At the end of every class I always struggle to remember what I have learned. All the lessons run together and it is usually impossible to distinguish everything again for the end of the year exams. In a way, I am grateful for the opportunity to synthesize and compile everything into one final post. This is the first course I have taken so far at Lewis & Clark that has left an electronic trail of every section covered, by way of online posts, throughout the year. Apart from the convenience, these posts also left me with a sense of improvement and with lessons that I may very well carry with me for the rest of my academic career.
One of the most influential lessons I will take from this class is that there needs to be more than one way to understand something. One perspective on an issue, regardless of the research, will not be accurately representing the subject at hand. Of course I have been exposed to bias before this, but the situating minerals assignment took this understanding to a whole new level (Situating Minerals Assignment). All of a sudden I became aware that my writing did not truly represent the places I was studying. There is a subtlety to the writing process that I now understand as gaining a second perspective without altering the way in which I speak. I must be constantly thinking of the potential for other views to have relevance, regardless of how I interpret the situation from my point of view.
In my personal life, ENVS 160 has provided something always needed and greatly appreciated: conversation. I feel equipped to discuss matters that I had previously agreed/disagreed with, but had no concrete reasons as to why. Even in my other courses, like BIO 200, I find myself using the information ENVS has taught me almost as a boost over other students (specifically about GMO’s). I am finally educated on environmental issues and how they affect our country and our globe, and as as such I finally feel like a true intellectual citizen of this world.
I am also carrying a few more lessons into my work as a natural history ornithological curator on campus. While it seems minor to some, I cannot stress enough how genuinely thankful I am that Dr. Proctor insists upon absolutely perfect citations. Until this course, I had gotten away with using free websites and citing in whatever form they offered. I had no understanding of the intricacies of academic citations. Now, however, I am equipped to cite everything correctly not only in this field, but in every other field I may study that uses chicago author/date, including my curatorial work. It impressed my boss tremendously that I could cite correctly in our lab manual, and that knowledge and praise was worth every frustrating assignment it took to learn proper citations. If I have any advice for students who are reading this post, it is to please take the time to learn correct citations. It makes all the difference in how your writing is received and it isn’t even that difficult after a little bit of practice. Who would have thought the most important lesson I learned in ENVS 160 would be related to citations? However strange this may seem, I believe this will be one of the few things that may actually carry throughout my entire life. So take it seriously, and thank you to Dr. Proctor for teaching me