It's been a delight learning with all of you this quarter! I know that we've covered a lot of interconnected topics, so I hope this final reflection will be an opportunity for you to pause and think back over the course to what has had the most impact on you and what you most want to remember.
Please answer the following questions in the comments section. Please submit your responses by midnight, Monday, June 5.
What questions, themes, and/or ideas from this class have
been the most interesting for you to consider? What new ideas are you taking away from this course? What new questions do you have?
What do you think you’ll remember most from this class one
year from now?
What is one thing you’ve learned in this class that you hope
to put into practice in your life after graduation?
Throughout this quarter, John and I have shared with you
some of the ways we are working to make a positive difference in the world
through experimenting with and teaching small-scale, localized farming.
Following our passions, talents, and curiosities has led us to this way of
giving to the world. What passions, talents, and curiosities will you be
pursuing after graduation and how might these lead you to ways you can make a
positive difference in the communities in which you’ll be living and the world
at large?
What suggestions do you have for improving future versions of this course?
What suggestions do you have for improving future versions of this course?
Throughout class, I enjoyed several themes and ideas that were discussed during class this quarter. Specifically, I enjoyed Thursday classroom discussions, where each student was given an opportunity to create dialogue based on their personal interest/ background. For example, one student had an opportunity to create dialogue on farming through learning more about the economic side, compared to someone else who lead a classroom discussion through debate. After the course, I think I will take away teachings about farming, but on a more well rounded perspective relating to the process of farming and it’s impacts on the environment. I would enjoy learning more about perspectives that were not discussed during class discussions relating to more about social and economic aspects of farming.
ReplyDeleteOne year from now, I believe that I will remember the hands-on experiences on Tuesdays every week. I never had a lot of experience with farming, so on Tuesdays, the lab allowed me to really apply classroom knowledge to the farm and with my peers. I especially loved working with other students to collaborate with different projects. I liked how on the farm, we did not than plant (Which is what many people assume farming to only be). We had a chance to learn more about compost, soil, and insects.
One thing that I learned in class was that I can farm in any environment, even if it’s not rural. Because I will be living in city environments, I hope to get more involved in urban farming (Ex. Urban Farms). I hope that when I also get settled into a home, I hope to grow my own foods, and have the opportunity to teach my family more about harvesting their own foods. I hope that these teachings will serve as a traction for further generations within my family. For the shirt term, when I move to New York, Boston, and Los Angeles, I will look into nearby urban farms.
After school, I will be receiving my Masters in Television (and hopefully give my PhD later in life!), where I will be studying the producing and management aspects on television at Boston University. In the future, I hope to use the power of media to share the unknown stories of a diverse range of diverse peoples through documentary series. I hope that the content that I produce will be both educational and profitable. Additionally, I hope to serve as a motivational speaker (I am a person who stutters), and I hope to inspire members of my community to achieve their dreams, despite their personal challenges. Finally, I have a love for wellness, so I am in the process of getting my certification in yoga. I plan inspire through media content, motivational speeches, and throughout physical activity.
I enjoyed how each student had an opportunity to create dialogue and lead class. I will like Thursday discussions could be a little more organized, because two students are usually responsible to lead a certain topic, and I believe that each student should have an opportunity to have equal class time to do so.
I want to start off by thanking you, Amy and John, for all the work that you put in to make sure that this quarter allowed us to explore new ideas and concepts, both on the farm and in the classroom. I know I enjoyed having the opportunity to spend the end of my final year at K doing something completely different from all my previous classes. I’m grateful for having the kind of education that allows me to do this.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the quarter, I’ve been interested in all the tensions that we’ve talked about in regards to “science” and technology. Growing up, I was always taught that science was objective and that technological advances are always positive. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve found myself questioning those ideas, and many moments in our class served as prime examples as to why. I was particularly interested in our conversations surrounding “efficiency.” So often, the narrative is that large-scale machinery makes agriculture easier. But easier for who? Easier to do what? Our discussions in class made me reconsider ideas about “efficiency” meaning that systems are somehow better. I was struck by our debate about vertical farming. Even though the debate format meant that we all had to take a position for the purposes of class, it was interesting to see that just about everyone’s true perspective was somewhere in the middle. There wasn’t really anyone arguing that it was an amazing system, but there also wasn’t really anyone saying it was inherently terrible, either. Technology, it seems, is not nearly as black and white as I was taught to believe that it is.
Another important tension that I’ve been thinking about throughout the quarter has been the complications in navigating these harmful systems (mass agriculture that damages our planet, enables human rights abuses, does not protect biodiversity, etc.) alongside the very real need to eat. During our final class, I was immensely interested in the conversations we had about personal food consumption choices. Several of my classmates talked about cooking and a closer connection to their food as a form of healing, recovering from patterns of disordered eating, and feeling good about their bodies. This was fascinating to me because it’s the exact opposite of my own experience! I’m the first person to admit that I don’t like cooking. When I prepare my own meals, I actively feel worse about what I’m eating. For me, this kind of “getting closer” to my food has often not been healthy. Cooking, following recipes, and all of that, has always been a way of gaining a more intense control over my diet, a control that I would argue is not good for me from either a mental or physical perspective. It would have never occurred to me that things like veganism can be healing spaces for some people. I valued this conversation greatly, as it was an important reminder that we are all different, and that I should not and cannot assume my own experiences are universal. I’m glad I had this reminder. Placing this conversation within the realm of other things we’ve talked about this quarter, including the damage that our current food system does, makes me feel like everything is very complicated. I guess I’m left feeling unsure about how one can make responsible or “ethical” food choices, or if this even is possible. And if it is possible, I’m left thinking about how one navigates their own individual needs within this system. What do I do when my own mental/emotional/physical needs clash with what I feel is best for the world as a whole?
