Journals and finding a teaching master

I was just looking at how many members write new journal entries for the IP daily and I was wondering how the potential masters can keep track of all of that? In the FAQs it says that they do pay attention to all journals but if I look at the "Thank you" notices on the bottom of some journal posts it gives me the impression that certain Knights and Masters are just regularly following the progress of one or two specific Novices, perhaps those that they are already thinking about taking on as apprentices?

It is also written in the FAQs that posts like "I need a Master" will be deleted which is a policy I fully understand. However, it did lead me to the question how things continue once the IP is completed. Can I then approach a specific Knight or Master I feel a connection with and ask him/her if he/she is willing to take me as an apprentice or do I have to wait until I am approached by a someone?

Ve-Lo-Zi wrote: I was just looking at how many members write new journal entries for the IP daily and I was wondering how the potential masters can keep track of all of that? In the FAQs it says that they do pay attention to all journals but if I look at the "Thank you" notices on the bottom of some journal posts it gives me the impression that certain Knights and Masters are just regularly following the progress of one or two specific Novices, perhaps those that they are already thinking about taking on as apprentices?

While some teaching masters may check up on them more regularly, I think for the most part, it's checked for completion at the end.

I would suggest to everyone that is interested in participating in an apprenticeship to be social, post when you have an opinion or something to contribute to a conversation and get to know all the members. (You can approach someone you feel a conection to or maybe they will approach you )

We do try and look at all journals (at least most of us do) and for each person, their tastes will determine what it is they leave a “thank you” on. Sometimes I send PM’s to individuals instead of leaving thank you or in addition to a thank you. But it varies for each training master. We each have our ways I guess.

But once the IP part of the journal is complete and you tell me that you’ve completed the IP the journal is submitted for review. Then, every knight (and up) has an opportunity to look through the whole thing. So even if a particular journal may not seem to get a lot of attention at one point; before all is said and done it will be gone over completely.

I hope this helps some and I will be happy to answer any question or elaborate more.

I think it varies from Master to Master. For example, two Knights followed my IP from the start... and I'm not apprenticed to either of them. Sometimes people just like what you write there needn't be more to it than that.

As to what happens after completing the IP, my suggestion would be to keep reading, and keep posting in your Journal. Stay active and interested, basically. It's supposedly considered bad form to approach a Teaching Master directly, but I think it happens more than people generally admit :whistle: you only get to be apprenticed once. Sometimes you need to just bite the bullet and ask the awkward question, I think. Just be prepared for a "no"

Stay active and interested

but I think it happens more than people generally admit :whistle: you only get to be apprenticed once. Sometimes you need to just bite the bullet and ask the awkward question, I think. Just be prepared for a "no"

Yep...

I have chatted with my apprentices a bit before discussing apprenticeship....

And, there are many who I would take, but, due to the amount of work an apprneticeship can take, right now, we limit it to two apprentices... Although considerations can be made...

Some of us have three, becasue our others are not here to often...

The more one is here, obviously, the more time needs to be commited from the knight... We as Knights can only offer the lessons, the apprentice has to 'do the work'...

But, there is nothing wrong with PMing a Knight, and striking up a conversation, or even an apprentice that you happen to get along with, because that apprentice, will be a knight...

My master and I had many conversations before I was selected as an apprentice....

I was actually friends with my master as well about a month before I finished the IP. We just started talking and realized we both like gaming, so we started playing together. So yeah... a lot of times it can just happen that way too. Being social and getting to know people is definitely the best way, I think.

I'm just really starting to get to know people here, and as busy as most people are with everyday life, I'm starting to think my journal entries are WAY TOO LONG for anyone to have time to read. :laugh:

I better find someone who really likes long winded answers...

perhaps now is a good time to explain why i havent taken an apprentice yet, despite there being a noticeably low ratio of teaching masters to willing initiates.

when my girlfriend moved out in late november, she took the laptop with her. so i was down to my craptastic smartphone and whatever time i could scrounge to do this while at work, like now. so that lack of technological interoperability lasted til mid last month, when i almost simultaneously got a new laptop (just like the old one, a toshiba, which i was used to) and a google nexus 5 smartphone. im back in the game, i say, then promptly drop yogurt on the keyboard. while cleaning it, the dog decides to eat the x key.

fml, right?

so the comp is in the shop now, for an inordinately long time, getting a new keyboard. all that tech crap aside, i am pretty busy these days. all that together, and it would be a disservice to any given initiate or apprentice for me to try to shepherd them through these dark days in the role of teaching master, at least for the time being. not that i am not willing, just for the moment, unable to do so adequately. or at least adequately by my own standards. which are pretty freakin high.

