Now I understand that because I spent my childhood here and
my fond memories of the park I could be bias against other people and their
views. Due to my history with Slater Park I view the area as a positive space
whereas some people see it as a negative area because of their experiences. Because
I am a naturalist and my connection to the park could “color” my
perception of other people’s stories. I can understand and respect the fact
that some people won’t agree with my claim because we all have our own
experiences and our own views. I can understand that some people see parks as a
waste of tax payers’ dollars because the majority of the time their used is
spring through the fall and sometimes it seems vacant. Teens are known to use parks
to host their mischievous activities like drinking or smoking. I know because
several of my friends have told me they do and when we walked the trail at 11 pm there
was a party going on in the woods. Or
even that it is a dangerous environment. Every day we live in a world that when
we step outside our house we are putting our lives at risk; driving, flying,
even walking down the street. I am a very open-minded person and I have no
problems with people who hate bugs or don’t go outside. People have preferences;
I prefer chocolate ice-cream over vanilla while my sister prefers vanilla over
chocolate. Just because we don’t agree on a topic doesn't me I will not listen to your story or respect your view. If everyone was the same and had the same preferences then the world would be a boring place.
Venetcia: Thank you for responding to my prompt that asked you to delve deeper. Fieldwork is critical thinking; critical thinking means seeing the places we think we know in a new way and seeing ourselves in a new way. We no longer have the privilege, as intellectuals in higher education, to just say, "Oh well, to each his own." Thinking people cannot settle for that. We need to question, to unravel, to examine, to delve deeper. Instead of existing in the snowglobe, we need to jump out of the snowglobe and hold it in our hand, turn it around, and examine it. Thank you. I'm responding to you from Britain, and I'm politely wondering where your fieldnotes #1 analysis is and/or if it's going to be posted soon. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI love how you really were thinking about the other things that other people who visit Slater Park are thinking. This fieldworking site seems like it is going to be really interesting and I can't wait to see what you do with it. I think already you have so many great ideas and in the end this is going to be such a well thought out project. From seeing this post it seems like now you see what biases you might have and how you are going to see past them. I can't wait for your fieldworking project Venetcia.
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