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DeleteThose two previous paragraphs are both about big, serious issues that point to the importance of thinking through grey areas. I think they’re important to consider, which is why I’m bringing them up. That being said, however, I don’t want the entirety of my reflection to be weighed down and depressing. While it is important to consider serious topics, I think it also important to give ourselves permission to think about other things as well. (It took me a long time to come to this conclusion.) What I’m choosing as a moment that I think I’ll remember a year from now, then, is a moment of levity: I really liked visiting with the bees! I think they’re super cool, and I’ve never had a chance to see a hive up close before. There’s just something about looking closely at something that you’ve never looked at closely before. It put a spring in my step and reminded me to have care with everything in the world, no matter how small. Plus, I really enjoyed going to CAPS and showing the kids the pictures I took that day. They were all incredulous that I was the one that had taken the pictures, and that the bees hadn’t tried to sting me for getting that close to them.
I wasn’t raised religiously, and I’ve never considered myself to be “spiritual” or anything in that regard, so I’m a little surprised by what I’m finding that I want to take with me after class. I really enjoy going out to forage, and particularly the suggestion that we might consider leaving some corn as a small offering. The piece that you read to us that day, Amy, stood out to me. I thought it was just lovely. The idea that we aren’t just owed anything out in nature is so important. I found that I really liked making an offering; it made me think more consciously about what I was gathering, why I was doing it, and how that might impact the woods and those plants and animals that live in that space. I found myself stopping and pausing in a way that I don’t often do, and I was surprised to find how much I enjoyed this. (I’m usually a type A person who likes to run from one thing to the next!) This slower pace and careful consideration is something that I’d like to find ways to implement into my everyday actions. I don’t know how often I’ll be out foraging. But I do think that it’s possible to take those ideas with me into my future.
I’m in a weird space, where I don’t have concrete plans for the next year or so. I’m planning on applying to MFA programs, as I’d like to continue to develop my writing. I’m thinking both about our conversations about narrative and our conversations about media, and how both of these things play an important role in shaping our perceptions and values. When I’m more settled into a permanent home, I like the idea of growing food for myself and my family. I can’t say I think I’d make a great farmer; I don’t know that growing food for other people is my passion. At the same time, however, I’m thinking about all the ways in which I can address topics like nature and food justice in my writing. I’m wondering what my own written work might look like in the years to come. How do I connect my own experiences to these larger systems? What does it mean to tell stories that lift up marginalized communities and express values that are ignored or distrusted? And how do I do this in a way that does not attempt to speak over or speak for people who have experiences different from my own? How do I write about solutions without making claims that I know what is best for individuals or communities? And ultimately, what is the story that I want to tell about food? I don’t know the answers to these questions, but I’m looking forward to figuring them out.
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DeleteIn the spirit of tying everything together, I’m thinking about how future versions of this class might make the class project component feel more like something that the whole class shares in. I recognize that with everyone’s busy schedules, it’s probably unlikely to find a project that the entire class can actually do. However, I feel like there must be some way to get us to share more about this experience as an entire class. I know all about the work that we did at CAPS. I’m realizing, however, that I actually have no idea what other people in the class did for their project. I wish that there had been some opportunities for people to share out about their experiences in this regard. Perhaps this could have happened through a blog post, or during one of our classes. (Or maybe it could still happen at the potluck!) I’m curious about how other people got involved. After all, these group conversations were always my favorite part of the class.
(done - yikes, you know it's bad when your response needs to be split into three comments to get posted!)
1. I’ve talked through a lot of these themes with you already, Amy, when I was working through my ideas for leading class and while leading my section of class did help me think about these questions to some extent they definitely still remain central to my feelings about the topics we explored through this class. I remain most engaged by questions of entry points to the food movement and why it has felt so distant to me as a fairly crunchy-granola person in many other aspects. I have felt that shame plays a pretty big role in ineffective branches of the food movement in terms of shaming people for making ‘wrong’ food choices or having ‘wrong’ bodies or participating in the food movement ‘incorrectly.’ I also think that food and individual relationships to food and bodies are so complicated because of beauty standards and the ways that identities magnify these standards. This question of how to better relate to the food movement and how to engage with it more meaningfully on a personal level are things I’m still exploring.
ReplyDelete2. I will definitely remember all the time we spent at the farm the most from this class! I loved being able to spend so much of my Wednesday outdoors and I was engaged by every topic we touched on because it was approached in such a hands on way. I especially loved the day we spent talking about lacto-fermenting as well as the day we first headed out to the hoop house for the first time and planted our own seeds! I honestly feel as though this was one of my most memorable classes and am excited to look back on it as a part of my fondest memories at K.
I’ve returned to this question after answering the other ones and want to add that I will definitely remember the day I pulled ALL THOSE RADISHES! It was awesome, first of all, and filled me with an inexplicable giddy kind of joy that I wont soon forget.
3. I hope to hold on to the feeling that farming/growing on a personal scale is entirely doable. I want to commit to gardening at whatever scale is available to me because it has felt so good to be connected to the earth and my food this way this quarter and I want to hold on to that even if it feels difficult or time consuming. I like the idea of doing this one thing to slow down and disconnect no matter what I’m doing. Also over the summer my parents will be starting a new garden at a new house and I want to be involved in that work. I have been historically resistant to helping my parents with their yard or garden, but I want to be more engaged because really do like working outside with my hands and I like spending time with my parents, which I guess wasn’t entirely the case in high school.
