As David and I reviewed the previous posts I am admittedly a bit, no really overwhelmed, by the length and narratives posted here. It feels daunting to me to be “up next” with David and I am conscience of not wanting to let him or you down! Yet I am not in a place where I feel compelled or able to offer something as reflective and insightful has those previously posted. I am grateful for David’ s wisdom which guided him in talking me down off the ceiling with saying how important it is for us as a community to create a place where everyone can find a way to contribute. So our way of inviting you to contribute this week is to ask you to pick up on the common theme offered by a combination of comments made by Dawn and Dave:
Go to a place where there will be new people in the environment and sit back and observe how the new people are picking up social and contextual clues and the norms: how are they being perceived by the regulars. A couple of ideas; a coffee shop, a public bus, a public library, a faith community experience.
Let us all know what you learned from you observations and how it can guide our work with students.
Renee & David C
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Well...I guess I'll accept your challenge. I'm currently at the Coffee Tree in Shadyside. I'm escaping the heat with some iced coffee and a bit of computer time.
ReplyDeleteI just want to make a few comments on what I see in this coffee shop:
1) It is clear that this shop is designed to attract those who like coffee (or something with bits of coffee in it) and loitering. The majority of people here are alone. Their only companion is a laptop and possibly a smart phone. It's a fairly homogeneous crowd of 20-30 somethings that look like they have work to do.
2) I'm here with my wife...but we don't even look like we're here together. We're sitting at separate tables and haven't spoken in at least 30 minutes. I'm tempted to Google chat with her now that I've tpyed this.
3) I'm curious how many people are here for social interaction, but are putting on the front that they have work to do. This makes me wonder about the "study" spaces on campus or around campus. The majority (VAST MAJORITY) of my studying during graduate school happened in a coffee shop. In Iowa City they have all kinds of coffee shops designed for students to study (both in groups and individually). The library was a fall back for me...but the food (mostly the coffee and baked goods) was not nearly as good. What do our Housing communities at CMU offer?
Alright...I'm going to get back to my work (I promise I'm working...I don't even have Facebook to distract me).