, weed walk, etc.)
Comment sheets from students (??) provide(d)feedback
Pennsic Teachers mailing list is a sounding board, source of advice
You don’t have to “be someone” to teach at Pennsic. Anyone can teach!

Class registration generally begins in early February.
Cutoff date for registering classes and having information appear in the Pennsic book is May 1.
You may still register to teach after that time, and your information will be included in the
online class database, but will likely not appear in the paper book on site.
The earlier you sign up, the better your choice of days and times will be.

Your name (Modern and SCA), email address and phone number
Class title, class description, and a summary of 250 characters or less
Category of your class (choose from drop-down menu)
Class length
The names of any others teaching with you
What dates and times you are willing to teach
Whether you want to teach in a private camp or to restrict your class to certain ages
What fee, if any, you will charge for materials, including handouts
Any special needs, such as a messy” tent (with a sink), evening hours, electricity, whiteboard and
markers, or specific scheduling requests

HINT: Know the answers to all these questions before going on-line to fill out your Teaching Request.

After you register, the Class Scheduler will send you a message acknowledging your registration.
In July, the Class Scheduler will send you a message confirming your class schedule.

Once on-site, check in at A&S Point. Make sure there are no conflicts or problems with your
scheduled day(s) and time(s) and tent assignment(s). (And pick up your teacher token!)
When you register, one thing you will have to provide is a short class description. “Short” means 250
characters MAXIMUM.

If yours is a hands-on skill, chances are good that someone is organizing a crafting day on
Artisans’ Row. Volunteer to spend part – or all! – of the day teaching drop-in students one-on-
one or in small groups.
Hold the class/workshop in your camp and publish the time and location in the daily newspaper,
Pennsic Independent.
If your class topic dovetails with a merchant’s wares, you might ask to post a sign announcing
the time and place. If there’s space, you might arrange to hold it at the merchant’s booth.
Set up a temporary “booth” along Beggar’s Row.
Participating in the Arts and Sciences Display on Monday of War Week is another teaching
venue, especially if you demonstrate your craft while you sit with your work.
What if you cannot physically come to Pennsic? Someone suggested recording a podcast
version that gentles could listen to at Mystic Mail.