4. My passion lies in equitable, community-based climate policy and that is the broad direction I hope to go after graduation. I’m obviously not certain what form that will take, or how quickly I’ll be able to find a job or even a volunteering opportunity or internship that aligns with these values but I’m committed to pursuing it as a long-term goal. At this moment I care a lot about carbon pricing and it’s equitable, just, implementation but if I come across an alternative that I see as more impactful or meaningful I want to be able to adapt and not become wed to only one solution. I also am passionate about creating community wherever I end up because I think the work I’m interested in cannot be done honestly and genuinely in a community I’m apart from. I don’t know how I’ll be able to do that but I think it will be an important part of whatever my path after graduation becomes.
Delete5. As I mentioned above, I loved the time we spent at the farm and would hope that it remains a central part to this class in the future. In terms of the in class portion of this course I did sometimes wish it was structured differently. I really appreciated the way it disrupted traditional hierarchies of the classroom and I thought this was especially important for a senior seminar. However, I think that sometimes the student led portions of the class got repetitive and tedious in their structure. I don’t think this was anyone’s fault, my own class period wasn’t radically different by any means, I just think that maybe there could be a little more structure and guidance in how the class periods were designed so that they didn’t all feel so similar and then slightly tedious.
Q. What questions, themes, and/or ideas from this class have been the most interesting for you to consider? What new ideas are you taking away from this course? What new questions do you have?
ReplyDeleteA. I think the biggest theme/question that emerged for me was that of “balance”. How do we balance our criticism of the current monoculture with the narrative surrounding migrant labor issues? How do we balance our radical idealistic images of what agriculture ought to be with the reality of the world built on fossil fuel principles?
I imagine that sometimes the answer is not to balance, but to equate. For example, we can argue that both the monocultural model and migrant labor issue spring from a bigger trend of oppression that acts on both the human minorities and other beings that make up the ecosphere. Then again, how would we imagine bringing about a society without any forms of oppression without having to negotiate with the enormity of the task?
Q. What do you think you’ll remember most from this class one year from now?
A. I think one year from now I will mostly remember how much I learned from other people who had very different backgrounds. I hope I continue to value other people’s opinions on food systems and farming since everyone’s life seemsto intersects with it.
Similarly, I think I will always remember what a healthy community can achieve. Seeing just the select members of the farming/permaculture community within Kalamazoo was enough to give me immense hope for the future. I hope to foster such community in the future.
Q. What is one thing you’ve learned in this class that you hope to put into practice in your life after graduation?
A. I definitely want to forage more- Farming is cool, but there’s something special to be said about foraging. Foraged materials are pure gifts from the nature to us and consuming foraged food is to reaffirm that connection. I want to learn what kind of dishes I can incorporate the foraged stuff into, and learn what types of forages I like the best.
Q. Throughout this quarter, John and I have shared with you some of the ways we are working to make a positive difference in the world through experimenting with and teaching small-scale, localized farming. Following our passions, talents, and curiosities has led us to this way of giving to the world. What passions, talents, and curiosities will you be pursuing after graduation and how might these lead you to ways you can make a positive difference in the communities in which you’ll be living and the world at large?
A. I want to learn more about plants and see for myself whether we stand a chance at building agriculture that is built on ecological principles. I have to believe that we can either way if I want to continue having hope for the future of the humanity, but interning at the Land Institute would help it a lot. The best asset I have within me is the slow burning passion for agriculture and science I have fostered ever since I got bit by the agriculture bug a year ago. I hope that it keeps on burning.
Q. What suggestions do you have for improving future versions of this course?
A. I wish there was a bit more structure to the weekly class prep. Maybe a word count would suffice; or maybe we could have a meeting with Amy about the upcoming class period so that the weekly class facilitators have a harder deadline for their plans.
This quarter/ school year went by really fast! I can't believe we are all graduating! Iv'e really enjoyed this class and I feel like Iv'e learned and grew a lot from the many discussions and blog posts we have done. The biggest question that has been the most interesting but frustrating to me is how do we change our food industry and farming to where no one is abused and no one is deprived of the food they need. By the end of this class I still don't have an answer and I think no one really does. This is due in part because the system is not broken. It was built off of black and brown bodies. I do not think that there is a system that we could create that would benefit every individual our society and systems aren't built for that.
ReplyDeleteI've stared this new idea/ vision for my future I want to grow my own food so I know where it's coming from and that I know that it's fresh. I won't have to have a a guilty conscious when I eat food that may have been given to me by a person who has suffered and treated in inhuman ways. This will also connect me back to the land and nature where I think it's important to have in a world where we need to care for the earth more than ever.
A new question that I have is how much money would it take to start growing my own food inside an apartment where there is limited space and limited heat in the winter and fall.
Another question would be how do we begin to make people more aware where there food is coming from and exposing farms that exploit their workers to the masses.
I think I will remember the grafting the most from this class a year from now. I didn't even know such a thing existed and that trees had that capability! I also didn't know that it dates back to the Native American tribes. I feel like they have/had so much knowledge about the land and that we can learn so much from them about how to have a beneficial and healthy relationship with the land.
As mentioned earlier I want to grow my own food so the techniques form blocking and transplanting will probably be the most beneficial for me to use since I probably wont be living in a warm climate after graduation.
After graduation I am taking a gap year and then going to dental/ orthodontist school . In this filed I can positively effect people self confidence and happiness by giving them the teeth that they want. But I also want to teach other what I've learned from this class as well as use what I've learned in my day to day life. I would love to have a garden for my community where they can get fresh ingredients from someone they know.
