I am posting late due to problems with the server and my lack of experience with posting blogs. Maybe I will get it figured out soon. : )
Blog 2, January 31, 2007
I have read chapters 9 and 10 of the Renninger & Shumar text. I did enjoy reading both chapters. I thought it was interesting to read how members of communities would rather listen to advice from non-professionals than professionals. I was reminded that in times past information give and take occurred between family members and neighbors more so than via professionals. I am speaking of the times when families lived close to one another and neighbors were more involved in each others lives. Younger women consulted the old women on advice from mothering to managing a household and other pertinent issue of the times. Women would gather to work together with a common goal of food preparation such as canning the crop yield, sewing etc. The community would gather to build barns, homes and other structures and help their neighbor. Many conversations regarding advice were exchanged at these types of gatherings. Today, our society is scattered more than in days past. We no longer have the congregating of families and friends to store food or sew quilts etc as was once a practice of survival. Families have moved apart and are fragmented making it more difficult to get advice from one another. The internet is a medium that brings individuals together in a community of sorts.
The professional contacts in the past were from physicians who practiced their medical work via home visits and not in offices. Today it is different. The availability of professional advice is limited to the practice of making appointments and paying with insurance and/or cash methods. I think that people seek out advice from peers online in much the same fashion as our parents and their parents did except the internet is available for the connection rather than just a walk down the street. Where I live, there is very little sharing of information from neighbors; I do not knock on doors to ask advice of any issue. The sense of community is distant rather than close enough to seek experience or advice. This is not to say that I am a not a good neighbor but neighborly behaviors exist in both being willing to be available for each other. I think that using the internet or advice from peers allows one to gather a variety of suggestions and then choose which advice seems to fit the need. I think that with the availability of “experts” online one uses these individuals as credible consultants for issues and advice.
Question 2 will be posted in a separate blog, I fear getting my work truncated again.
Julie
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4 comments:
Julie, as our environment has expanded it's boundaries through technology- isn't it interesting that we no longer see the physical neighbor like in the past? I have thought about that too- does it link back to creditability or are we just lazy? maybe both! Allison
I also thought of the traditions and teachings that are passed down from person to person in a family or physical community when I was reading about wired groups. If Grandma had access to the internet she could have spread a lot of practical advice around more efficiently. I can't help but think that this is a good thing. :)
Julie
Thank you for your post, I enjoyed your correlation to quilting bees and barn raising as being a forum where information and advice was shared. The physicality has changed but it is clear people still reach out to each other. Helen T.
Julie and all, I definitely agree with you about the human wisdom passed down from our ancestors or spread from our friends. Regarding mothering and cooking, we often get better or more useful advice from our friends and neighbors than books and experts. Therefore, I guess it is up to us to critically judge the validity and reliability of the source of information.
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