tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502042625694005983.post8360414873178609617..comments2023-10-01T14:30:47.616-04:00Comments on The Military Philosopher: Military Art and the Art of War: Can We Get Art Historians to Study Military History?Robert A Mosherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01594022139472469549noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502042625694005983.post-35238115312020375032009-07-20T17:09:28.809-04:002009-07-20T17:09:28.809-04:00As a preface, what I write is certainly not in def...As a preface, what I write is certainly not in defense of guides who don't know and don't care to know.<br />Often the fate of a museum guide (docent, educator, interpreter) is to swallow hard and spout 'the party line'. Told to "follow the script", "meet the objectives", never interject, correct, add or extend the length of the tour in any way. Salaries, status and promotions are based on this.<br />Not only are scripts often incorrect - or, committing sins of omission - they are horribly written.<br />Ever notice someone who lags behind a tour group, looking a tad sour? Or, hangs in the shadows? That is either a direct supervisor or a co-worker sent to observe and report (this was actually part of an interview process, and highly encouraged).<br />Actual circumstances:<br />A director consistently mispronouncing the name of a commonly used Panamanian pouch (chacara), calling it a "Shakira" (the belly dancing singer). This, in a speech before the mayor and the press, after I politely corrected her for three days.<br />The lead interpreter, hotly correcting me in front of a guest, "No, George Washington did not favor Portuguese wine, he drank Madeira!"<br />A director of education slaughtering the pronunciation of "Marquis de Lafayette" -- after having interned at the Society of the Cincinnati.<br />Curious places museums. In the wrong hands they can be far removed from their intended purpose.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com