I dont have any suggestion for this class other then that it was awesome! I really had fun and learned so much that it will forever effect how I think and how I want to live my life in the future.
Thank you Amy and John for everything and I hope you guys have a great summer!
1. We have covered so much material in the past ten weeks, it is difficult to narrow it down or even remember everything we have discussed. I think the theme that has been the most prevalent to me, in this class and in my past few quarters at K, has been the ability to imagine for the future. In social justice work and in ANSO we are constantly critiquing and deconstructing our world and the current conditions of the social. Feminist writer and scholar Aida Hurtado warns against deconstructing to the point where there is nothing left and you lose hope in the world. She advises us to deconstruct oppressive systems through the process of reconstructing. This way, we ensure that there is something present once we break down the perpetuation of injustice. During my discussion lead about farmworkers rights and the labor of agriculture, Shar asked, “what does the future look like?” which was really confronting and thought-provoking for me. The exercise that Na Young and Siwook had us do where we painted a detailed picture of our ideal world and society made me think about this prospect in a concrete way. What do I want our future to look like? How can I decolonize my imagination? These are questions that I am now thinking of in more holistic and realistic terms after this course. I am taking away a lot of inspiration and hope from my peers and our conversations as well as a more cemented understanding of the work we have left to do.
ReplyDelete2. I think what I will remember most from the class a year from now is my time at the farm. I was introduced to so many new concepts and experiences there that have a really special place in my heart. Just yesterday at our final potluck, I got the flock of ducklings to follow me over to the pan of water and play with it. It was so special for me to get a hands-on experience with them (I have a deep fear of birds that I am working on overcoming!). Foraging for ramps on a rainy day, finding them and speaking to them before taking them home with me, was another thing I never imagined I would be doing. Growing dill and cilantro and getting to see the plants progress every week was really special to someone who has killed every plant I have ever owned. I think these experiences of working with my hands in the literal dirt are what will really stay with me in the future.
Delete3. This question is something that has been prevalent in my mind lately, as graduation approaches and I get ready to leave K and make plans for my future. Finding work that is fulfilling and meaningful has always been a top priority for me. I am still unclear on what exactly that looks like, but I think I have some basic tenets of understanding that will help guide my path. The main conclusion I have drawn is that we are all able to enact change even in places where it seems like there is not much room for resistance to oppressive systems. Operating with the foundation of feminist, anti-racist, anti-capitalist, anti-hierarchical, justice-oriented thinking means that any labor I perform can be transformative in some capacity. I am constantly working on how I relate to others and how to enact change through even the smallest, 1-to-1 interactions with others. It is my mission to make positive differences and engage in radical revolution throughout every aspect of my life.
4. Overall, I think the class format is well-constructed, but there are a few things that might make it better in the future. I think the class could benefit from a more thorough envisioning for class discussions. I think the two-hour time slot made some conversations feel somewhat stilted and redundant. Some more concrete guidelines set in the beginning of the quarter would probably help motivate the passion and get everyone on the same page (basic agreements like ‘lean-in, lean-out philosophy’ and understandings of intent vs impact). I also think more bonding exercises would help make people more comfortable and willing to engage. There were some people I only got to know in the last few weeks that I wish I would have heard more from earlier in the course.
Thank you everyone (especially Amy and John) for a wonderful quarter and good luck with everything!
1. I have been interested in so many topics that we discussed in this class but I think the most interesting and surprising topic that I learned about was the issues that farmworkers face and how little attention consumers pay to who is working for their food. I think I knew somewhere in my mind that farmworkers in the US are not always treated fairly, but I didn’t realize just how bad some conditions are and how close to home it can fall. It has been really interesting to think about this and compare it to the increasingly popular trend for young people to want to buy organic and certified humane products. Consumers put so much energy into seeking well cared for chickens and organically grown vegetables but there is almost no attention given to the conditions of farmers at various production sources. When I was researching egg brands, almost every company has a tab on their website about animal welfare, but only one of the companies had a tab on their website about worker rights. So my new question that I am taking away from this course is then, why is it that people pay so much attention to animal welfare on farms but so little attention to human welfare on farms? How did we get this way? Why is it like this?
ReplyDelete2. I think (and really hope) that one year from now I will remember how fun it has been to watch everything grow and eat foods straight off of the plant. I think I’ll remember how exciting it was to get to the farm every week and go check on the progress of the carrots in the hoop house and how proud I was at the end of the quarter of even the tiny baby carrots that I picked.
3. I have 2 answers to this question. The first thing that I hope to put into practice in the future is the same as my answer to the last question. I want to remember how fun it was to watch things grow and care for them and plant a garden of my own. Immediately after graduation this will probably be in the form of a small pot of basil and cilantro and maybe some other things, but one day when I have a yard I want to have a full in-ground garden bed to grow lots of vegetables. I want to use what I learned about paying attention to plants’ language of needs so that I can care for the things I grow and learn from them about how to take the best care of them that I can.
The second thing that I hope to put into practice, and the one that I feel the most passionate about continuing, is the habit of asking where things come from. I’ve done a lot of research this quarter about where the eggs sold around Kalamazoo come from and I know that I am now better equip to support good animal welfare and human rights practices while maintaining a budget. I want to keep researching where foods come from and I think my next project will be to try and find a milk source that I can feel good about while on a budget. I am glad that I learned about farmworker labor issues and got the suggestion to ask farmers about their employees. In continuing my desire to know where food comes from, I am definitely going to continue to ask farmers who they hire and research which vegetable brands take better care of their workers.