Thinking about this topic further, I was just wondering what is more important to a teaching master or knight: Is it the quality of the journal or the personal contact which plays a larger role when you accept someone as an apprentice? I for example really try and put quite a lot of work into my journal entries but browsing around I've seen journals of others who only wrote very short on each topic and still became apprentices almost instantly after completing the IP. So I was just asking myself if there are somewhat "fixed" standards to qualify for an apprenticeship? Or is it entirely up to the individual master/knight?

As far as I understand it, journals play a large role. But the selection process necessarily differs between knights. I know that I had not spoken with master akkarin very much , and had been an initiate for a few months, before he decided to take me as an apprentice. And speaking for myself, I can be very meticulous. For example for one of my apprentice assignments, I interviewed wescli and Alethea Thompson. To prep for this, I read every single one of their posts here ( and some elsewhere in aletheas case) to formulate good questions. I will probably do the same to whoever I take as an apprentice. Ask a lot of questions. Well researched ones. Then based on those answers, as well as any on site interaction, make a decision.

It'll be fun. I'm kinda looking forward to it.

For John, he and I actually didn't have much contact before he took me on. In fact, I had never spoken to him directly for the longest time. I did my IP, participated in all the discussions I could, and then, one day, I got a message: "I can help you further your training here." It was pretty much as low key and simple as that. I responded: "Wonderful! Sounds great."

And, the rest is history.

Long, short, what I think is more important, is what does it say?

What does the person mean, sometimes, some people can get the same idea out in less words, sometimes, there are not enough words to adequately get the thought out...

We do try to read every journal, but, knights are always at the disadvantage, as there is always more Novice, and initiates...

There are initiates who have been there for a LONG time....

Activity... This is a key, I think ...

Seeing how people respond in the forums to subjects like 'dark' subjects, or, gun control, personal demons, whatever...

But, a master should always have read the journal...

I was and am very quiet in the forums, I don't post often and my journal entries are short and to the point. RyuJin and I had not spoken much before he took me on as an Apprentice. Same goes for me and my Apprentices, we spoke a little bit before but not much.

The journals of quiet and introverted people are very important "sources" for teaching masters. If one takes part in forum discussions and is in chat, then those are very good additions to the information from a journal.
Don't worry about it too much, Ve-Lo-Zi, you will know when it is time

Thank you for your replies. As a sidequestion, is it better to keep the journal entries limited to the IP assignments or should I post my (non-IP related) thoughts etc. there too

Ve-Lo-Zi wrote: Thank you for your replies. As a sidequestion, is it better to keep the journal entries limited to the IP assignments or should I post my (non-IP related) thoughts etc. there too

I think both...

I like to see both... But, that could be me...

I always prefer both because otherwise you're only showing that you're "ticking the boxes" rather than really engaging with the whole philosophy/doctrine/community, but.. I'm just an Apprentice :laugh:

tzb wrote: I always prefer both because otherwise you're only showing that you're "ticking the boxes" rather than really engaging with the whole philosophy/doctrine/community, but.. I'm just an Apprentice :laugh:

Excellent point...

For me, there's the journal of course ...

... but I like to see how one feels and thinks (then feels about their thinkings and thinks about their feelings) on other things too.

Then again, I'm sort of an Ol'Bastard.

Ve-Lo-Zi wrote: Thinking about this topic further, I was just wondering what is more important to a teaching master or knight: Is it the quality of the journal or the personal contact which plays a larger role when you accept someone as an apprentice?

It's different for everyone...

Personally - I look for a sense of personal connection. This can be found through either the journal, or contact, or a combination of both. Ideally it's good to have some personal contact, but sometimes a connection becomes evident over time, sometimes it's immediate (and thus prolongued personal contact doesn't have to be essential). I'd like to feel as though I'm on a similar kind of wavelength with my Apprentices - which doesn't necessarily mean that we would have the same ideas or opinions, but that I think we would be able to understand each other and communicate in a way that promotes mutual growth and learning.

Ve-Lo-Zi wrote: As a sidequestion, is it better to keep the journal entries limited to the IP assignments or should I post my (non-IP related) thoughts etc. there too

I also like both. It helps you to get to know the direction of someone's thoughts when they are not under an obligation to talk about something in particular. In essence, I find non-IP posts help me to feel as though I know more about a person.