For perspective...This is what financially disadvantaged students deal with..
Every single decision made is based on whether or not you will have to pay for it above and beyond the cost of attendance. The class has an optional field trip to a place 10 mi away? I don't have a car, how will I get there? Sometimes you can go with other students, but often you can't because the seats are taken. there is an optional class to be taken on the other side of the city/county/state/planet...its not happening. I came into undergrad broke. The dorms fed you M-F, then Sat you got two meals, and Sunday you got one. That is what I ate my first year in college because all of my money went to school. The rules were all freshman and sophomores that lived outside of a certain distance form ISU had to live in the dorms (unless married). Each summer, I would work multiple jobs so I had enough to pay for books and possibly some other expenses. The summer after my freshman year I worked night shift at the truck stop as a janitor 40+ hrs a week, then turned around and worked in the kitchen washing dishes and cleaning vats at the hospital. Between these two I made enough at $4.00/hr to pay for most of my expenses. This gave me just enough money I could afford to go to the movies once a week and eat on the weekends after also working 20-30 hours a week at school. The end of Sophomore year I was an undergrad research assistant for 5 hrs a week and worked at burger king for $3.35/hr. Most of that went into school. Junior year I started working in the night manager program (night shift) 30 hr/wk. I did this through my senior year. It paid substantially more and financial aid benefits had grown a lot by that time. However, my father lost his job after 22 years and so I was sending money home. Even though I was now making more. That continued on midway through my MS. Then, when you graduate with a PHD, you don't have the option of declining a bad job, because you have a student loan heap on your head that must be paid, forget feeding yourself or your children. It sounds like no big deal to go off campus to take necessary courses the school doesn't offer. But if you are financially disadvantaged, its not an option. And, that financial disadvantage continues to haunt you all the way through until after you graduate with a PHD because you have to take care of all those student loans, and deal with the missed opportunities that result because you could not afford to take advantage of them. It actually angers me quite a bit when people use the old, "well you can just..." No you can't if you are living from dime to dime, day to day. Malcolm On Sat, May 17, 2014 at 12:23 PM, <[email protected]> wrote: > Absolutely true, Malcolm and others. Sure, OTS is an important organization > that provides access to tropical field locations for those students who can > afford it. But when I was an undergrad, I had to work at a job year round, > and go to school near home. I did not have money for travel to foreign > countries, I had to spend my money to eat, have a roof over my head, have > clothing to wear, and pay school expenses. > > I have been a faculty member in institutions that served primarily poor and > mostly first generation students. Though they generally had more financial > support than was typical 50 years ago, they still struggled financially. > Some were single parents, trying to get a leg up in school. Try telling the > OTS adviser that you'll be bringing your three year old with you. > > No field courses at the institution? Then for them, no field courses. Even > making the field trips in country can be a struggle for some poor students, > when the institution specifies that students pay their own travel expenses. > Getting their head, and their wallet, around travel to Brazil may just be > beyond them. > > But I made it a point to provide meaningful field biology experiences within > my department, and close to home. And a major reason that is going away in > so many institutions is that field biology is going away. It needn't. > > David McNeely > > ---- Malcolm McCallum <[email protected]> wrote: >> When students must travel half-way around the world to get this kind >> of experience, you can be assured that their will be a significant >> disadvantage for those who are financially disadvantaged. My attitude >> as an undergraduate would have been (and was) if this was really >> important, the school would have it on campus for everyone to take. >> >> Boy, I've learned how wrong I was about how schools often select what >> they offer. >> >> On Fri, May 16, 2014 at 10:41 PM, Kimberly G. Smith <[email protected]> wrote: >> > I am following this thread with some amusement... I am in Belize with 20 >> > undergraduates on a natural history course... next week, 45 students from >> > University of Arkansas will travel to Dangriga Belize for your 7th summer >> > of service/learning for 3 weeks.... >> > >> > As others have mentioned, if you feel seriously about field experiences, >> > it is up to you to provide those experiences for your students... I find >> > it is very rewarding and a life changing experience for many students.... >> > >> > Saludos, Kim >> > **************************************** >> > Kimberly G. Smith >> > University Professor of Biology >> > Department of Biological Sciences >> > University of Arkansas >> > Fayetteville, AR 72701 USA >> > phone 479-575-6359 fax 479-575-4010 >> > email [email protected] >> > **************************************** >> > >> > ________________________________________ >> > From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news >> > [[email protected]] on behalf of Andrés Santana >> > [[email protected]] >> > Sent: Friday, May 16, 2014 5:20 PM >> > To: [email protected] >> > Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] Loss of field courses, continued >> > >> > We at OTS share this concern. We truly believe that field courses and >> > field research present students with some of the best opportunities to do >> > research and understand nature. I know firsthand that spending a semester >> > out in field stations taking courses and doing research is a life changing >> > experience. I was fortunate enough to be chosen to participate in a field >> > semester with and OTS program. >> > OTS specializes in field courses and we welcome any faculty member that >> > wants to teach a course at any one of our field stations. We are >> > constantly working on and thinking of new field course topics in ecology >> > and evolution that will prove beneficial to students (undergrad and grad) >> > in their professional and academic careers. We would be glad to hear your >> > input and work with any of you setting up courses to teach your students >> > or students from any university. >> > >> > Best, >> > >> > Andrés Santana >> > Graduate Education Department >> > Organization for Tropical Studies >> > San Pedro, Costa Rica. 676-2050 >> > (506) 2524-0607 ext. 1511 >> > Skype: andres.santana_otscro >> > www.ots.ac.cr >> > twitter: @ots_tropicaledu >> > >> > >> > -----Original Message----- >> > From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news >> > [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Malcolm McCallum >> > Sent: Friday, May 16, 2014 01:08 PM >> > To: [email protected] >> > Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] Loss of field courses, continued >> > >> > Bruce Bury's article... >> > Bury, B. 2006. Natural history, field ecology, conservation biology, and >> > wildlife management: Time to connect the dots. Herpetological Conservation >> > and Biology 1:56-61. >> > http://www.herpconbio.org/volume_1/issue_1/Bury_2006.pdf >> > >> > On Fri, May 16, 2014 at 10:19 AM, David Inouye <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> Paul Dayton asked me to post this: >> >> >> >> Dear Colleagues, I have enjoyed reading your laments about the loss of >> >> field courses and of course have strong opinions about this because it >> >> really is also the loss of respect for nature herself. We can't >> >> really understand nature without experiencing it and students can't >> >> experience it hiding behind computers in cloistered ivory towers. >> >> Harry Greene and I have written about this: >> >> >> >> The importance of Natural Sciences to Conservation, 2003. American >> >> Naturalist (162) and Organisms in Nature as a central focus in biology >> >> 2005, TREE (20) >> >> >> >> and Ian Billick and Mary Price have a wonderful book: The Ecology of >> >> Place I urge you to buy and read it. >> >> >> >> But the most important challenge I offer those of you who care enough >> >> to comment is to offer a field course yourself. Try it; it takes a >> >> little time but even if you don't know that much, your students will >> >> help teach it for you and soon you will be considered a legendary >> >> naturalist. Don't just complain, offer a field course yourself. It >> >> will evolve and you will learn a lot and have a lot of fun as well. >> >> Finally, ESA has a Natural History Section in need of your support and >> >> enthusiasm as it I think Nature is disappearing within ESA just as it did >> >> in the Amer. Soc. of Naturalists. >> >> Once students lose track of nature and become professors with no >> >> understanding or experience themselves, it is hard to recover the >> >> sense of wonder nature can induce in our science. >> >> >> >> Paul Dayton <[email protected]> >> > >> > >> > >> > -- >> > Malcolm L. McCallum, PHD, REP >> > Department of Environmental Studies >> > University of Illinois at Springfield >> > >> > Managing Editor, >> > Herpetological Conservation and Biology >> > >> > “Nothing is more priceless and worthy of preservation than the rich array >> > of animal life with which our country has been blessed. It is a >> > many-faceted treasure, of value to scholars, scientists, and nature lovers >> > alike, and it forms a vital part of the heritage we all share as >> > Americans.” >> > -President Richard Nixon upon signing the Endangered Species Act of >> > 1973 into law. >> > >> > "Peer pressure is designed to contain anyone with a sense of drive" - >> > Allan Nation >> > >> > 1880's: "There's lots of good fish in the sea" W.S. Gilbert >> > 1990's: Many fish stocks depleted due to overfishing, habitat loss, >> > and pollution. >> > 2000: Marine reserves, ecosystem restoration, and pollution reduction >> > MAY help restore populations. >> > 2022: Soylent Green is People! >> > >> > The Seven Blunders of the World (Mohandas Gandhi) Wealth w/o work Pleasure >> > w/o conscience Knowledge w/o character Commerce w/o morality Science w/o >> > humanity Worship w/o sacrifice Politics w/o principle >> > >> > Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message, including any attachments, is >> > for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential >> > and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or >> > distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please >> > contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original >> > message. >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > --- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by >> > MailScanner, and is believed to be clean. >> >> >> >> -- >> Malcolm L. McCallum, PHD, REP >> Department of Environmental Studies >> University of Illinois at Springfield >> >> Managing Editor, >> Herpetological Conservation and Biology >> >> “Nothing is more priceless and worthy of preservation than the rich >> array of animal life with which our country has been blessed. It is a >> many-faceted treasure, of value to scholars, scientists, and nature >> lovers alike, and it forms a vital part of the heritage we all share >> as Americans.” >> -President Richard Nixon upon signing the Endangered Species Act of >> 1973 into law. >> >> "Peer pressure is designed to contain anyone with a sense of drive" - >> Allan Nation >> >> 1880's: "There's lots of good fish in the sea" W.S. Gilbert >> 1990's: Many fish stocks depleted due to overfishing, habitat loss, >> and pollution. >> 2000: Marine reserves, ecosystem restoration, and pollution reduction >> MAY help restore populations. >> 2022: Soylent Green is People! >> >> The Seven Blunders of the World (Mohandas Gandhi) >> Wealth w/o work >> Pleasure w/o conscience >> Knowledge w/o character >> Commerce w/o morality >> Science w/o humanity >> Worship w/o sacrifice >> Politics w/o principle >> >> Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message, including any >> attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may >> contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized >> review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not >> the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and >> destroy all copies of the original message. > > -- > David McNeely -- Malcolm L. McCallum, PHD, REP Department of Environmental Studies University of Illinois at Springfield Managing Editor, Herpetological Conservation and Biology “Nothing is more priceless and worthy of preservation than the rich array of animal life with which our country has been blessed. It is a many-faceted treasure, of value to scholars, scientists, and nature lovers alike, and it forms a vital part of the heritage we all share as Americans.” -President Richard Nixon upon signing the Endangered Species Act of 1973 into law. "Peer pressure is designed to contain anyone with a sense of drive" - Allan Nation 1880's: "There's lots of good fish in the sea" W.S. Gilbert 1990's: Many fish stocks depleted due to overfishing, habitat loss, and pollution. 2000: Marine reserves, ecosystem restoration, and pollution reduction MAY help restore populations. 2022: Soylent Green is People! The Seven Blunders of the World (Mohandas Gandhi) Wealth w/o work Pleasure w/o conscience Knowledge w/o character Commerce w/o morality Science w/o humanity Worship w/o sacrifice Politics w/o principle Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message.