4. My passion is for animals, specifically dogs. My curiosity is about how animals and humans can benefit each other in more extensive ways than pets or food. To bring these together, my motto for what I would like my future impact to look like is to help dogs help people. I am hoping to get a PhD in human-animal interaction at Purdue and would like to go into researching the effects on both the people and animals involved in animal-assisted therapy and service animal work.
5. The only idea I have for improving the course is that I would have liked to have more dialogue about the class or individual final projects. I felt a little bit like the final projects just sort of dried up at the end without any type of reflecting, sharing, or conclusions. Otherwise I really enjoyed the hands-on aspect of farm days and the student-led aspect of classroom days.
1. There were so many interesting themes we discussed and we asked ourselves over the span of this course. However, in this response I will name a few of the most important ones to me. The role of technology in agriculture was an interesting topic for the class to discuss. In some cases technology could be beneficial to farmers (reduce the amount of hard work that is necessary for harvesting) or be detrimental to our relationship with traditional nature (i.e. breed fruit that is durable enough for new machines). The monopoly of the seed industry was interesting but disheartening to listen to, on the flip side learning about the revolution farmers are making about seeds was inspiring. There is always something that can be done about corrupt systems, and hope may be the most important tool. Our discussion about judgment people place on certain diets led me to consider how I judge others based on the “cleanliness” of their food; “cleanliness” referring to where they got it from, how old it is, etc. I experienced food poisoning about 4 times just last quarter so that led me to be more cautious about what I was eating and what I was offered by others to eat. I realized that this judgment might be harmful if I pass it on to others as every person has a right to food freedom. As I leave this course, I consider the current agriculture system we have and how I may impact it. As I continue to work on making change through this system new questions will come to me. I will use the resources exemplified to tools as I navigate throughout the agriculture system, farming, and making an impact in a community in regards to both aspects.
ReplyDelete2. Visiting the farm inset a kind of calamity in me. One year from now I think I will remember the sensory information I gathered from the farm. The different smells of rain or food growing, like the fresh kale. I’ll also remember how the day we played with and learned about insects made me less afraid of them. Hopefully, I will also remember the skills I learned from planting seeds, harvesting plants, and the lessons we were taught at the farm about different crops and agriculture techniques.
3. Community was a common topic discussed throughout the course; and more specifically, the role of an individual in shaping the agriculture health of a community. It was really inspiring to read and hear about different community farms around the world. I hope to have my own garden some day soon. With the skills of this course I have the ability to inspire others in my community to grow their own gardens and to help them do so.
4. In the near future I will be attending graduate school for public health. One day I hope to do public health consulting and design and implement health programs into communities. Keeping in line with my interests in food, nutrition, and its crucial place in the well-being of a human body, I plan on integrating inspection of the food resources in that community and redesigning them or integrating new structures if necessary to provide adequate food for the health of the community. Outside of my job I plan to have my own garden, belong to a CSA, and get my meat from a local butcher. Doing this in my life may ensure that I keep in line with my values of eating locally and sustainably.
5. I have really, really enjoyed this course. I loved everything about the farm section and the in-class section. But since everything can always be improved, I would suggest that perhaps if snacks or snack time was provided it could eliminate the hunger most people feel at the end of the farm course day.
One of the major questions I have been left with is rooted in our relationship with food and finding a balance between our humanity and the earth. Prior to this class I thought about the natural environment as being separate from anything man made. Trying to find the distinction between the two started in the roots in the earth FYS. I remember you poising the question of a bird house and whether it was a natural structure. Applying this question to us as humans I refer to our reoccurring theme of agriculture and technology. To some extent the technologies that we create to further improve our farming and food related processes, we are learning new things about ourselves and the earth. It is not until we begin to associate the earth solely as a bunch of resources for our use that we disconnect our awareness of ourselves and focus on our own benefit.
ReplyDeleteOne year from now I think that I will still remember how much attention we paid to our relationship with nature. I find myself doing this more often than before I took this class. I become more aware of the trees, the birds, even the grass beneath my feet. I want to say that my lense on life has been altered due to this realization and that is why I believe that I will remember this a year from now.
One of the main things that I have learned through this class is how doing physical labor in nature can create a sense community between people. I feel like I have gotten to know a few of my classmates while we were doing work in the farm. This made it easier for us to engage in dialogue. More importantly there was a sense of accomplishment at the end of each day that brought us, somewhat, closer. How I see this manifesting in my life after K is through my continuous work in community improvement projects and programs. I hope to continue my work with and in community gardens as I work to improve the community and the relationship between the people who live in them. The only problem that I had with the class was trying to retain most of the information that we learned while at the farm. There were some interesting tips that you and john brought up while we were farming that I wish I would have wrote down. I am not sure if there is a way to get around this problem but I just thought I should bring it up to your attention.
1. The most interesting thing for me is idea of permaculture. Before the class, I was so naïve and believed that only modern industries would harm the environment, but now I realized some of the industrialized agriculture method would also make our world to be unsustainable. In addition to environment, efficiency is also a remarkable concern related to permaculture. I used to only consider about productivity while thing about efficiency in agriculture, but now I would also consider this issue in a more multidenominational approach, like health, ethnicity, etc. Since the level of agriculture development could be accounted in multidenominational approach, I am wondering whether there is an index to measure this. (like HDI or MPI for economic development)
ReplyDelete2. Form this class, I would probably most about the Thursday class discussion. I was impressed by students from different academic background discussing the topic of agriculture. I have never think about the discussion could related to so many topics other than biology.
3. During this class, I have learned so many ideas and facts about agriculture in US, and among them, community garden and food forest is the idea I want to try most. After graduation, I would go back to China and observing whether these cool ideas would be fit in my city, and I would probably growth my own food if it is possible to do so.
