This week has been SO ANNOYING. I don't know if I'm just getting tired of answering the same questions or what, but it's getting old! I have discovered my least favorite question: "So what does it do?" Seriously, it eats and digests and that's pretty much it.
It's funny how little people know about animals sometimes. There are things that I really think of as being general knowledge, and I am learning every day that I shouldn't. I don't mind so much when it comes from kids, as that's how they learn and they've had no previous experience with science, but when adults have crazy misconceptions about science, it really frustrates me! I don't care so much that the person doesn't know, but it irritates me much more that somewhere along the line, a science teacher straight-up failed this person, and probably lots of others.
For example, I had a few people at the invertebrate touch tank. It's freeing cold water with really colorful sea anemones, sea cucumbers, sea urchins, and sea stars, all from the coast of Alaska down to California. I have to tell everyone: "You can touch any animals on the top self with two fingers, but if you touch the anemones, don't poke them right in the center". The dad that was at the tank held his son over the edge to touch the anemone, and to remind him to only touch the tentacles, he said: "Only touch the feathers."
......FEATHERS.
Hahahaha feathers?! That is a little ridiculous. I totally know what you mean about the misconceptions thing though, I was always surprised by how little adults knew about nature in general at my internship last summer. But this week in camp I have had a couple campers teaching me stuff I never knew about insects, so I guess it goes both ways.
ReplyDeleteKatherine, I encourage you to maintain your patience with folks who do not know a lot about science. It may be their teachers fault, or it may not- it doesn't matter at this point. These people have took the time and paid the money to learn more about science. That’s great! You are there to help guide them and you are getting paid a generous amount of money to do so- probably way more than other staff members, and certainly more than 75% percent of the people in this world. While one quarter of humanity lives without electricity, girls like us have immediate access to food, water, and fast access to top of the line treatments for illnesses and injuries provided by some of the best medical doctors in the world.
ReplyDeleteAlthough it may seem normal for us to graduate college with a fantastic education, as you know, not everyone is able to do so. In 2012, 70% of the primary school-aged children in the world were not in school. In 2012, 88% of American adults ages 25 and older had at least completed high school. While 88% may sound good, (it is the highest that % has ever been) it is easy to forget that one out of every ten people who ask you questions about fishes or invertebrates didn’t make it through high school. Most of them also were probably not born in Florida, where coastal environments and education seem to be a part of our lives. Instead of feeling “annoyed” or “frustrated” or “tired” or “irritated” with people who don’t know a lot about animals, just remember how lucky we are that we are in a position to help them learn. Hopefully next week we will learn what your favorite question is that you have discovered people asking you.
P.S. You know much better than I the enormous role invertebrates play in marine ecology. They do much more than eat and digest in the intricate food web they function in.