EdGE Week 11

Exercise: ROP (Record of Perspectives) Practice

This week may require you to step out of your comfort zone, but you each have voluntarily chosen to go work in a foreign country for a few months, so now's a great time to practice stepping out of that comfort zone!

1.Just like last week, pick a venue where other people are hanging out -- it could be a coffee shop, the library, the cafeteria, etc. -- and take some time to record fieldnotes about what you observe.

2. Then solicit the perspective of at least one other person at your chosen venue. For example, if you're at a coffee shop choose somebody or a group of people (maybe other customers or baristas or anybody of interest), approach them, and ask if he/she/they will answer a few questions for a class project. You don't need to conduct an interview. 2 or 3 questions will suffice. In a coffee shop you might ask: "what does 'fair trade coffee' mean to you?" or "would you rather have a delicious cup of non-fair trade coffee or a bland/mediocre cup of fair trade coffee, and why?" In a cafeteria you might ask diners, "how much food waste do you think is generated in this cafeteria each day?" Then you might ask a cafeteria worker, "what do you think of all the foodwaste that's thrown away each day?" In a library you might ask, "do you feel like the library provides you with a sense of community?" or "if the library caught on fire and you could save books from only one genre, what would you save and why?" Your questions do not need to be of grave importance, but try to ask questions that could directly or indirectly shed light on a relevant issue, or a sense of community, or a sense of power.

3. Post your mini ROP into the forum!

My post: 

I went to the library cafe this weekend. I asked people why they hang out with the people they hang out with. 

First person 

(name: Stephanie): I hang out with Lexie because she's awesome. Just kidding. Just kidding again. She is a good influence. She drags me here and suggests books for me to read. She has probably read everything in the sci-fi section of this library. 

Lexie: She's my neighbor and the library is close by. I just want to utilize all my resources. If not here, we would be doing something else to waste our time. This is a better waste of time.

Next table:

(first person): I come here with my boyfriend. My best friend's boyfriend is my boyfriend's best friend. It's a great group overall. We don't actually go to the library. We come through the cafe entrance and just hang out. It is a good place to catch up.

(first person's boyfriend): I like her because she is usually right. She told me not to wish for coconut pie on the ride here. When I came here, they didn't have any coconut pie made. I was less disappointed. 

*whole group laughs*

(other friend's boyfriend): I like this group. I think I met her (his girlfriend) here as well. We knew each other from before, but we didn't like each other like that. She's a cool person, though. She has watched all of Star Trek and Star Wars. That's my type of girl.

Last group of people:

Serena: I just met her. She was alone and the tables were all clean. I go to North Lake College. It's the community college nearby. The cafe inside gets really crowded, so I come here. 

The other girl: I come here for the same reason. The kids inside the library are really loud. I check out my books and come here. I just wish the wi-fi was better. I think it is better inside. 

Serena: I have to go. Thanks for letting me sit here (to the other girl).

That was it. The library and cafe were about to close in half an hour anyways. I had to leave. It was fun. I wish I had more time to observe people coming in and walking out and talk to more people. Maybe, next time.