4. Since I live off-campus, and just like other students who don’t like meals in the cafeteria, I cook for myself every day. Thus, my passion on food is about cook them and make them delicious. Due to the fact that most people in my generation do not know too much skills about cook, and many of my friends like to eat fast food that would make them unhealthy, I would affect them during meetings, house visiting or parties by cook for them, instead of buying the food from restaurant, and of course I would like to tell them the benefit of choosing organic food.
5. Sometimes I felt very cold on the farm, but just fine in the campus, which makes me hard to decide how much to wear. So, it would be great if there would be some jacket on the farm for unexpected use.
One of the concepts we've discussed in the course that has been most memorable for me has been the concept of interdependence. I knew the importance of interdependence before starting the course, but the term has taken on a whole new significance over the past ten weeks. I’ve always thought of gardens and orchards as collections of individual plants and individual species. After the permaculture lesson I began to understand how all of the different plants support the others. I’ve also learned about the important role that animals play in gardens and food forests, whether they’re worms, bees, praying mantises, or tiny ducks. And don’t even get me started about fungal networks…
ReplyDeleteIn the same vein as biological and ecological interdependence, I’ve also learned important lessons about social interdependence. Within the U.S. alone, there are so many people who are malnourished. I knew this before the class, but what I didn’t fully understand was the nature of the problem. When I heard about the guerilla grafters and Ron Finley, I began to comprehend that the problem is structural and is functioning how it was intended to function. If every community had gardens and fruit trees along the sidewalks, the problems would by no means be fully ameliorated, but it would be a step in the right direction. Food banks help a large amount of people, but they function as a band-aid for a food system that, by its nature, leaves many people undernourished.
I have many more questions about food and farming than I did at the beginning of the quarter and I am content with this. Farming is an ever-evolving body of knowledge that constantly needs to be adapted due to climate, weather, location, invasive species, and many other factors. It is impossible to fully understand the organisms on a farm and their genetic adaptations, and this is one of the problems with our mindset about food and agriculture. In the past century, many people, myself included, have attempted to possess all of the secrets of farming and nutrition. The hubris in believing that any body of knowledge can be fully possessed has become apparent to me; farming involves a perpetual attentiveness to the crops and the land.
At some point in my life, hopefully soon, I want to help create community gardens or food forests. Though some changes can only come from the top, many can still be implemented on a smaller scale. Once enough people start relying on smaller farms for their food, the food industry will be pushed to change. This will take quite a while, but many people can still be helped in the meantime. I’m not sure what I want to do in the next few years but I’ve put of thought into learning about and becoming part of the slow food movement. I’m not exactly sure on how I want to participate in the movement so the first step is to learn even more about it. I also want to start buying local when I can and to improve my cooking skills, thus cutting out most processed foods from my diet.
A1. Over this course we have talked about a lot of different topics all related to farming and the agriculture system in the United States. Because I came into this class knowing virtually nothing about this subject, I found that almost everything we talked about was new and interesting in some way or another. Personally, I was most intrigued by the hands-on things we learned on the farm; I was really interested to learn how to graft trees, to look at bee hives, to see the tomatoes grow, and to cut the greens with the hand knife thing. Those were all new to me and just as educational as they were fun to learn. When I think back about out in class discussions I had the most fun talking about Princess Mononoke in Na Young and Siwook’s class. That was so much fun for me not only because I love that movie, but because it made me look back on my childhood with a more critical lens, especially in terms of things like environmental issues. It also was really interesting to think about an apocalyptic future and what we would do if we could start an idealistic community from nothing. I have a lot more questions that I know will keep coming up as new technology is developed, and as I move to other countries and see how other communities function. I am curious to see how the things I have learned about food and ecosystems will translate over in Taiwan on my island.
ReplyDeleteA2. As I was mentioning about, I definitely will remember the hands on approach we were able to take on the farm. I also will remember the joy I found in harvesting our own foods on the farm and taking them home and cooking that. That was such an enlightening and delicious experience. It definitely made me more conscious about what I am eating, and also more thoughtful about what food I can cook with the ingredients I have. Another thing I liked was what we did in the last class with planning out a T.V. show pitch. That was so interesting to me because it made me think about how much media affects our perceptions of the world around also, and also how that media can be manipulated by the people making it.
A3. I definitely learned a lot about farming and I want to incorporate that into my life at home in Maine, and perhaps even in Taiwan if the living environment is right. When we talked about permaculture and organic farming, and ecosystems that work together and function normally without the need for broad spectrum pesticides, all of those things made me eager to go home and look at the gardens around my house and put my mom to work. Well, my mom and me. I want to try and incorporate what we have learned about creating those self-functioning systems in my own home and reaping the yummy and cool benefits from it. I am also interested in seeing where I can locally grow, harvest, or purchase fresh, seasonal foods when I am in Taiwan. I know my island is fairly tropical and has a lot of fruits, so it will be interesting to eat-by-whats-in-season there.
A4. This is such a hard question mainly because of one of the thing we talked about in class once. I don’t know how long I will be in the new communities I am moving to. I may be moving every year, doing new things, for the next five years. I don’t know yet. So I am interested in making a difference, but I am not yet sure how I can do that. I think when I am in Taiwan I will start with my job. I will be working as an English Teacher, but I will be mainly working side-by-side with a home-room teacher. Because of this, I will have a lot of freedom with my lesson plans. I hope to be able to do a lot of hands-on, fun, and engaging activities with the kids to not only enhance cultural understanding between the United States and Taiwan, but also to teach the kids some really fun and meaningful things about their environment as well. After doing the thing with CAPS I feel as though I have learned how to make these things we have learned adapted to a younger age group, and it makes me feel as though I have the confidence to try these things with the kids in Taiwan as well.
