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Working with the Boise Watershed as a service learning partner has been remarkably positive; some of the reasons for this positive experience are due to the specific partner, and some of the reasons are inherent to service learning. I’m unsure which is which though, hence the benefit of this reflective essay--uncovering and understanding specific reasons behind my learning.
I think one of the things I enjoyed most was learning about the waste-water treatment process in general and the West Boise Treatment Facility in specific. I had no idea what happened when waste-water goes down the drain. I was intrigued by the scientific details (bacteria, ultraviolet disinfection, etc.), the education facility, and the people involved. I’m unsure if another service learning partner would be as informative, but I believe this benefit is inherent to service learning: serving any community partner would be eye-opening and informative.
Cindy, our community partner liaison, was great to work with. She gave us very specific goals for our project, an articulate description of the audience we were to reach, and a valuable perspective on our work. She met with us more than she technically needed to, she helped get video footage, and she got permission from parents for us to film the kids. I’m sure there are other community partner liaisons who would make a service learning experience similarly enjoyable, but I’m sure one of the reasons for the success of this project was due to Cindy.
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I was surprised about the dichotomy of language in the waste-treatment field; it seemed like there was a definitely scientific language-set (there are a surprising number of euphemisms for...waste), but there was also a group that valued less formal language (Cindy told us to “feel free to use poo humor”--I never thought I’d hear that in school). I feel like this stark divergence in language is due to the community’s desire to be a respected member of the scientific field while still being viewed as fun and approachable. Formalizing language distances themselves from a traditionally stigmatized subject: poo. On the other hand, embracing bathroom humor helps disarm a hostile audience by proving they can be hip. Now that I write this essay, I realize that all the informal language was used at the education facility, while the formal language tended to revolve around the waste-water treatment essays, descriptions, websites, etc. The few news reports and other neutral descriptions that I looked at tended to be in the middle of this language spectrum--they would address/use the humor/stigma of human waste, yet still utilize scientific phraseology.
Where did we fit into this formality continuum in our project? In our video, we almost exclusively used a professional, near-humorless tone (except the flushing noise transitions, water-themed word choice, etc.). This was kind of at odds with what Cindy said we could do, but I feel like it was still a good decision--I feel like informal humor may be appropriate for personal settings, but could potentially alienate teachers and other audience members of our video. I sensed that Cindy would have appreciated more potty humor in our video, but I got the impression that her boss would not have (he wouldn’t let her wear a poo Halloween costume, and he never complained about our tone in any of his feedback). Also, I personally don’t find bathroom humor all that funny. I think Tom has an excellent point that sometimes working as a professional means not following instructions to more effectively accomplish rhetorical goals.
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Service learning this semester has emphasized to me how applicable and useful rhetorical theory can be in a non-academic setting. It has grounded my conception of what it’s like to collaborate professionally. It has helped me foster civic awareness and responsibility. It has informed me about the waste-water treatment process and has generally been awesome. Before this class, the closest my writing got to the Boise Watershed facility was when it was really crappy; now, my conception of effective composition derives depth from my experience, of which this project ranks high.
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