Post by Krissy on Sept 13, 2011 0:20:43 GMT
Hi all, you may or may not remember me, I used to post here about a year ago but have been unable to post since then. Why? Long story, won't get into it now.
Anyway, I just wanted to post some thoughts I've had recently on Dinosaurs. A school a family friend of mine teaches at was recently doing an ongoing project on Dinosaurs. She asked me to come in and talk with the kids about Dinos. I intially protested, pointing out that I don't have any official qualifications and I don't consider myself that knowledgable. However after much coercion I agreed to go along with it.
Talking to the kids about Dinosaurs was a pretty stunning experience. Recently I've been attempting to emulate professional paleontologists and be very official, detached and level-headed when talking about Dinosaurs. This was the mentality I went into the classroom with, but it didn't last long.
The kids were so enthusiastic, so eager to learn, that I just couldn't maintain a more-learned-than-thou attitude. Of course the most common questions were about 'who would win in a fight, Dinosaur X or Dinosaur Y?' or 'who would win in a fight, Dinosaur X or six of Dinosaur Y?' And I honestly could not resist answering them as best as I could.
Some people frown down on this, and suggest it's objectifying Dinosaurs as perpetually violent monsters. However seeing all these eager kids asking me in good faith which of their favourites would win took me back to when I was a little girl.
Dinosaurs fighting one another and being fierce wasn't simply exciting, it sparked the imagination and was symbolic of the whole world of Dinosaurs. To me as a kid, Dinos like Tyrannosaurus and Triceratops had the appeal of Greek Gods - they were giant, fallible titans who were fated to battle one another for supermacy in an ancient, untouchable yet very real realm. Your favourite Dinosaur was like your patron saint and you cheered him on.
So what's my point? I don't know, I just thought I'd share my experience and thoughts. I guess I think sometimes in the pursuit of professionalism, which is admirable, people tend to lose sight of what appeals to most people about Dinosaurs and we shouldn't be so reluctant to indulge other's interests. After all, we want to attract people to the world of Dinosaurs, not discourage them.
Sorry for this random rant, just wanted to get my thoughts off my chest.
Anyway, I just wanted to post some thoughts I've had recently on Dinosaurs. A school a family friend of mine teaches at was recently doing an ongoing project on Dinosaurs. She asked me to come in and talk with the kids about Dinos. I intially protested, pointing out that I don't have any official qualifications and I don't consider myself that knowledgable. However after much coercion I agreed to go along with it.
Talking to the kids about Dinosaurs was a pretty stunning experience. Recently I've been attempting to emulate professional paleontologists and be very official, detached and level-headed when talking about Dinosaurs. This was the mentality I went into the classroom with, but it didn't last long.
The kids were so enthusiastic, so eager to learn, that I just couldn't maintain a more-learned-than-thou attitude. Of course the most common questions were about 'who would win in a fight, Dinosaur X or Dinosaur Y?' or 'who would win in a fight, Dinosaur X or six of Dinosaur Y?' And I honestly could not resist answering them as best as I could.
Some people frown down on this, and suggest it's objectifying Dinosaurs as perpetually violent monsters. However seeing all these eager kids asking me in good faith which of their favourites would win took me back to when I was a little girl.
Dinosaurs fighting one another and being fierce wasn't simply exciting, it sparked the imagination and was symbolic of the whole world of Dinosaurs. To me as a kid, Dinos like Tyrannosaurus and Triceratops had the appeal of Greek Gods - they were giant, fallible titans who were fated to battle one another for supermacy in an ancient, untouchable yet very real realm. Your favourite Dinosaur was like your patron saint and you cheered him on.
So what's my point? I don't know, I just thought I'd share my experience and thoughts. I guess I think sometimes in the pursuit of professionalism, which is admirable, people tend to lose sight of what appeals to most people about Dinosaurs and we shouldn't be so reluctant to indulge other's interests. After all, we want to attract people to the world of Dinosaurs, not discourage them.
Sorry for this random rant, just wanted to get my thoughts off my chest.
;D