DeleteA5. Honestly, I really liked this class as is. I thought content wise there was nothing that could be added on; this is a very broad subject but it was all really interesting and important to learn. If I had to think of something to be improved I would like a bit more structure for the Thursday classes; I think sometimes the conversation slowed when we just did big group discussions for over an hour, and I know sometimes I found it hard to talk in the big group. I felt that when we had a mix of individual, small group, and later big group discussions it flowed really well. I liked having time to think about my thoughts, talk them over with a small group, and then bring it together to reconvene with the large group. To me, that felt like the most effective use of time and I felt like I got to hear more peoples thoughts and even had more time to speak my own thoughts. Other then that, I loved everything about the class. It seemed to really embody a interdisciplinary class and it was so interesting to hear everyone's opinions as we all came from different backgrounds. Thank you guys so much!
I’m sure you’ve gotten this before, but this is truly the most unique course I’ve taken at Kalamazoo College. The questions, themes and ideas that we have explored throughout the past 10 weeks have been ones that are probably some of the most difficult to conceptualize, write about, analyze, and discuss because they don’t seem to be very tangible concepts that can be explained with logic and reasoning. Of course we experienced some of the steps that go into growing food- learning about the soil, soil health, vermacompost, planting seeds, transplanting, proper watering, proper harvesting, identifying pests, amongst others… All of these are the practical and tangible concepts that we have learned, but on a theoretical level we have spent a great deal of time discussing the value of growing our food, learning about growing our food, and the challenges that we face in doing this in our society today. Within this realm of increasing my consciousness of my consumption through food, I have been particularly interested in the idea of permaculture practices because this method of farming seems to be something that is feasible for me to continue learning about and implementing in my own lifestyle. I’m excited to continue exploring permaculture as I leave K, wherever I am, and then eventually be able to implement a permaculture food forest wherever I end up after collecting a bit more knowledge/information/experience. I wonder, though, if permaculture practices are something that can be sustained throughout the world, for the amount of people that we have? My logical reasoning says no, due to the sheer amount of resources that our natural world gifts us with it in consideration with the number of self-motivated human beings there are— but what if we shifted to more community and universally motivated human behavior patterns, and away from self-invested behaviors? Could permaculture practices then be more effective throughout the world?
ReplyDeleteI think I will definitely remember the progression of the 10 weeks- how at the beginning we were just planting seeds in some seemingly “empty” soil, and then over the period of the 10 weeks we experienced rain and some cold weather, too, but the plants were strong and some weeks the difference in their growth was barely noticeable but then on other weeks I was just so delighted to watch the lives of the plants flourish! This is something that I need to be reminded of in my own life- the slow and persistent growth that leads to such flourishing! This also ties into one of the biggest things that I’ve learned in this class- that the best things in life come with a little energy from us- what we cultivate in our actions will bring something for us— and that farming and growing food truly is a lot of work and dedication. I think that I like to think of myself as more physically able to sustain a gardening lifestyle, and I definitely think that it is within my capabilities to sustain one, but I’ve realized that since this lifestyle is something that is a bit novel to me, and different from the more hands-off one that I was raised in, it would take a bit of a difficult adjustment to get my body used to the work required for this. I have to be dedicated for it to work out, and I think that I am. I hope that I can put a dedicated, truthful, and persistent attitude into practice in my life after graduation, and continue expanding on my knowledge and experience, play a part in healthy and just food production even in the communities I am a short term or temporary member of, and then once I can afford a piece of land, I aim to design and cultivate my own food forest!
DeleteThe culmination of my education at Kalamazoo College is truly overall wellness and well-being, of the self, communities and the environment. As I enter the “real world” and explore my role and place in it, I know that I want to be a part of the work being done to promote well-being. I think that in the modern Western world, we aren’t properly educated on the tools to really take care of our minds and bodies in ways that don’t require a high dependency on the capitalistic system. A huge part of me wants to help share such tools: meditation, yoga, mindful, small-scale living, home gardening, outdoor nature experiences. Another huge part of me wants to keep exploring these parts of well-being outside of the modern Western world— when I think about why I want to run away to Thailand or India or Peru to keep learning about and experiencing aspects of these tools for well-being I realize that I’m just trying to escape my own reality here in the U.S. I wonder if going to these places would truly make me as happy as I think they will, or satisfy my curiosities as I imagine they will. I know that dedicating myself to fixing the system that I’m already a part of— here in the U.S.— will lead me to making a positive difference in the everyday lives of the people who can benefit from these wellness tools, and also the overall communities as they promote nonviolence and community-building, and the wellbeing of the planet as they promote a respect for all organisms. I will continue to ponder on the differences and the balance between my two post-grad possibilities and hopefully have a more articulated pursuit within the next couple months.
DeleteThe most interesting thing from this course is learning ideas from people outside of my majors. Even though K is open-curriculum and I already taken courses in different departments, I do not think I really have any chance to share ideas with people not in my major. I really enjoy the discussion for every topic. My favorite topic is touching the natural environment; we change the land near the church. After the activity I figured that natural environment can be changed by ourselves. For questions, I am really curious about how the technology change the food and agricultural system in last 50 years.
ReplyDeleteI think will remember most of what I learned in farm. Especially the skills I learned in farm. How to set the seeds in the land, the skills of watering the plants, and after it getting harvest how to deal with plants. The critical thinking, I learn through the discussion in the seminar is worth to remember and apply in the future. I will keep learning different people in different area’s opinions. Combine with myself.
