Culminating Project
For my culminating project I wrote and illustrated a children’s book called The Creatures of Scofield Hollow. In the book there are a pack of beavers that lose their home in a storm. They search far away for more trees to rebuild their home but run into a problem; there are squirrels, raccoons and birds that need the trees too. The leader of the beaver believes that he and his family have a right to the trees because their animal trait is cutting them down. He tells the other animals they will have to figure out another way to rebuild their home until a little squirrel named Shelby and a young beaver named Eugene work together to make a compromise so that all the animals can get what they need in order to survive. Through effective communication, the creatures realized that each of them had a resource they could trade and share with the others. The recycling raccoons show the animals how to spare some trees by using old bark that has fallen off. The birds trade berries and worms, and the squirrel trade acorns. The leader of the beavers realizes what the animals are willing to share and invites the creatures to drink out of their river a couple miles away. The animals created a great community where everyone could live conformable, taking just the amount of resources they needed.
In the class Human Services Professionals and Community Systems (HSP 404) we did an activity that encouraged the theme of this book. Everyone in the room had to write down something they were good at with their heart, hands and head. At the end of the exercise the board was filled with great skills and strengths. Our small class of twenty-four students had enough skills and knowledge to create a successful community, encouraging me to see how many strength each community member has and can contribute to society.
I wanted to focus on community development for my book because it is something that has stuck with me all year and I believe it is an important topic to teach to children. Scofield Hollow portrays how people (or creatures for that matter) working together creates strong communities that meets need of all its’ members. The leader of the beavers depicts the people in societies with power who believe that they have an inherent right to resources that everyone needs. The other animals try to show him that these trees belong to everyone; there is enough for everyone to live comfortably if they take only what they need. Shelby and Eugene depict the compromisers who brainstorm how everyone could live peacefully together. They communicate to the leader that each animal had something the other could use and can trade with one another to make a strong community. This story portrays that there is enough resources for everyone and fair distribution of common goods creates a successful community where each animal can live peacefully. The story also portrays that each animal has different knowledge and skill that they can provide in order to make a successful community.
I learned so many great themes in the human service major making it difficult to stick with one for my children’s book. When writing out my rough draft, I was coming up with great human service themes but felt that it would be hard to translate it into book that could be read at a kid level. Once I sat down and actually thought how I could adapt these values onto paper I realized good morals and ethics, whether they be taught through the human service program or just a basic moral code, were so simple anyone could understand it. The privatization of resources to the disparity of wealth would have been simple to write out into a book that young children could comprehend, which made me ask myself why can’t others? Why can’t the adults running our countries and nations see the fundamental basic rights of food, water, shelter, security, that belong to all humans?
While reflecting on this concept, I was talking with my brother who is very different from me; he is a conservative country boy who lives in Montana, while I like to think of myself as more liberal western Washingtonian. I was talking with him about my passion for human kind and about the systems that oppress people, international corporations that hold all the power, how every world issue can be related to one another. We instantly started disagreeing with one another because of our complete opposite viewpoints. He majored in wildlife and plants, the way I feel about helping people is how he feels about nature. I realized I know as little about his passion as he does about mine. How could I assume that all these human rights concepts were so simple to see? They are simple for me to see because it is my passion and it is the way my brain is wired. The education I have gained through the human service program in the last two years has strengthened me as a person and cultivated my worldview. But that is my experience that has lead me to what I know and where I am. I can’t assume my brother is on the same journey as I.
Instead of continuing to argue, I realized that we both needed to have a honest discussion with no interruptions and simply just listen to one another. By doing this I learned a lot from my brother about the diversity of the ecosystem surrounding us; the different purposes of shrubs and birds and how they work together in their ecosystem. The way he explained nature’s systems and how everything is interconnected was exactly how I have come to learn about the world. Being able to frame what I know through a lens that he understands and visa versa made it so we could truly understand one another. This realization made a huge impact on the way I see things. Maybe the things so simple to me aren’t to others, but they could be if they were communicated based on each individual thought process. We can all learn a lot from one another by being able to have honest, open communication. Being able to see different viewpoints, being open minded and seeing that there is something to learn from everyone and thing has helped transform me into becoming the person I want to be.
In the class Human Services Professionals and Community Systems (HSP 404) we did an activity that encouraged the theme of this book. Everyone in the room had to write down something they were good at with their heart, hands and head. At the end of the exercise the board was filled with great skills and strengths. Our small class of twenty-four students had enough skills and knowledge to create a successful community, encouraging me to see how many strength each community member has and can contribute to society.
I wanted to focus on community development for my book because it is something that has stuck with me all year and I believe it is an important topic to teach to children. Scofield Hollow portrays how people (or creatures for that matter) working together creates strong communities that meets need of all its’ members. The leader of the beavers depicts the people in societies with power who believe that they have an inherent right to resources that everyone needs. The other animals try to show him that these trees belong to everyone; there is enough for everyone to live comfortably if they take only what they need. Shelby and Eugene depict the compromisers who brainstorm how everyone could live peacefully together. They communicate to the leader that each animal had something the other could use and can trade with one another to make a strong community. This story portrays that there is enough resources for everyone and fair distribution of common goods creates a successful community where each animal can live peacefully. The story also portrays that each animal has different knowledge and skill that they can provide in order to make a successful community.
I learned so many great themes in the human service major making it difficult to stick with one for my children’s book. When writing out my rough draft, I was coming up with great human service themes but felt that it would be hard to translate it into book that could be read at a kid level. Once I sat down and actually thought how I could adapt these values onto paper I realized good morals and ethics, whether they be taught through the human service program or just a basic moral code, were so simple anyone could understand it. The privatization of resources to the disparity of wealth would have been simple to write out into a book that young children could comprehend, which made me ask myself why can’t others? Why can’t the adults running our countries and nations see the fundamental basic rights of food, water, shelter, security, that belong to all humans?
While reflecting on this concept, I was talking with my brother who is very different from me; he is a conservative country boy who lives in Montana, while I like to think of myself as more liberal western Washingtonian. I was talking with him about my passion for human kind and about the systems that oppress people, international corporations that hold all the power, how every world issue can be related to one another. We instantly started disagreeing with one another because of our complete opposite viewpoints. He majored in wildlife and plants, the way I feel about helping people is how he feels about nature. I realized I know as little about his passion as he does about mine. How could I assume that all these human rights concepts were so simple to see? They are simple for me to see because it is my passion and it is the way my brain is wired. The education I have gained through the human service program in the last two years has strengthened me as a person and cultivated my worldview. But that is my experience that has lead me to what I know and where I am. I can’t assume my brother is on the same journey as I.
Instead of continuing to argue, I realized that we both needed to have a honest discussion with no interruptions and simply just listen to one another. By doing this I learned a lot from my brother about the diversity of the ecosystem surrounding us; the different purposes of shrubs and birds and how they work together in their ecosystem. The way he explained nature’s systems and how everything is interconnected was exactly how I have come to learn about the world. Being able to frame what I know through a lens that he understands and visa versa made it so we could truly understand one another. This realization made a huge impact on the way I see things. Maybe the things so simple to me aren’t to others, but they could be if they were communicated based on each individual thought process. We can all learn a lot from one another by being able to have honest, open communication. Being able to see different viewpoints, being open minded and seeing that there is something to learn from everyone and thing has helped transform me into becoming the person I want to be.