After reading chapter one, I couldn't help but connect the differences between reality and good as mentioned in the reading to our discussion on play. The chapter states, "This era places before us a pragmatic demand— to learn about our own sense of the good and the reality of difference manifested in the beliefs and actions of others" (Arnett 39-40). This felt similar to how we discussed how we know play is good for children, but the reality is sadly that play is still not a part of school curriculum. This would mean that or sense of "good" in play is manifested differently in the actions of schools. However, if this idea has not been made apparent to schools, we can not expect them to do anything to change how play is available to students. It is all about communication, and if issues are not openly expressed, we cannot expect anybody to do anything about them.
This connects to a recent struggle I had at work. At the beginning of the summer, I was promoted to being a night manager at the country club restaurant that I work at. However, this meant a large increase in hours. Quickly, I realized that my new hours did not align well with the schooling that I was involved in alongside various other extra curriculars. I found myself to be overwhelmed with all of my new responsibilities. I was frustrated that my job could not see that my new hours were a struggle for me. Then, I realized that nothing would be done if I did not openly communicate my needs. See, my interpretation of "good" would ideally be making a decent amount of money, less hours and more time for other things in my life, such as school. My job thought that what was "good" for me would be to make as much money as I could to pay for school, which was exemplified through their actions by giving me more hours. When I did finally communicate how my needs were not matching theirs, we were able to come to an agreement about how both involved parties could be happy by giving me less hours, but more opportunities to pick up smaller shifts if they needed me.
Cam,
ReplyDeleteI really liked how you made a connection between what we see as "good" for children and how you related it to your summer job. The idea that employers promote your title and give you more hours for a result in making more money I think fits into what we have talked about as a sense of "good." In the lens of your employer, they think that this is something that will be beneficial to you as you had the ability to clock more hours. What you have described as your "good" is something that worked for your schedule. I think this could be a common theme among many people in their lives when they see two different sides of "good' for themselves, but don't communicate that. We have talked a lot in class already about how important communication is in our lives and how we interact with people. It's interesting to see how if we take a step back from a situation like this, and see what was lacking, we can figure out how to move forward.
I have seen a similar situation like yours in my life with my on campus job. I was promoted to manager of one of the barn units on campus, but it has come with more responsibility and little guidance. I have noticed the lack of communication with my supervisor and the rest of the workers. It feels like I have to have a helping hand on everything I do. However, I have noticed a change that has helped me out. If I express the "good" of what is helpful in my schedule/life to other workers and my supervisor, we're able to accomplish the tasks we need to complete.