For the part of agriculture policies, I hope to put more practice into it after graduation. I plan to read more research papers relate to this topic. Learn more about the agriculture policies in China. Currently, most of population in China is agricultural population. And most of them not working as farmers because they are not able to live with their lands and be a farmer. The history of agricultural policies in China contributes a lot in Chinese History since in Chinese ancient society farmers have higher social status than businessman. China used to be very strong centuries ago, one of the reason is the development of agriculture.
Through the seminar, I know much more about the natural world. My home has space for plants. I will do further research of plants at first. Then try to raise flowers in home. This summer I will back to my grandma’s small farm which I mentioned it during the first discussion of the seminar. I want to share what I learn from the seminar with my grandma. Hopefully my grandma would let me help her in the farm. Also, I will do more interaction with my grandma’s Hens. I remembered I try to feed them when I was small and now I have not touch them for many years. Hopefully I can get an egg back.
For further suggestion, I think the caucus can be added in the seminar discussion. And the student who responsible for the post would host the caucus. The caucus can be set in a relax way. The caucus includes moderated caucus and unmoderated caucus. Even though in unmoderated caucus, speaking time for a student in one topic is flexible. The host will control the topic and moving on to next topic. Between different moderated caucus, add in some unmoderated caucuses. The seminar divided by different groups, set up a stable time to discuss. Then come back to moderated caucus.
A1. First and foremost, I would like to state how this class was the perfect way to “cap” off my experience at Kalamazoo College. To some degree, taking Roots in the Earth as my first year seminar really impacted how rest of my college career went, from the whirl storm of extracurricular as freshmen and sophomore (ie. Sustainability Supper, Env Org, etc) to Writing Center as a senior. American Earth: Environmental Writing Since Thoreau showed me ways that communication and writing is effective but also compelling within environmental context. My interest in language and relating my experiences to others continued and I don’t think I would be the person I am now if I hadn’t taken Roots in the Earth as my first year seminar.
ReplyDeleteJust like Roots in the Earth, Slow Farming introduced me to a heaping mess called civilization. Yet it was interesting to see how everyone picked a different point of entry, a different topics of interest, which emphasizes the complex nature of these issues; and that is one of the major takeaways that I have from this class, complexity. It’s not a “new” concept so to say, since I already knew these issues were complex, but rather I’ve gained even deeper and more nuanced language to discuss these issues, which has been a constant journey since Roots in the Earth.
A2. I think the foraging day left the biggest impression in my mind, mostly because of the moment when Amy read out an excerpt of Braiding Sweetgrass. I remember tilting my head back, leaning into the wind, only to find a hawk soaring high above doing the same thing. Its shadow silhouette was a stark contrast against the bright blue sky. Amy’s voice rang clearly between the rush of wind that weaved through the prairie field. Young grass shoots bended gracefully, creating an image of waves traveling to shore. Then came the moment where I had to pull out the leeks. I’d plucked out grass, I’d weeded a garden, and I’d collected insect samples under the name of science. But that was a moment where I had made a decision to kill something, remove an organism from its rightful place so that I could eat it. I tried justifying my actions to myself by scattering corn across the ground, right next to the soil. But at the end of the day, my life exists on the death of others: microbes that I washed off my body; plants, fungi, and animals that I must eat to sustain my life; and trees that were cut down to build the houses I lived in. Even if I were to become a hunter-and-gatherer, a traveler that never stayed who owned nothing, my life will still be built on the death of others. Fortunately, however, for me that translates to “Let’s make the most out of the circumstance that places me in a cycle of life and death, and and let me do my part as a steward to this earth that we live on. Let me do my part in sustaining other life, if possible.”
Now, all this not to ignore the cycle and system of oppression that is built on the labor and blood of the marginalized – that is something I will also remember with clarity from this class. Clearly this wasn’t the first class where I learned about the systems of oppression, but again, I’ve gained better language in discussing how this structure we live in really permeates through everything, even down to the foods that we eat. Elitist language surrounds the social justice movement, giving the movement a reputation of rich young college kids with nothing better to do. No, this does not just impact the institutions of higher education and has a very real-world context to it.
A3. There is no shortage of work to be done, so I better get started.
DeleteA4. This is a rough question for me right now because recently I went through some mid-life crisis, wondering if I am in the right department. Yes, it’s a little to late for regrets seeing how I’m graduating in few days. However, I know I don’t want to go into research science like I thought I did. The entire time I thought I liked nature because scientific thinking could be applied to it, but then I realized that I liked science because it was another way to understand nature. At least I have enough background to say I understand how scientific research works, and that is a tool and a weapon I will yield (went through a lot of emotional mess to get that degree might as well use it). Furthermore, for a biology major, I’m not a bad writer – I don’t mean that as in I’m a great writer now, but more as in I believe that practicing and improving my writing is crucial to my success as a scientist and as a person in general. Communication, not just in informative manner but also ways that are emotionally compelling, is important to me. I also have the tools (and interest and motivation, those two are always important) to put scientific issues into a social context (ex. issues of GMO and understanding the scientific background paired with knowing how GMO issues translate to a status symbol to some degree because of socioeconomic barriers that may prevent people from affording a non-GMO food).
And I come from an environment that is culturally diverse, and I don’t think I’ll ever be limited to one country (physically culturally, etc). For a long time, I was sad because that also meant home is not just a place, but a time as well, somewhere I can’t return. But that’s a strength now.
A5. More structure would be nice? Having a clearer idea of what is expected because during the course I felt that it’s based on the personal investment of the students, as in people gave varying levels of effort. It would be nicer if that was more standardized? But that’s it.