The First Half of the Third Week in the Guild Project:
Pairs of students arrive at the door of a classroom during homeroom
period. They have come to apply for an apprenticeship into the guild of
their choice. The students have been provided in their Language Arts class
with a list of questions and the time to prepare answers to them. They
have brought these completed answers to the guild master of their choice
in hopes of gaining admittance as an apprentice. The teacher asks the students
questions from their prepared list. If the teacher believes that the student
has presented himself for apprenticeship in the proper mannner and that
they have answered the questions correctly, an apprenticeship
card or intern card
is signed and issued to each student.
The teacher has met with the language arts teacher and the learning
center director previously and has been given information about the history
of three guilds. The teacher has also been supplied with a list of questions with directions to ask prospective
apprentices applying for a particular guild. The teacher will ask questions
from this list which must be answered appropriately. The now, master of
the newly appointed apprentice instructs them to report periodically over
the course of the Guild Hall project for:
advice such as e-mail addresses of guild masters in "distant"
locations who have agreed to correspond with students apprenticed within
their area of expertise, book titles, articles, secret website, etc. (an example of advice),
and instructions on how much money to donate to the guild coffers for
charitable contributions which are housed in the learning center (an example of charitable donation).
Other teachers have been similarly prepared and all the guilds are
represented throughout the team. These include the seven great guilds:
The Arte de Calimala (guild of workers in wool)
The Arte della Lana (guild of wool merchants)
The Arte dei Giudici e Notai (guild of judges and notaries)
The Arte del Cambio (guild of bankers)
The Arte della Seta (guild of silk weavers)
The Arte dei Medici e Speziali (guild of physicians and pharmacists)
The Arte dei Vaiai e Pellicciai (guild of furriers)
- the 14 lesser guilds,ususally called the craft guilds:
Butchers
Shoemakers
Blacksmiths
Builders
Secondhand Dealers
Wine-dealers
Innkeepers
Sellers of Salt, Oil, and Cheese
Tanners
Armorers
Ironworkers
Girdlemakers
Woodworkers
Bakers
- and the seven liberal arts guilds:
Grammar
Logic
Music
Rhetoric
Arithmetic
Geometry
Astronomy
It is also explained to the students that within their group of 4 (composed
of two pairs), they must keep the knowledge that they acquire secret until
the presentations at the end of the unit. In other words, one pair should
not divulge their knowledge to the other pair during the course of the
project until their presentations at Guild Hall. This "secrecy"
reflects what actually took place during the Renaissance as competition
between guilds was very high and no guild wished to give away secrets from
his master's house.
During the Course of the Guild Hall Project:
Students periodically will stop by during homeroom at their guild master's
room to ask for advice and help. The teachers are supplied with interesting
tidbits of information (curiosa), advice, hints on designing a personalized
guild banner , and instructions on their charitable contributions which
they can share with their apprentices.Directions and specific information
to share have been given to the master teachers ahead of time. The teachers
will have appropriate guidance tips for finding additional information
about their chosen guild. They have been instructed to then initial the
apprenticeship card of the student on the spaces provided on the back of
the card in order for the student to obtain extra credit for their project.
Once a tidbit of information has been imparted, the teachers are instructed
to send the apprentice on their way with one of the supplied dismissal statements.