I am now beginning week four of my internship. The first
four weeks have gone by in a blur. I have created, edited dozens of times, and
physically and electronically distributed my NGRREC Adult Outreach Survey. The
survey is a basis for me to determine my whole summer project on. By polling
the local adult population of the Alton, Illinois, area I am essentially
letting the adults choose their own adult outreach event. I have learned how to
interact with the local adult population here and have since found that most
adults are skeptical about those who distribute a survey. It takes a big smile
and kind words to calm skittish adults of their survey anxieties. While my
survey was just a page long on paper and took about one minute to complete,
many people simply did not want to be bothered to take a survey. Though I understand
everyone has different experiences, I wonder why people would not want the
opportunity to take a survey. Taking a survey allows one’s voice to be heard
and tracks their input for an opportunity to choose what they want to know,
buy, have, etc. Surveys are not something to be afraid of. They are something
that should be wanted, or at the very least desired. Without a survey, public
outreach of programs and local events would take place at a hit or miss standards and not be worthy of consideration. Surveys help
environmental anthropologists to know how to best help the local community that
they are working with. Just like speaking to someone, surveys help give an
overall standpoint of the local people in an area so that one knows how to best
work with and help them.
I am learning that environmental anthropology is a lot
harder than it sounds. An environmental anthropologist may be referred to by
many names. Some names include “mediator” “planner” and “researcher.” When
dealing with an established local population in the United States that already
has a modern lifestyle, it is in some ways easier to be able to reach
populations who want to listen to environmentalists to help repair the
environment. At the same time, I am also dealing with a population that wants
to keep their modern lifestyles and not sacrifice driving big trucks and living
in large houses to help sustain the environment. In part, I have a willing
audience that wants to change the environment’s future for the better but does
not want to sacrifice to do so. My project now is how to make change appealing
and to notify the local population of why change to more environmentally stable
practices would be better for them now and not just the future. To educate
adults about their impact on the environment and especially the river, I have
decided to host a trivia night to help me achieve my goal. This trivia night
will be an indicator of how much people already know about how to protect their
environment and will give them some facts that they may apply to their
lifestyles. Wish me luck that this trivia night goes well!
17 comments:
I worked in Institutional Research for a semester at Blackburn. My job was to write surveys and record and analyze the data. I can't even tell you how many stupid comments and surveys that were merely a race to see how fast they could fill in the bubbles without reading it. Those surveys are what helps the college find out how well its doing and work to improve, but students barely gave them any thought at all.
Humans are the disease of the Earth. We will only truly get it and understand what we are doing when sea levels are twenty feet higher than they are now, natural disaster are bigger, more frequent, and more devastating then ever before, there is no room to put our trash, and it is impossible to maintain our environmentally destructive lifestyles. We're headed there. I really hope its not too late to fix the damage when we realize it. Yeaa save the environment! But Oh I cant drive my hummer anymore, cut down all the trees, and create mountains of trash? Heck with that, I'll just sit in my house with the AC on high and watch the TV.. stupid people
Logan
I think that environmental anthropology has to do with more about our surroundings through living in this planet. If we dont proctect it who else will
Briana banuelos 102 1001
The last part was an innovative way for her to get the word out about environmental issues that would be better than a survey. Surveys are way too impersonal in my opinion and take up some time. The trivia idea , however, is a novel and fun way to ask her questions in a relaxed environment and can be instrumental in her future job prospects. I hope everything went well
Although our citizens try to tell each other that they are very much the same, as stated by Ms. Robertson, people are very different in many ways. Some of the people could have though that she was just trying to do her job and interested in helping her, while others could have seen her as a nuisance and someone who is taking time away from their football time or family night dinner. Especially in the southern states of this country, citizens are very different than here on the West coast. They are essentially their own culture, providing their families necessities differently than others, living in different environments, and holding different beliefs on many ideas of others. It's an important connotation for her to make that although they may be not willing to help, she did not say anything negative about those who chose to say no, nor did she positively take the side of those who did help her. She stood back, looked at the situation as a whole, and came up with a different solution as a whole. Great way to conquer a difficult situation!
This is an interesting look into the lives of the general population, which is a difficult beast to work with. Most people do not wish to be pulled out of their small bubbles to put a minuscule effort into taking a survey. After working in retail for 3 years, I've learned that approach is key. You have to have a strong and confident approach, and even then it is not guaranteed that you'll get a positive response. This woman didn't let that stop her, and that is inspiring.
While reading this article about Caroline internship what really caught my attention is when she states,"Taking a survey allows one’s voice to be heard and tracks their input for an opportunity to choose what they want to know, buy, have, etc." I completely agree with this and it helps improve our today society. Some people are shy but they can come out more about there thoughts when its on paper I believe.
Tiffany Heavens
- I personally love taking surveys if they can some how help benefit things to change. I 100 percent agree that surveys allows peoples voices to be heard.
I personally don't mind taking surveys because they're so simple & easy to take. I definitely agree that surveys allow everyone’s voice to be heard.
-Monique McAllister
I never really thought that by taking a survey my voice was being heard. That is a good way to put it though! I believe many people stay way to busy and don't want to take just a couple of minutes to take surveys.
A lot of times when I take a survey I don't really see any changes being made but i don't personally mind. I think that it definitely gives you a better outlook on things.
i'm not really sure how i feel about surveys, i feel like people do them because they have to. not because they care about other peoples opinion about things.
I LOVE the idea of the trivia night! It is both fun for the people who are invited and attend and it is informational. How did the trivia night turn out?
--Kimberly Wilbers
I see from being in class all my life that every educator runs into issues with getting the audiences attention. It is hard to educate people if they do not want to be educated, and it is especially hard to deliver messages in an attention getting form.
I know personally its hard to get a classes attention because i will even find myself zoning out while instructors are talking to me. Its all about the approach and presence of the educator, but you also cant force people to want to learn.
I think that people will never grasp the importance of the environment and give up their big houses and trucks because they refused to see whats going on in the world. They like to dismiss climate change and not see just how much Co2 their releasing into the world, and most of the Midwest and south live like this.
- Chyann Taylor
I personally feel that surveys don't change or help anything. Anybody can sit and take a survey but how many people are taking action when finding out the results of that survey?
-jasmine busby
It was great to learn that environmental anthropologists can be called mediators or planners. Very informative and interesting post.
Elaine Christopher
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